# 1995–96 New Jersey Devils season

The 1995–96 New Jersey Devils season was the 22nd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and 14th season since the franchise relocated from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season. After winning the Stanley Cup in the previous season, and qualifying for the playoffs for six seasons, the team failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1989, losing their last game of the season with a chance to qualify for the postseason. They became the first defending Stanley Cup champions to fail to make the playoffs since the 1969-70 Montreal Canadiens.

## Regular season

The Devils were the least penalized team during the regular season, being shorthanded only 319 times. They also had the lowest shooting percentage in the NHL, scoring only 215 goals on 2,636 shots (8.2%).

### 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

## Schedule and results

1995–96 regular season :
October: 6–4–0 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 7, 19954–0Florida Panthers1–0–0Recap
2WOctober 12, 19954–1Winnipeg Jets2–0–0Recap
3WOctober 14, 19954–1@ Montreal Canadiens3–0–0Recap
4WOctober 15, 19954–3@ Buffalo Sabres4–0–0Recap
5LOctober 17, 19951–3Edmonton Oilers4–1–0Recap
6WOctober 19, 19954–2Detroit Red Wings5–1–0Recap
7WOctober 21, 19954–1Ottawa Senators6–1–0Recap
8LOctober 25, 19952–4Vancouver Canucks6–2–0Recap
9LOctober 28, 19953–5Pittsburgh Penguins6–3–0Recap
10LOctober 31, 19951–2@ Edmonton Oilers6–4–0Recap :
November: 5–6–3 (home: 3–2–0; road: 2–4–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11TNovember 2, 19953–3 OT@ San Jose Sharks6–4–1Recap
12WNovember 4, 19954–2@ Los Angeles Kings7–4–1Recap
13LNovember 5, 19951–6@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim7–5–1Recap
14LNovember 8, 19951–2Calgary Flames7–6–1Recap
15WNovember 11, 19954–2Philadelphia Flyers8–6–1Recap
16WNovember 12, 19953–2@ Philadelphia Flyers9–6–1Recap
17WNovember 14, 19951–0Hartford Whalers10–6–1Recap
18TNovember 16, 19952–2 OT@ Boston Bruins10–6–2Recap
19LNovember 18, 19954–5Buffalo Sabres10–7–2Recap
20LNovember 21, 19953–4@ Florida Panthers10–8–2Recap
21LNovember 22, 19951–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning10–9–2Recap
22LNovember 25, 19950–2@ Dallas Stars10–10–2Recap
23TNovember 27, 19951–1 OT@ New York Rangers10–10–3Recap
24WNovember 29, 19954–3 OTColorado Avalanche11–10–3Recap :
December: 4–9–1 (home: 4–3–0; road: 0–6–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
25WDecember 1, 19955–1Tampa Bay Lightning12–10–3Recap
26LDecember 2, 19951–4@ New York Islanders12–11–3Recap
27LDecember 6, 19952–4@ Montreal Canadiens12–12–3Recap
28LDecember 7, 19951–2Toronto Maple Leafs12–13–3Recap
29WDecember 9, 19954–2New York Islanders13–13–3Recap
30LDecember 11, 19951–2Florida Panthers13–14–3Recap
31LDecember 15, 19951–3@ Detroit Red Wings13–15–3Recap
32LDecember 16, 19952–3Buffalo Sabres13–16–3Recap
33WDecember 19, 19955–4 OTPhiladelphia Flyers14–16–3Recap
34TDecember 21, 19952–2 OT@ Tampa Bay Lightning14–16–4Recap
35LDecember 23, 19951–2@ Florida Panthers14–17–4Recap
36WDecember 27, 19955–3New York Islanders15–17–4Recap
37LDecember 29, 19953–5@ Winnipeg Jets15–18–4Recap
38LDecember 31, 19950–5@ Chicago Blackhawks15–19–4Recap :
January: 7–3–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39WJanuary 3, 19961–0@ Colorado Avalanche16–19–4Recap
40WJanuary 6, 19963–1Washington Capitals17–19–4Recap
41WJanuary 9, 19964–2St. Louis Blues18–19–4Recap
42LJanuary 11, 19961–2San Jose Sharks18–20–4Recap
43LJanuary 13, 19962–3@ Boston Bruins18–21–4Recap
44WJanuary 14, 19967–2Dallas Stars19–21–4Recap
45LJanuary 16, 19962–4Boston Bruins19–22–4Recap
46WJanuary 23, 19963–1Los Angeles Kings20–22–4Recap
47WJanuary 25, 19963–1Washington Capitals21–22–4Recap
48TJanuary 27, 19964–4 OT@ Hartford Whalers21–22–5Recap
49WJanuary 30, 19963–2 OT@ Vancouver Canucks22–22–5Recap :
February: 5–3–3 (home: 3–2–1; road: 2–1–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
50TFebruary 1, 19961–1 OT@ Calgary Flames22–22–6Recap
51WFebruary 3, 19963–2 OT@ Ottawa Senators23–22–6Recap
52TFebruary 7, 19961–1 OTPittsburgh Penguins23–22–7Recap
53WFebruary 10, 19963–0New York Rangers24–22–7Recap
54LFebruary 11, 19962–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim24–23–7Recap
55TFebruary 16, 19962–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres24–23–8Recap
56WFebruary 18, 19963–0Washington Capitals25–23–8Recap
57LFebruary 19, 19961–4@ Philadelphia Flyers25–24–8Recap
58LFebruary 21, 19961–4Florida Panthers25–25–8Recap
59WFebruary 23, 19966–5Montreal Canadiens26–25–8Recap
