# 1995–96 Boston Bruins season

The 1995–96 Boston Bruins season was the team's 72nd season. It was the Bruins' first season at Fleet Center, which replaced Boston Garden as their home venue.

## Regular season

During the regular season, the Bruins led the league in shots on goal with 2,838.

### Final standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
| 1 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 49 | 29 | 4 | 362 | 284 | 102 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 282 | 269 | 91 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 265 | 248 | 90 |
| 4 | Hartford Whalers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 237 | 259 | 77 |
| 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 33 | 42 | 7 | 247 | 262 | 72 |
| 6 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 18 | 59 | 5 | 191 | 291 | 41 |
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

The Bruins qualified for the playoffs for the 29th consecutive season, an NHL record that still stands (as of the 2022–23 season). The streak ended one season later. The Bruins were seeded 5th in the Eastern Conference and faced the 4th-seeded Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Bruins lost the series in five games after falling behind three games to none. The Panthers went on to lose to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1995–96 regular season :
October: 3–5–2 (home: 2–2–1; road: 1–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TOctober 7, 19954–4 OTNew York Islanders (1995–96)0–0–1Recap
2WOctober 9, 19955–3Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)1–0–1Recap
3LOctober 11, 19951–3@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)1–1–1Recap
4TOctober 12, 19956–6 OT@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)1–1–2Recap
5LOctober 14, 19955–6@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)1–2–2Recap
6WOctober 17, 19957–4@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)2–2–2Recap
7LOctober 21, 19952–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)2–3–2Recap
8LOctober 26, 19952–4Washington Capitals (1995–96)2–4–2Recap
9WOctober 28, 19953–0Hartford Whalers (1995–96)3–4–2Recap
10LOctober 31, 19951–3Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)3–5–2Recap :
November: 5–5–2 (home: 4–3–1; road: 1–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11LNovember 2, 19955–6 OTDetroit Red Wings (1995–96)3–6–2Recap
12LNovember 4, 19951–4@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)3–7–2Recap
13WNovember 7, 19954–3@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)4–7–2Recap
14WNovember 9, 19954–3Ottawa Senators (1995–96)5–7–2Recap
15LNovember 11, 19951–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)5–8–2Recap
16LNovember 14, 19953–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)5–9–2Recap
17TNovember 16, 19952–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (1995–96)5–9–3Recap
18WNovember 18, 19955–2St. Louis Blues (1995–96)6–9–3Recap
19WNovember 21, 19955–4Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)7–9–3Recap
20WNovember 24, 19952–1Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)8–9–3Recap
21TNovember 25, 19953–3 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)8–9–4Recap
22LNovember 30, 19956–9Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)8–10–4Recap :
December: 7–4–1 (home: 5–0–0; road: 2–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
23WDecember 2, 19956–4Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)9–10–4Recap
24LDecember 3, 19951–6@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)9–11–4Recap
25WDecember 5, 19956–4Dallas Stars (1995–96)10–11–4Recap
26LDecember 8, 19951–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)10–12–4Recap
27LDecember 9, 19951–3@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)10–13–4Recap
28LDecember 13, 19952–4@ New York Rangers (1995–96)10–14–4Recap
29WDecember 14, 19956–4Florida Panthers (1995–96)11–14–4Recap
30WDecember 16, 19956–3Calgary Flames (1995–96)12–14–4Recap
31WDecember 22, 19953–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)13–14–4Recap
32WDecember 23, 19957–5Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)14–14–4Recap
33TDecember 26, 19953–3 OT@ New York Islanders (1995–96)14–14–5Recap
34WDecember 31, 19955–3@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)15–14–5Recap :
January: 6–6–1 (home: 4–4–0; road: 2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
35LJanuary 2, 19962–5Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)15–15–5Recap
36TJanuary 3, 19964–4 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)15–15–6Recap
37WJanuary 6, 19965–2Hartford Whalers (1995–96)16–15–6Recap
38LJanuary 9, 19960–3Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)16–16–6Recap
39WJanuary 11, 19967–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)17–16–6Recap
40WJanuary 13, 19963–2New Jersey Devils (1995–96)18–16–6Recap
41LJanuary 15, 19960–6Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)18–17–6Recap
42WJanuary 16, 19964–2@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)19–17–6Recap
43LJanuary 22, 19966–7 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)19–18–6Recap
44WJanuary 25, 19964–3Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)20–18–6Recap
45LJanuary 27, 19963–5New York Rangers (1995–96)20–19–6Recap
46LJanuary 28, 19964–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)20–20–6Recap
47WJanuary 31, 19963–1@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)21–20–6Recap :
February: 6–6–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 5–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
