# 1994–95 Pittsburgh Penguins season

Despite the absence of Mario Lemieux, the 1994–95 Pittsburgh Penguins started the season off strong, by winning their first seven games. They remained undefeated in their first 13 games, going 12–0–1. However, after such a red-hot start to the season, the Penguins had a lukewarm record in their final 35 games, going 17–16–2. Jaromir Jagr won the Art Ross Trophy for most points (70), captain Ron Francis led the league in assists (48) and plus/minus (+30), and goaltender Ken Wregget led the league in wins (25). In a 7–3 Penguins' win over the Florida Panthers on February 7, Joe Mullen recorded an assist and became the first American-born NHL player to reach 1,000 points. Nine days later, Luc Robitaille scored four goals in a 5–2 Penguins win over the Hartford Whalers.

## Regular season

The Penguins had the highest shooting percentage in the NHL during the regular season, scoring 181 goals on just 1,400 shots (12.9%).

### Final standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Quebec Nordiques | 48 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 185 | 134 | 65 |
| 2 | 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 48 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 181 | 158 | 61 |
| 3 | 4 | Boston Bruins | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 150 | 127 | 57 |
| 4 | 7 | Buffalo Sabres | 48 | 22 | 19 | 7 | 130 | 119 | 51 |
| 5 | 10 | Hartford Whalers | 48 | 19 | 24 | 5 | 127 | 141 | 43 |
| 6 | 11 | Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 18 | 23 | 7 | 125 | 148 | 43 |
| 7 | 14 | Ottawa Senators | 48 | 9 | 34 | 5 | 117 | 174 | 23 |
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

