# 1995–96 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 1995–96 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the Lightning fourth season of operation in the National Hockey League. The Lightning finished with a record of 38-32-12 and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
It would also be the Lightning's third and final season in the ThunderDome before moving into their next and current home, the Ice Palace.

## Regular season

The Lightning tied the New York Rangers and the Ottawa Senators for fewest short-handed goals scored (6).

### Final standings

Atlantic Division :
| No. | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 45 | 24 | 13 | 282 | 208 | 103 |
| 2 | New York Rangers | 82 | 41 | 27 | 14 | 272 | 237 | 96 |
| 3 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 254 | 234 | 92 |
| 4 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 234 | 204 | 89 |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 38 | 32 | 12 | 238 | 248 | 88 |
| 6 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 215 | 202 | 86 |
| 7 | New York Islanders | 82 | 22 | 50 | 10 | 229 | 315 | 54 |
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | ATL | 82 | 45 | 24 | 13 | 282 | 208 | 103 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 82 | 49 | 29 | 4 | 362 | 284 | 102 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | ATL | 82 | 41 | 27 | 14 | 272 | 237 | 96 |
| 4 | Florida Panthers | ATL | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 254 | 234 | 92 |
| 5 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 282 | 269 | 91 |
| 6 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 265 | 248 | 90 |
| 7 | Washington Capitals | ATL | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 234 | 204 | 89 |
| 8 | Tampa Bay Lightning | ATL | 82 | 38 | 32 | 12 | 238 | 248 | 88 |
| 9 | New Jersey Devils | ATL | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 215 | 202 | 86 |
| 10 | Hartford Whalers | NE | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 237 | 259 | 77 |
| 11 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 33 | 42 | 7 | 247 | 262 | 73 |
| 12 | New York Islanders | ATL | 82 | 22 | 50 | 10 | 229 | 315 | 54 |
| 13 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 18 | 59 | 5 | 191 | 291 | 41 |
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Playoffs
### Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
#### (1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (8) Tampa Bay Lightning