60WFebruary 24, 19962–1@ Washington Capitals27–25–8Recap :
March: 7–4–4 (home: 2–2–1; road: 5–2–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
61WMarch 1, 19966–2New York Islanders28–25–8Recap
62WMarch 2, 19964–1@ Ottawa Senators29–25–8Recap
63TMarch 4, 19962–2 OT@ New York Rangers29–25–9Recap
64TMarch 6, 19962–2 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs29–25–10Recap
65WMarch 9, 19964–3 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins30–25–10Recap
66WMarch 10, 19963–2 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers31–25–10Recap
67TMarch 13, 19961–1 OTMontreal Canadiens31–25–11Recap
68WMarch 15, 19965–0Tampa Bay Lightning32–25–11Recap
69LMarch 17, 19960–3@ Florida Panthers32–26–11Recap
70LMarch 20, 19961–2Boston Bruins32–27–11Recap
71LMarch 22, 19962–4Chicago Blackhawks32–28–11Recap
72WMarch 23, 19963–2 OT@ New York Islanders33–28–11Recap
73WMarch 26, 19966–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning34–28–11Recap
74TMarch 28, 19964–4 OT@ St. Louis Blues34–28–12Recap
75LMarch 30, 19961–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins34–29–12Recap :
April: 3–4–0 (home: 1–3–0; road: 2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
76LApril 2, 19961–3@ New York Rangers34–30–12Recap
77LApril 4, 19960–1Hartford Whalers34–31–12Recap
78WApril 6, 19966–3@ Hartford Whalers35–31–12Recap
79WApril 7, 19964–2New York Rangers36–31–12Recap
80LApril 10, 19961–5Philadelphia Flyers36–32–12Recap
81WApril 11, 19963–2@ Washington Capitals37–32–12Recap
82LApril 13, 19962–5Ottawa Senators37–33–12Recap :
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 Devils only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 32 | Steve Thomas | LW | 81 | 26 | 35 | 61 | −2 | 98 |
| 12 | Bill Guerin | RW | 80 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 7 | 116 |
| 15 | John MacLean | RW | 76 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 3 | 91 |
| 17 | Petr Sykora | RW | 63 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 7 | 32 |
| 27 | Scott Niedermayer | D | 79 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 5 | 46 |
| 44 | Stephane Richer | RW | 73 | 20 | 12 | 32 | −8 | 30 |
| 16 | Bobby Holik | C | 63 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 9 | 58 |
| 4 | Scott Stevens | D | 82 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 7 | 100 |
| 14 | Brian Rolston | C | 58 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 9 | 8 |
| 9 | Neal Broten | C | 55 | 7 | 16 | 23 | −3 | 14 |
| 29 | Shawn Chambers | D | 64 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 1 | 18 |
| 21 | Randy McKay | RW | 76 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 7 | 145 |
| 6 | Phil Housley† | D | 22 | 1 | 15 | 16 | −4 | 8 |
| 25 | Valeri Zelepukin | LW | 61 | 6 | 9 | 15 | −10 | 107 |
| 23 | Dave Andreychuk† | LW | 15 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 10 |
| 11 | Jim Dowd‡ | C | 28 | 4 | 9 | 13 | −1 | 17 |
| 6 | Tommy Albelin‡ | D | 53 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 14 |
| 8 | Mike Peluso | LW | 57 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 146 |
| 19 | Bob Carpenter | C | 52 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −10 | 14 |
| 24 | Steve Sullivan | RW | 16 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 8 |
| 18 | Sergei Brylin | LW | 50 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −2 | 26 |
| 3 | Ken Daneyko | D | 80 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −10 | 115 |
| 33 | Reid Simpson | LW | 23 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 79 |
| 28 | Kevin Dean | D | 41 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 28 |
| 10 | Denis Pederson | C | 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −1 | 0 |
| 20 | Scott Pellerin | LW | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Ricard Persson | D | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| 26 | Jason Smith | D | 64 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 86 |
| 10 | Esa Tikkanen†‡ | LW | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −6 | 4 |
| 30 | Martin Brodeur | G | 77 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 6 |
| 11 | Jocelyn Lemieux†‡ | RW | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −7 | 4 |
| 24 | Patrik Elias | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 2 | Cale Hulse‡ | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 15 |
| 35 | Corey Schwab | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 31 |
| 31 | Chris Terreri‡ | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |

### Goaltending

* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.
| 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 | Martin Brodeur | 77 | 34 | 30 | 12 | 1954 | 173 | 2.34 | .911 | 6 | 4433 |
| 35 | Chris Terreri‡ | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 9 | 2.57 | .902 | 0 | 210 |
| 31 | Corey Schwab | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 119 | 12 | 2.18 | .899 | 0 | 331 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Petr Sykora (Forward) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Martin Brodeur |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Scott Stevens |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Petr Sykora (December) |
| Team | Devils' Players' Player | Steve Thomas |
| Team | Hugh Delano Unsung Hero | Shawn Chambers |
| Team | Most Valuable Devil | Martin Brodeur |
| Team | Three-Star Award | Martin Brodeur |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Ricard Persson | October 7, 1995 |
| First game | Denis Pederson | October 12, 1995 |
| First game | Petr Sykora | October 28, 1995 |
| First game | Corey Schwab | November 18, 1995 |
| First game | Cale Hulse | December 6, 1995 |
| First game | Patrik Elias | December 7, 1995 |
| First game | Steve Sullivan | February 23, 1996 |
| 1,000th game played | Scott Stevens | January 9, 1996 |
| 1,000th point | Dave Andreychuk | April 7, 1996 |
| 1,000th game played | Dave Andreychuk | April 11, 1996 |

## Draft picks

New Jersey's picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft, held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, at Edmonton Coliseum.
| Rd # | Pick # | Player | Nat | Pos | Team (league) |
| 1 | 18 | Petr Sykora | Czech Republic | C | Detroit Vipers (IHL) |
| 2 | 44 | Nathan Perrott | Canada | RW | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 3 | 70 | Sergei Vyshedkevich | Russia | D | Dynamo Moscow (RSL) |
| 3 | 78 | David Gosselin | Canada | LW | Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 79 | Alyn McCauley | Canada | C | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 4 | 96 | Henrik Rehnberg | Sweden | D | Färjestad BK Jrs. (Elitserien) |
| 5 | 122 | Chris Mason | Canada | G | Prince George Cougars (WHL) |
| 6 | 148 | Adam Young | Canada | LW | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 7 | 174 | Richard Rochefort | Canada | C | Sudbury Wolves (OHL) |
| 8 | 200 | Frederic Henry | Canada | G | Granby Bisons (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 226 | Colin O'Hara | Canada | D | Winnipeg Saints (MJHL) |