## Playoffs

Despite finding themselves in a three-games-to-one series deficit against the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs, the Penguins won Game 5 at home in overtime, 6–5, via Luc Robitaille's goal at 4:30 of the first overtime period. Peter Bondra, Dale Hunter, Jaromir Jagr and Kevin Stevens each scored twice in the game. Pittsburgh went on to win Game 6 in Washington, 7–1, and then closed out the series at home with a 3–0 victory in Game 7. It was the second time in four years that the Penguins had come back to defeat the Capitals after being down three games to one. The Penguins faced the New Jersey Devils in the second round, and won the opening game, 3–2. With only 1:15 remaining in Game 2, Jaromir Jagr tied the game at 2–2. The game seemed certain to head to overtime until a breakaway-goal by Devils captain Scott Stevens with just 29 seconds remaining. Claude Lemieux added an empty-net goal and the Devils tied the series with a 4–2 win. In the final three games of the series, the Penguins managed to score only three goals and were ultimately eliminated at home in Game 5, 4–1.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1994–95 regular season :
January: 5–0–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 4–0–0), 10 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsRecap
1Jan 20Pittsburgh Penguins5–3Tampa Bay Lightning1–0–02Recap
2Jan 23Pittsburgh Penguins6–5Florida Panthers2–0–04Recap
3Jan 25Pittsburgh Penguins3–2New York Rangers3–0–06Recap
4Jan 27Ottawa Senators4–5Pittsburgh Penguins4–0–08Recap
5Jan 29Pittsburgh Penguins4–1Washington Capitals5–0–010Recap :
February: 9–3–2 (home: 7–1–1; road: 2–2–1), 20 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsRecap
6Feb 1New York Rangers3–4Pittsburgh Penguins6–0–012Recap
7Feb 4Tampa Bay Lightning3–6Pittsburgh Penguins7–0–014Recap
8Feb 5Pittsburgh Penguins3–3 OTNew Jersey Devils7–0–115Recap
9Feb 7Florida Panthers3–7Pittsburgh Penguins8–0–117Recap
10Feb 9Pittsburgh Penguins5–2New York Islanders9–0–119Recap
11Feb 11Montreal Canadiens1–3Pittsburgh Penguins10–0–121Recap
12Feb 14Boston Bruins3–5Pittsburgh Penguins11–0–123Recap
13Feb 16Hartford Whalers2–5Pittsburgh Penguins12–0–125Recap
14Feb 18Pittsburgh Penguins2–4Hartford Whalers12–1–125Recap
15Feb 19Buffalo Sabres3–3 OTPittsburgh Penguins12–1–226Recap
16Feb 21Quebec Nordiques4–5Pittsburgh Penguins13–1–228Recap
17Feb 24Tampa Bay Lightning4–2Pittsburgh Penguins13–2–228Recap
18Feb 25Pittsburgh Penguins1–3New York Islanders13–3–228Recap
19Feb 27Pittsburgh Penguins7–5Quebec Nordiques14–3–230Recap :
March: 8–6–0 (home: 5–1–0; road: 3–5–0), 16 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsRecap
20Mar 2Pittsburgh Penguins3–6Buffalo Sabres14–4–230Recap
21Mar 4Pittsburgh Penguins4–3 OTBoston Bruins15–4–232Recap
22Mar 5Pittsburgh Penguins2–6Philadelphia Flyers15–5–232Recap
23Mar 7Quebec Nordiques5–4Pittsburgh Penguins15–6–232Recap
24Mar 9New York Islanders2–4Pittsburgh Penguins16–6–234Recap
25Mar 11Buffalo Sabres2–6Pittsburgh Penguins17–6–236Recap
26Mar 13Montreal Canadiens2–4Pittsburgh Penguins18–6–238Recap
27Mar 15Pittsburgh Penguins5–8Montreal Canadiens18–7–238Recap
28Mar 16Pittsburgh Penguins2–3Quebec Nordiques18–8–238Recap
29Mar 19Pittsburgh Penguins4–3Ottawa Senators19–8–240Recap
30Mar 21Pittsburgh Penguins3–2Buffalo Sabres20–8–242Recap
31Mar 24New Jersey Devils2–5Pittsburgh Penguins21–8–244Recap
32Mar 26Pittsburgh Penguins0–2Florida Panthers21–9–244Recap
33Mar 28New York Islanders3–6Pittsburgh Penguins22–9–246Recap :
April: 7–5–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–3–1), 15 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsRecap
34Apr 1Philadelphia Flyers2–3Pittsburgh Penguins23–9–248Recap
35Apr 5Hartford Whalers8–4Pittsburgh Penguins23–10–248Recap
36Apr 8Pittsburgh Penguins1–2Montreal Canadiens23–11–248Recap
37Apr 10Pittsburgh Penguins4–3Ottawa Senators24–11–250Recap
38Apr 11Washington Capitals1–3Pittsburgh Penguins25–11–252Recap
39Apr 15Ottawa Senators2–5Pittsburgh Penguins26–11–254Recap
40Apr 16Pittsburgh Penguins3–4 OTPhiladelphia Flyers26–12–254Recap
41Apr 18New York Rangers5–6Pittsburgh Penguins27–12–256Recap
42Apr 22Washington Capitals2–1Pittsburgh Penguins27–13–256Recap
43Apr 23Pittsburgh Penguins4–2Hartford Whalers28–13–258Recap
44Apr 26Pittsburgh Penguins3–3 OTNew Jersey Devils28–13–359Recap
45Apr 28Boston Bruins1–4Pittsburgh Penguins29–13–361Recap
46Apr 30Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Boston Bruins29–14–361Recap :
May: 0–2–0 (home: 0–1–0; road: 0–1–0), 0 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsRecap
47May 2Pittsburgh Penguins2–7Washington Capitals29–15–361Recap
48May 3Florida Panthers4–3Pittsburgh Penguins29–16–361Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1995 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (6) Washington Capitals – Penguins win 4–3
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeSeriesRecap
1May 6Washington Capitals4–5Pittsburgh Penguins0–1Recap
2May 8Washington Capitals5–3Pittsburgh Penguins1–1Recap
3May 10Pittsburgh Penguins2–6Washington Capitals1–2Recap
4May 12Pittsburgh Penguins2–6Washington Capitals1–3Recap
5May 14Washington Capitals6–5 OTPittsburgh Penguins2–3Recap
6May 16Pittsburgh Penguins7–1Washington Capitals3–3Recap
7May 18Pittsburgh Penguins3–0Washington Capitals4–3Recap :
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (5) New Jersey Devils – Devils win 4–1
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeSeriesRecap
1May 20New Jersey Devils3–2Pittsburgh Penguins1–0Recap
2May 22New Jersey Devils2–4Pittsburgh Penguins1–1Recap
3May 24Pittsburgh Penguins1–5New Jersey Devils1–2Recap
4May 26Pittsburgh Penguins1–2 OTNew Jersey Devils1–3Recap
5May 28New Jersey Devils1–4Pittsburgh Penguins1–4Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Suspensions

| Player | Length | Date |
| Luc Robitaille | 2 games | February 2, 1995 |

## Injuries

| Player | Injury | Date |
| Mario Lemieux | 1–year leave for Hodgkin's Lymphoma treatment | August 29, 1994 |
| Wayne McBean | Wrist surgery (Out indefinitely) | October 1, 1994 |
| Tom Barrasso | Wrist surgery (Out indefinitely) | January 20, 1995 |
| Greg Andrusak | Separated shoulder (DTD) | March 15, 1995 |
| Tom Barrasso | Sore wrist (DTD) | May 3, 1995 |
| Drake Berehowsky | Knee surgery (Out indefinitely) | July 1, 1995 |