The series opened up in Philadelphia. The Flyers won Game 1 7–3, but the Lightning rebounded in Game 2 by a 2–1 overtime win. Games 3 and 4 were in Tampa Bay. The Lightning won again in overtime in Game 3, but this time, by a score of 5–4. However, the series was tied up at 2-2 thanks to Philadelphia's 4–1 win in Game 4. The series shifted back to Philadelphia, where the Flyers won 4-1 again in Game 5. In Game 6, Philadelphia won 6-1 and won the series 4–2.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1995–96 regular season :
October: 2–4–4 (home: 1–2–2; road: 1–2–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TOctober 7, 19953–3 OTCalgary Flames (1995–96)0–0–1Recap
2WOctober 12, 19953–1Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)1–0–1Recap
3LOctober 14, 19950–2@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)1–1–1Recap
4LOctober 15, 19954–7Ottawa Senators (1995–96)1–2–1Recap
5LOctober 17, 19952–5@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)1–3–1Recap
6WOctober 19, 19954–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)2–3–1Recap
7TOctober 21, 19953–3 OT@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)2–3–2Recap
8TOctober 26, 19954–4 OTNew York Rangers (1995–96)2–3–3Recap
9LOctober 28, 19952–4Washington Capitals (1995–96)2–4–3Recap
10TOctober 31, 19952–2 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)2–4–4Recap :
November: 7–6–1 (home: 5–3–1; road: 2–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11LNovember 1, 19950–10@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)2–5–4Recap
12WNovember 3, 19955–3New York Islanders (1995–96)3–5–4Recap
13LNovember 5, 19951–4@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)3–6–4Recap
14LNovember 8, 19954–5@ New York Rangers (1995–96)3–7–4Recap
15LNovember 10, 19953–4 OTEdmonton Oilers (1995–96)3–8–4Recap
16LNovember 12, 19954–6Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)3–9–4Recap
17WNovember 14, 19955–3Boston Bruins (1995–96)4–9–4Recap
18LNovember 16, 19954–5 OTToronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)4–10–4Recap
19WNovember 18, 19955–4 OTVancouver Canucks (1995–96)5–10–4Recap
20WNovember 22, 19953–1New Jersey Devils (1995–96)6–10–4Recap
21WNovember 24, 19952–1@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)7–10–4Recap
22WNovember 25, 19952–1@ New York Islanders (1995–96)8–10–4Recap
23WNovember 27, 19952–0Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)9–10–4Recap
24TNovember 29, 19952–2 OTHartford Whalers (1995–96)9–10–5Recap :
December: 7–5–1 (home: 4–2–1; road: 3–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
25LDecember 1, 19951–5@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)9–11–5Recap
26LDecember 3, 19954–5Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)9–12–5Recap
27WDecember 6, 19952–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)10–12–5Recap
28WDecember 8, 19953–1Boston Bruins (1995–96)11–12–5Recap
29WDecember 11, 19956–1@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)12–12–5Recap
30WDecember 13, 19953–2@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)13–12–5Recap
31LDecember 14, 19950–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)13–13–5Recap
32LDecember 16, 19952–7Florida Panthers (1995–96)13–14–5Recap
33WDecember 19, 19956–3Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)14–14–5Recap
34TDecember 21, 19952–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (1995–96)14–14–6Recap
35LDecember 23, 19955–7@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)14–15–6Recap
36WDecember 28, 19953–1Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)15–15–6Recap
37WDecember 31, 19953–0@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)16–15–6Recap :
January: 5–5–1 (home: 3–0–0; road: 2–5–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
38LJanuary 2, 19960–10@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)16–16–6Recap
39WJanuary 3, 19965–0@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)17–16–6Recap
40LJanuary 6, 19962–9@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)17–17–6Recap
41TJanuary 8, 19963–3 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)17–17–7Recap
42WJanuary 13, 19964–1Ottawa Senators (1995–96)18–17–7Recap
43LJanuary 15, 19962–3@ New York Islanders (1995–96)18–18–7Recap
44WJanuary 17, 19966–4San Jose Sharks (1995–96)19–18–7Recap
45WJanuary 22, 19964–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)20–18–7Recap
46LJanuary 25, 19963–4@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)20–19–7Recap
47LJanuary 27, 19961–2@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)20–20–7Recap
48WJanuary 31, 19964–1Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)21–20–7Recap :
February: 7–5–1 (home: 3–4–0; road: 4–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
49LFebruary 3, 19963–5Florida Panthers (1995–96)21–21–7Recap
50WFebruary 4, 19965–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)22–21–7Recap
51TFebruary 7, 19964–4 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)22–21–8Recap
52LFebruary 10, 19962–3 OTDetroit Red Wings (1995–96)22–22–8Recap
53LFebruary 11, 19962–6New York Rangers (1995–96)22–23–8Recap
54LFebruary 13, 19962–3St. Louis Blues (1995–96)22–24–8Recap
55WFebruary 15, 19964–2Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)23–24–8Recap
56WFebruary 17, 19965–2Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)24–24–8Recap
57WFebruary 19, 19964–2Dallas Stars (1995–96)25–24–8Recap
58WFebruary 21, 19963–2 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)26–24–8Recap
59WFebruary 23, 19963–2 OT@ New York Islanders (1995–96)27–24–8Recap
60LFebruary 24, 19960–2@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)27–25–8Recap
61WFebruary 28, 19965–1@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)28–25–8Recap :
March: 6–4–4 (home: 4–1–1; road: 2–3–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
62WMarch 1, 19967–3@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)29–25–8Recap
63TMarch 3, 19962–2 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)29–25–9Recap
64WMarch 5, 19962–0Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)30–25–9Recap
65WMarch 7, 19965–2New York Rangers (1995–96)31–25–9Recap
66WMarch 10, 19961–0Washington Capitals (1995–96)32–25–9Recap
67TMarch 13, 19961–1 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)32–25–10Recap
68LMarch 15, 19960–5@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)32–26–10Recap
69LMarch 17, 19960–5@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)32–27–10Recap
70LMarch 18, 19963–6@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)32–28–10Recap
71TMarch 21, 19963–3 OTWashington Capitals (1995–96)32–28–11Recap
72WMarch 23, 19964–2Florida Panthers (1995–96)33–28–11Recap
73LMarch 26, 19964–6New Jersey Devils (1995–96)33–29–11Recap
74WMarch 30, 19962–1@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)34–29–11Recap