48TFebruary 1, 19962–2 OTFlorida Panthers (1995–96)21–20–7Recap
49WFebruary 3, 19964–2Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)22–20–7Recap
50LFebruary 6, 19965–6@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)22–21–7Recap
51LFebruary 7, 19961–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)22–22–7Recap
52LFebruary 10, 19962–6Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)22–23–7Recap
53WFebruary 14, 19963–0@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)23–23–7Recap
54LFebruary 15, 19960–3@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)23–24–7Recap
55WFebruary 17, 19964–1@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)24–24–7Recap
56TFebruary 19, 19963–3 OT@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)24–24–8Recap
57LFebruary 21, 19963–4 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)24–25–8Recap
58WFebruary 23, 19967–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)25–25–8Recap
59WFebruary 24, 19962–1@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)26–25–8Recap
60LFebruary 27, 19963–4 OTEdmonton Oilers (1995–96)26–26–8Recap
61WFebruary 28, 19963–1@ New York Rangers (1995–96)27–26–8Recap :
March: 9–4–1 (home: 4–3–1; road: 5–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
62LMarch 2, 19960–2Washington Capitals (1995–96)27–27–8Recap
63LMarch 5, 19963–5@ New York Islanders (1995–96)27–28–8Recap
64WMarch 7, 19964–3New York Islanders (1995–96)28–28–8Recap
65WMarch 9, 19963–2Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)29–28–8Recap
66WMarch 10, 19964–1@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)30–28–8Recap
67WMarch 14, 19964–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)31–28–8Recap
68WMarch 15, 19965–2@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)32–28–8Recap
69TMarch 18, 19963–3 OTSan Jose Sharks (1995–96)32–28–9Recap
70WMarch 20, 19962–1@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)33–28–9Recap
71WMarch 21, 19963–1Ottawa Senators (1995–96)34–28–9Recap
72LMarch 23, 19964–5New York Rangers (1995–96)34–29–9Recap
73WMarch 27, 19966–5 OT@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)35–29–9Recap
74LMarch 28, 19963–4 OTMontreal Canadiens (1995–96)35–30–9Recap
75WMarch 31, 19966–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)36–30–9Recap :
April: 4–1–2 (home: 2–0–1; road: 2–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
76TApril 1, 19961–1 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)36–30–10Recap
77WApril 3, 19964–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)37–30–10Recap
78TApril 4, 19963–3 OTMontreal Canadiens (1995–96)37–30–11Recap
79WApril 7, 19964–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)38–30–11Recap
80WApril 11, 19963–2Hartford Whalers (1995–96)39–30–11Recap
81LApril 13, 19960–2@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)39–31–11Recap
82WApril 14, 19966–5Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)40–31–11Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1996 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (4) Florida Panthers – Panthers win 4–1
GameResultDateScoreOpponentAttendanceSeriesRecap
1LApril 17, 19963–6@ Florida Panthers14,703Panthers lead 1–0Recap
2LApril 22, 19962–6@ Florida Panthers14,703Panthers lead 2–0Recap
3LApril 24, 19962–4Florida Panthers14,922Panthers lead 3–0Recap
4WApril 25, 19966–2Florida Panthers14,810Panthers lead 3–1Recap
5LApril 27, 19963–4@ Florida Panthers14,703Panthers win 4–1Recap :
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 Bruins only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins 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 |
| 12 | Adam Oates | C | 70 | 25 | 67 | 92 | 16 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −3 | 2 |
| 77 | Ray Bourque | D | 82 | 20 | 62 | 82 | 31 | 58 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −4 | 2 |
| 16 | Jozef Stumpel | C | 76 | 18 | 36 | 54 | −8 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 0 |
| 14 | Shawn McEachern | LW | 82 | 24 | 29 | 53 | −5 | 34 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 8 |
| 21 | Ted Donato | LW | 82 | 23 | 26 | 49 | 6 | 46 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −3 | 2 |
| 8 | Cam Neely | RW | 49 | 26 | 20 | 46 | 3 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Todd Elik | LW | 59 | 13 | 33 | 46 | 2 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 16 |
| 17 | Dave Reid | C | 63 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 2 |
| 45 | Sandy Moger | RW | 80 | 15 | 14 | 29 | −9 | 65 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −1 | 12 |
| 23 | Steve Heinze | RW | 76 | 16 | 12 | 28 | −3 | 43 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 32 | Don Sweeney | D | 77 | 4 | 24 | 28 | −4 | 42 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 6 |
| 22 | Rick Tocchet† | RW | 27 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 7 | 64 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | −7 | 21 |
| 25 | Kevin Stevens‡ | LW | 41 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 1 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Steve Leach‡ | RW | 59 | 9 | 13 | 22 | −4 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 46 | Kyle McLaren | D | 74 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 73 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 14 |
| 42 | Tim Sweeney | LW | 41 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Joe Mullen | RW | 37 | 8 | 7 | 15 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Rick Zombo | D | 67 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −7 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | Jon Rohloff | D | 79 | 1 | 12 | 13 | −8 | 59 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −3 | 2 |
| 10 | Ron Sutter† | C | 18 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 8 |
| 19 | Mariusz Czerkawski‡ | RW | 33 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −11 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Dean Chynoweth† | D | 35 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −1 | 88 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 24 |
| 37 | Clayton Beddoes | C | 39 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −5 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | Phil Von Stefenelli | D | 27 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Bill Ranford† | G | 40 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 6 | Alexei Kasatonov | D | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Scott Bailey | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Craig Billington | G | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 40 | Mark Cornforth | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | John Gruden | D | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Ryan Hughes | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Blaine Lacher | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 44 | Davis Payne | LW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Marc Potvin | RW | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 18 |
| 49 | Andre Roy | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Kevin Sawyer† | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 48 | Steve Staios† | D | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 26 | Cam Stewart | C | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Robbie Tallas | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | 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 | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | GS | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | GS | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 30 | Bill Ranford† | 40 | 39 | 21 | 12 | 4 | 1,030 | 109 | 2.84 | .894 | 1 | 2,306:31 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 112 | 16 | 4.01 | .857 | 0 | 239:15 |
| 1 | Craig Billington | 27 | 24 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 594 | 79 | 3.44 | .867 | 1 | 1,379:42 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 6 | 6.00 | .786 | 0 | 60:00 |
| 39 | Scott Bailey | 11 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 264 | 31 | 3.26 | .883 | 0 | 570:57 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Blaine Lacher | 12 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 284 | 44 | 3.94 | .845 | 0 | 670:45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Robbie Tallas | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 3.00 | .897 | 0 | 60:00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Lester Patrick Trophy | Milt Schmidt |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Kyle McLaren (Defense) |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star team | Ray Bourque (Defense) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Ray Bourque |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Cam Neely |
| Team | Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy | Ray Bourque |
| Team | Seventh Player Award | Kyle McLaren |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Adam Oates (1st) |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Ray Bourque (2nd) |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Bill Ranford (3rd) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Kyle McLaren | October 7, 1995 |
| First game | Phil Von Stefenelli | October 26, 1995 |
| First game | Ryan Hughes | November 4, 1995 |
| First game | Mark Cornforth | November 4, 1995 |
| First game | Scott Bailey | November 16, 1995 |
| First game | Clayton Beddoes | December 2, 1995 |
| First game | Andre Roy | February 3, 1996 |
| First game | Davis Payne | February 7, 1996 |
| First game | Rob Tallas | March 7, 1996 |
| First game | Steve Staios | March 21, 1996 |
| 1,000th game played | Joe Mullen | March 5, 1996 |
| 500th game played | Bill Ranford | March 5, 1996 |

## Transactions
### Waivers

| Date | Player | Team |
| October 2, 1995 (1995-10-02) | Brent Hughes | to Buffalo Sabres in waiver draft |

## Draft picks

Boston's draft picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1$^1$ | 9 | Kyle McLaren | D | Canada | Tacoma Rockets (WHL) |
| 1 | 21 | Sean Brown | D | Canada | Belleville Bulls (OHL) |
| 2 | 47 | Paxton Schafer | G | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 3 | 73 | Bill McCauley | D | United States | Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL) |
| 4 | 99 | Cameron Mann | RW | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 6 | 151 | Evgeny Shaldybin | D | Russia | Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia) |
| 7 | 177 | P. J. Axelsson | LW | Sweden | Frölunda HC (Sweden) |
| 8 | 203 | Sergei Zhukov | D | Russia | Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia) |
| 9 | 229 | Jonathan Murphy | D | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |

### Notes

* The Bruins acquired this pick as the result of a trade on August 26, 1994 that sent Glen Wesley to Hartford in exchange for first-round picks in 1996, 1997 and this pick.
* The Bruins fifth-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on January 17, 1994 that sent Vincent Riendeau to Boston in exchange for this pick (125th overall).