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Jaromir Jagr | 48 | 32 | 38 | 70 | 23 | 37 |
| Ron Francis | 44 | 11 | 48 | 59 | 30 | 18 |
| Tomas Sandstrom | 47 | 21 | 23 | 44 | 1 | 42 |
| Luc Robitaille | 46 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 10 | 37 |
| Larry Murphy | 48 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 12 | 18 |
| John Cullen | 46 | 13 | 24 | 37 | –4 | 66 |
| Joe Mullen | 45 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 15 | 6 |
| Kevin Stevens | 27 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 0 | 51 |
| Shawn McEachern | 44 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 4 | 22 |
| Ulf Samuelsson | 44 | 1 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 113 |
| Martin Straka$^‡$ | 31 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| Chris Joseph | 33 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 46 |
| Len Barrie | 48 | 3 | 11 | 14 | –4 | 66 |
| Mike Hudson | 40 | 2 | 9 | 11 | –1 | 34 |
| Norm MacIver$^†$ | 13 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Kjell Samuelsson | 41 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 54 |
| Greg Hawgood | 21 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 25 |
| Markus Näslund | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Greg Andrusak | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | –1 | 6 |
| Grant Jennings$^‡$ | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 36 |
| Jim McKenzie | 39 | 2 | 1 | 3 | –7 | 63 |
| Francois Leroux | 40 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 114 |
| Chris Tamer | 36 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 82 |
| Troy Murray$^†$ | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –1 | 23 |
| Peter Taglianetti | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| Rusty Fitzgerald | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Richard Park | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Drake Berehowsky$^†$ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| Jeff Christian | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 181 | 316 | 497 | — | 1,010 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Ron Francis | 12 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 3 | 4 |
| Larry Murphy | 12 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| Jaromir Jagr | 12 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 6 |
| Luc Robitaille | 12 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 26 |
| Kevin Stevens | 12 | 4 | 7 | 11 | –5 | 21 |
| Tomas Sandstrom | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | –5 | 16 |
| Norm MacIver | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | –4 | 8 |
| Troy Murray | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | –1 | 12 |
| Joe Mullen | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | –5 | 4 |
| Chris Joseph | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | –4 | 12 |
| John Cullen | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –4 | 8 |
| Francois Leroux | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Ulf Samuelsson | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Shawn McEachern | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –2 | 8 |
| Kjell Samuelsson | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –4 | 32 |
| Len Barrie | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | –6 | 8 |
| Drake Berehowsky | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 |
| Mike Hudson | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –3 | 6 |
| Rusty Fitzgerald | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 4 |
| Jim McKenzie | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Peter Taglianetti | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –3 | 2 |
| Chris Tamer | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –4 | 18 |
| Ian Moran | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Park | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 37 | 63 | 100 | — | 223 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Ken Wregget | 38 | 2208:28 | 25 | 9 | 2 | 118 | 3.21 | 1219 | 0.903 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Wendell Young | 10 | 496:38 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 3.26 | 255 | 0.894 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Philippe DeRouville | 1 | 60:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3.00 | 27 | 0.889 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Barrasso | 2 | 125:00 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3.84 | 75 | 0.893 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 2890:06 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 156 | 3.24 | 1576 | 0.901 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Ken Wregget | 11 | 660:35 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 3.00 | 349 | 0.905 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Tom Barrasso | 2 | 80:00 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6.00 | 41 | 0.805 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 740:35 | 5 | 7 | 41 | 3.32 | 390 | 0.895 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Art Ross Trophy | Jaromir Jagr |
| League (annual) | Frank J. Selke Trophy | Ron Francis |
| League (annual) | Lady Byng Memorial Trophy | Ron Francis |
| League (annual) | Lester Patrick Trophy | Joe Mullen |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star team | Jaromir Jagr (Right Wing) |
| League (annual) | NHL Second All-Star team | Larry Murphy (Defense) |
| League (annual) | NHL Plus-Minus Award | Ron Francis |
| Team | A. T. Caggiano Memorial Booster Club Award | Jaromir Jagr |
| Team | Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Good Guy Award | Larry Murphy |
| Team | Bob Johnson Memorial Badger Bob Award | Ron Francis |
| Team | Bob Johnson Memorial Badger Bob Award | Joe Mullen |
| Team | Leading Scorer Award | Jaromir Jagr |
| Team | Michel Briere Memorial Rookie of the Year Trophy | No winner |
| Team | Most Valuable Player Award | Jaromir Jagr |
| Team | Players' Player Award | Ron Francis |
| Team | The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award | Ron Francis |
| Team | The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award | Bryan Trottier |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| 1,000th point | Joe Mullen | February 7, 1995 |
| 400th goal | Luc Robitaille | February 19, 1995 |
| First game | Philippe DeRouville | April 10, 1995 |
| First game | Rusty Fitzgerald | April 15, 1995 |
| First game | Richard Park | May 3, 1995 |
| First game | Ian Moran | May 10, 1995 |
| 1,000th game played | Ron Francis | April 16, 1995 |

## Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1994–95 season:

### Trades

| July 29, 1994 | To Los Angeles Kings Rick Tocchet 1995 2nd round pick | To Pittsburgh Penguins Luc Robitaille |
| February 16, 1995 | To Tampa Bay Lightning future considerations | To Pittsburgh Penguins Wendell Young |
| April 7, 1995 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Grant Jennings | To Pittsburgh Penguins Drake Berehowsky |
| April 7, 1995 | To Winnipeg Jets Greg Brown | To Pittsburgh Penguins cash |
| April 7, 1995 | To Ottawa Senators Martin Straka | To Pittsburgh Penguins Norm Maciver Troy Murray |

### Free agents

| Player | Acquired from | Lost to | Date |
| Jeff Christian | New Jersey Devils | | August 2, 1994 |
| Mike Ramsey | | Buffalo Sabres | August 3, 1994 |
| John Cullen | Toronto Maple Leafs | | August 3, 1994 |
| Len Barrie | Florida Panthers | | August 15, 1994 |

### Signings

| Player | Date |
| Joe Dziedzic | August 10, 1994 |
| Brian Farrell | September 20, 1994 |
| Ryan Savoia | April 7, 1995 |

### Other

| Name | Date | Details |
| Allen Pedersen | September 20, 1994 | Released |
| Doug Brown | January 18, 1995 | Lost in waiver draft (to Detroit Red Wings) |
| Chris Joseph | January 18, 1995 | Claimed in waiver draft (from Tampa Bay Lightning) |
| Francois Leroux | January 18, 1995 | Claimed in waiver draft (from Ottawa Senators) |
| Mike Hudson | January 18, 1995 | Claimed in waiver draft (from New York Rangers) |
| Wayne McBean | January 18, 1995 | Claimed in waiver draft (from Winnipeg Jets) |
| Micah Aivazoff | January 18, 1995 | Claimed in waiver draft (from Detroit Red Wings) |
| Micah Aivazoff | January 18, 1995 | Lost in waiver draft (to Edmonton Oilers) |

## Draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 24 | Chris Wells | Center | Canada | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 2 | 50 | Richard Park | Right Wing | United States | Belleville Bulls (OHL) |
| 3 | 57 | Sven Butenschon | Defense | Germany | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 3 | 73 | Greg Crozier | Left Wing | Canada | Lawrence Academy (USHS–MA) |
| 3 | 76 | Alexei Krivchenkov | Defense | Russia | CSKA Moscow (Russia) |
| 4 | 102 | Tom O'Connor | Defense | United States | Springfield Olympics (EJHL) |
| 5 | 128 | Clint Johnson | Left Wing | United States | East High School (Duluth) (USHS–MN) |
| 6 | 154 | Valentin Morozov | Center | Russia | CSKA Moscow (Russia) |
| 7 | 161 | Serge Aubin | Center | Canada | Granby Bisons (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 180 | Drew Palmer | Defense | United States | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 8 | 206 | Boris Zelenko | Left Wing | Russia | CSKA Moscow (RUssia) |
| 9 | 232 | Jason Godbout | Defense | United States | Hill-Murray School (USHS–MN) |
| 10 | 258 | Mikhail Kazakevich | Center | Russia | Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia) |
| 11 | 284 | Brian Leitza | Goaltender | United States | Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) |

### Draft notes

* $^a$ The Hartford Whalers' third-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a March 10, 1992, trade that sent Frank Pietrangelo to the Whalers in exchange for a seventh-round pick and this pick.
* $^b$ The Boston Bruins' third-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of an October 8, 1993, trade that sent Paul Stanton to the Bruins in exchange for this pick.
* $^c$ The Hartford Whalers' seventh-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a March 10, 1992, trade that sent Frank Pietrangelo to the Whalers in exchange for a third-round pick and this pick.