75TMarch 31, 19961–1 OT@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)34–29–12Recap :
April: 4–3–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
76WApril 3, 19964–2Hartford Whalers (1995–96)35–29–12Recap
77LApril 5, 19963–4Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)35–30–12Recap
78LApril 6, 19961–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)35–31–12Recap
79WApril 8, 19964–3New York Islanders (1995–96)36–31–12Recap
80WApril 10, 19962–1@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)37–31–12Recap
81WApril 12, 19963–2@ New York Rangers (1995–96)38–31–12Recap
82LApril 14, 19961–3Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)38–32–12Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1996 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (1) Philadelphia Flyers – Flyers win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LApril 16, 19963–7@ Philadelphia FlyersFlyers lead 1–0Recap
2WApril 18, 19962–1 OT@ Philadelphia FlyersSeries tied 1–1Recap
3WApril 21, 19965–4 OTPhiladelphia FlyersLightning lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 23, 19961–4Philadelphia FlyersSeries tied 2–2Recap
5LApril 25, 19961–4@ Philadelphia FlyersFlyers lead 3–2Recap
6LApril 27, 19961–6Philadelphia FlyersFlyers win 4–2Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 19 | Brian Bradley | C | 75 | 23 | 56 | 79 | −11 | 77 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −5 | 6 |
| 44 | Roman Hamrlik | D | 82 | 16 | 49 | 65 | −24 | 103 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 4 |
| 29 | Alex Selivanov | RW | 79 | 31 | 21 | 52 | 3 | 93 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 85 | Petr Klima | W | 67 | 22 | 30 | 52 | −25 | 68 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| 12 | John Cullen | C | 76 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 1 | 65 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| 23 | Brian Bellows | LW | 79 | 23 | 26 | 49 | −14 | 39 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 4 |
| 77 | Chris Gratton | C | 82 | 17 | 21 | 38 | −13 | 105 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 27 |
| 7 | Rob Zamuner | LW | 72 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 11 | 62 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −1 | 10 |
| 15 | Paul Ysebaert | C | 55 | 16 | 15 | 31 | −19 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 0 |
| 11 | Shawn Burr | LW | 81 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 4 | 119 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | Bill Houlder | D | 61 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 1 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 34 | Mikael Andersson | LW | 64 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Jason Wiemer | C | 66 | 9 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 81 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 28 |
| 4 | Cory Cross | D | 75 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 66 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 22 |
| 22 | Aaron Gavey | C | 73 | 8 | 4 | 12 | −6 | 56 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 4 |
| 27 | David Shaw | D | 66 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 64 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 4 |
| 95 | Michel Petit† | D | 45 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −10 | 108 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 20 |
| 14 | John Tucker | C | 63 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −8 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 39 | Enrico Ciccone‡ | D | 55 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −4 | 258 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Rudy Poeschek | RW | 57 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −2 | 88 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 5 | Igor Ulanov† | D | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −1 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 15 |
| 6 | Adrien Plavsic | D | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Drew Bannister | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Daymond Langkow | C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Patrick Poulin† | C | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 93 | Daren Puppa | G | 57 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 30 | Jean-Claude Bergeron | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Eric Charron‡ | D | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 25 | Allan Egeland | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Steven Finn‡ | D | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Bob Halkidis‡ | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | Chris LiPuma | D | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −7 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Jeff Reese† | G | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 9 | Jeff Toms | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Derek Wilkinson | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 93 | Daren Puppa | 57 | 29 | 16 | 9 | 1605 | 131 | 2.46 | .918 | 5 | 3189 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 86 | 14 | 4.85 | .837 | 0 | 173 |
| 1 | Jeff Reese† | 19 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 464 | 54 | 3.26 | .884 | 0 | 994 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 100 | 12 | 3.64 | .880 | 0 | 198 |
| 30 | Jean-Claude Bergeron | 12 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 250 | 42 | 4.23 | .832 | 0 | 595 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Derek Wilkinson | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 105 | 15 | 4.50 | .857 | 0 | 200 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Roman Hamrlik | |

### Records

The Tampa Bay Lightning tied its team record worst defeat from 1993, 2–9 against the Vancouver Canucks.

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Aaron Gavey | October 7, 1995 |
| First game | Daymond Langkow | October 7, 1995 |
| First game | Derek Wilkinson | November 8, 1995 |
| First game | Drew Bannister | November 12, 1995 |
| First game | Allan Egeland | January 22, 1996 |
| First game | Jeff Toms | February 13, 1996 |
| 1,000th game played | Brian Bellows | January 31, 1996 |

## Draft picks

Tampa Bay's draft picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 5 | Daymond Langkow | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 2 | 30 | Mike McBain | Canada | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |
| 3 | 56 | Shane Willis | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 5 | 108 | Konstantin Golokhvastov | Russia | Dynamo Moscow (Russia) |
| 6 | 134 | Eduard Pershin | Russia | Moscow Dynamo (Russia) |
| 7 | 160 | Cory Murphy | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 8 | 186 | Joe Cardarelli | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 9 | 212 | Zac Bierk | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |