# 1994–95 New York Islanders season

The 1994–95 New York Islanders season was the 23rd season in the franchise's history. The Islanders were unable to qualify for the playoffs, thus ending their two-season playoff streak.

## Offseason

Longtime head coach Al Arbour announced his retirement from coaching and was named the team's vice president of hockey operations on June 1. Assistant coach Lorne Henning was named his successor on June 20.

## Regular season

After starting the season with a 4–2–1 record, the Islanders fell into a slump from which they could not recover. They would win only 11 of their remaining 41 games, going 11–26–4. The Islanders would finish 12 points out of eighth place and miss the playoffs for the first time since 1992.
Near the end of the season, General Manager Don Maloney decided that the core of players he had left alone for three seasons should be totally revamped, and he undertook a rebuilding project. He traded Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov to Montreal for Kirk Muller and Mathieu Schneider, and Benoit Hogue was sent to Toronto for young goaltender Eric Fichaud. Additionally, Maloney allowed the team's leading scorer, Ray Ferraro, to depart as an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the season. Fans' displeasure at the GM for trading the popular Turgeon was magnified when Muller balked at joining a rebuilding team. He only played 45 games for the Islanders before being sent to the Maple Leafs.
The Islanders finished the regular season having allowed the most short-handed goals in the NHL, with 11.

### Season standings

Atlantic Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | 48 | 28 | 16 | 4 | 150 | 132 | 60 |
| 2 | 5 | New Jersey Devils | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 121 | 52 |
| 3 | 6 | Washington Capitals | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 120 | 52 |
| 4 | 8 | New York Rangers | 48 | 22 | 23 | 3 | 139 | 134 | 47 |
| 5 | 9 | Florida Panthers | 48 | 20 | 22 | 6 | 115 | 127 | 46 |
| 6 | 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 48 | 17 | 28 | 3 | 120 | 144 | 37 |
| 7 | 13 | New York Islanders | 48 | 15 | 28 | 5 | 126 | 158 | 35 |
Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
 Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Quebec Nordiques | NE | 48 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 185 | 134 | 65 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 48 | 28 | 16 | 4 | 150 | 132 | 60 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 48 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 181 | 158 | 61 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | NE | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 150 | 127 | 57 |
| 5 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 121 | 52 |
| 6 | Washington Capitals | AT | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 120 | 52 |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 48 | 22 | 19 | 7 | 130 | 119 | 51 |
| 8 | New York Rangers | AT | 48 | 22 | 23 | 3 | 139 | 134 | 47 |
| 9 | Florida Panthers | AT | 48 | 20 | 22 | 6 | 115 | 127 | 46 |
| 10 | Hartford Whalers | NE | 48 | 19 | 24 | 5 | 127 | 141 | 43 |
| 11 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 48 | 18 | 23 | 7 | 125 | 148 | 43 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | AT | 48 | 17 | 28 | 3 | 120 | 144 | 37 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 48 | 15 | 28 | 5 | 126 | 158 | 35 |
| 14 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 48 | 9 | 34 | 5 | 117 | 174 | 23 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Schedule and results

1994–95 regular season :
January: 3–2–1 (home: 2–1–1; road: 1–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WJanuary 21, 19952–1Florida Panthers (1994–95)1–0–0Recap
2TJanuary 22, 19953–3 OTOttawa Senators (1994–95)1–0–1Recap
3WJanuary 24, 19954–3Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)2–0–1Recap
4LJanuary 27, 19952–5@ Washington Capitals (1994–95)2–1–1Recap
5LJanuary 28, 19951–4Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)2–2–1Recap
6WJanuary 31, 19955–1@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)3–2–1Recap :
February: 5–6–2 (home: 4–3–0; road: 1–3–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
7WFebruary 2, 19955–4 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)4–2–1Recap
8LFebruary 4, 19952–4@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)4–3–1Recap
9LFebruary 7, 19952–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)4–4–1Recap
10LFebruary 9, 19952–5Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)4–5–1Recap
11WFebruary 11, 19952–1Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)5–5–1Recap
12LFebruary 14, 19952–3Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)5–6–1Recap
13TFebruary 17, 19952–2 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)5–6–2Recap
14WFebruary 18, 19953–2New Jersey Devils (1994–95)6–6–2Recap
15LFebruary 20, 19952–3 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)6–7–2Recap
16TFebruary 22, 19953–3 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)6–7–3Recap
17LFebruary 23, 19951–4Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)6–8–3Recap
18WFebruary 25, 19953–1Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)7–8–3Recap
19WFebruary 28, 19952–1Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)8–8–3Recap :
March: 2–10–1 (home: 2–2–1; road: 0–8–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
20LMarch 2, 19953–4Washington Capitals (1994–95)8–9–3Recap
21LMarch 5, 19951–3@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)8–10–3Recap
22WMarch 7, 19953–1Hartford Whalers (1994–95)9–10–3Recap
23LMarch 9, 19952–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)9–11–3Recap
24LMarch 11, 19951–2@ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)9–12–3Recap
25LMarch 14, 19954–6@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)9–13–3Recap
26LMarch 16, 19953–6@ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)9–14–3Recap
27LMarch 18, 19953–4@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)9–15–3Recap
28WMarch 23, 19951–0New York Rangers (1994–95)10–15–3Recap
29LMarch 25, 19951–5@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)10–16–3Recap
30TMarch 26, 19955–5 OTNew Jersey Devils (1994–95)10–16–4Recap
31LMarch 28, 19953–6@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)10–17–4Recap
32LMarch 30, 19952–3Boston Bruins (1994–95)10–18–4Recap :
April: 5–9–1 (home: 2–4–1; road: 3–5–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
33LApril 1, 19951–5Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)10–19–4Recap
34LApril 4, 19954–5Washington Capitals (1994–95)10–20–4Recap
35WApril 7, 19954–3@ New York Rangers (1994–95)11–20–4Recap
36TApril 8, 19952–2 OTFlorida Panthers (1994–95)11–20–5Recap
37LApril 11, 19952–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)11–21–5Recap
38WApril 12, 19953–1@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)12–21–5Recap
39LApril 14, 19953–6@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)12–22–5Recap
40LApril 16, 19952–3New York Rangers (1994–95)12–23–5Recap
41WApril 18, 19955–2Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)13–23–5Recap
42LApril 20, 19951–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)13–24–5Recap
43LApril 22, 19952–3Ottawa Senators (1994–95)13–25–5Recap
44WApril 24, 19955–3Boston Bruins (1994–95)14–25–5Recap
45LApril 26, 19955–6@ Washington Capitals (1994–95)14–26–5Recap
46WApril 28, 19954–2@ New York Rangers (1994–95)15–26–5Recap
47LApril 29, 19953–4@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)15–27–5Recap :
May: 0–1–0 (home: 0–1–0; road: 0–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
48LMay 2, 19950–2Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)15–28–5Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## 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 Islanders only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 20 | Ray Ferraro | C | 47 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 1 | 30 |
| 77 | Pierre Turgeon‡ | C | 34 | 13 | 14 | 27 | −12 | 10 |
| 26 | Patrick Flatley | RW | 45 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 9 | 12 |
| 32 | Steve Thomas | RW | 47 | 11 | 15 | 26 | −14 | 60 |
| 27 | Derek King | LW | 43 | 10 | 16 | 26 | −5 | 41 |
| 68 | Zigmund Palffy | LW | 33 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 3 | 6 |
| 18 | Marty McInnis | LW | 41 | 9 | 7 | 16 | −1 | 8 |
| 92 | Vladimir Malakhov‡ | D | 26 | 3 | 13 | 16 | −1 | 32 |
| 7 | Scott Lachance | D | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 26 |
| 39 | Travis Green | C | 42 | 5 | 7 | 12 | −10 | 25 |
| 37 | Dennis Vaske | D | 41 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 53 |
| 33 | Benoit Hogue‡ | LW | 33 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 34 |
| 24 | Troy Loney‡ | LW | 26 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 23 |
| 72 | Mathieu Schneider† | D | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −5 | 30 |
| 2 | Bob Beers | D | 22 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −8 | 6 |
| 9 | Kirk Muller† | C | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 14 |
| 15 | Brad Dalgarno | RW | 22 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −8 | 14 |
| 17 | Chris Marinucci | C | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
| 14 | Ron Sutter | C | 27 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −8 | 21 |
| 75 | Brett Lindros | RW | 33 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −8 | 100 |
| 6 | Chris Luongo | D | 47 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −2 | 36 |
| 24 | Brent Severyn† | D | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 34 |
| 25 | Paul Stanton† | D | 18 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −6 | 9 |
| 28 | Chris Taylor | C | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Yan Kaminsky | LW | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 47 | Rich Pilon | D | 20 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 40 |
| 3 | Dean Chynoweth | D | 32 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 77 |
| 12 | Mick Vukota | RW | 39 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 109 |
| 11 | Darius Kasparaitis | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −11 | 22 |
| 10 | Kip Miller | C | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | Tommy Salo | G | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 0 |
| 9 | Dave Chyzowski | LW | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 11 |
| 10 | Craig Darby† | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 8 | Gord Dineen | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 2 |
| 29 | Jamie McLennan | G | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 30 | Tommy Soderstrom | G | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 34 | Milan Tichy | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 38 | Andrei Vasilyev | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 36 | Jason Widmer | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 30 | Tommy Soderstrom | 26 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 717 | 70 | 3.11 | .902 | 1 | 1350 |
| 29 | Jamie McLennan | 21 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 539 | 67 | 3.39 | .876 | 0 | 1185 |
| 35 | Tommy Salo | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 189 | 18 | 3.02 | .905 | 0 | 358 |

## Awards and records
### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Brett Lindros | January 21, 1995 |
| First game | Chris Taylor | January 31, 1995 |
| First game | Chris Marinucci | March 30, 1995 |
| First game | Tommy Salo | April 11, 1995 |
| First game | Andrei Vasilyev | April 26, 1995 |
| First game | Jason Widmer | May 2, 1995 |

## Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 1994 NHL entry draft in Hartford, Connecticut.
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 9 | Brett Lindros (RW) | Canada | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) |
| 2 | 38 | Jason Holland (D) | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 3 | 63 | Jason Strudwick (D) | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 4 | 90 | Brad Lukowich (D) | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 5 | 112 | Mark McArthur (G) | Canada | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 5 | 116 | Albie O'Connell (LW) | United States | Saint Sebastian's School (USHS-MA) |
| 6 | 142 | Jason Stewart (C) | United States | Simley High School (USHS-MA) |
| 8 | 194 | Mike Loach (C) | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 8 | 203 | Peter Hogardh (C) | Sweden | Västra Frölunda HC (Sweden) |
| 9 | 220 | Gord Walsh (LW) | Canada | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) |
| 10 | 246 | Kirk DeWaele (D) | Canada | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) |
| 11 | 272 | Dick Tarnstrom (D) | Sweden | AIK IF (Sweden) |