1995 Stanley Cup Finals In the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals , were held from June 17 to June 24 , 1995 . The New Jersey Devils defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 0 . It was the second sweep in the Finals in four years . This win by the Devils marked their first Stanley Cup title , after 21 seasons and two franchise relocations . Background . To get to the finals New Jersey defeated the Boston Bruins 4 – 1 , the Pittsburgh Penguins 4 – 1 , and the Philadelphia Flyers 4 – 2 . Detroit defeated the Dallas Stars 4 – 1 , the San Jose Sharks 4 – 0 and the Chicago Blackhawks 4 – 1 . The Series . The series opened on Saturday , June 17th at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit , Michigan . Few gave New Jersey much of a chance against the NHL ’ s best team . After a scoreless first period , the underdog Devils got on the board first , when Stephane Richer blasted a slap shot from the top of the right circle that just squeezed through Detroit goaltender Mike Vernon . The power - play goal came at 9 : 41 of the second period and gave New Jersey a 1 - 0 lead . The Red Wings responded less than four minutes later and tied the game on a power - play goal by Dino Ciccarelli at 13 : 08 . The Devils would regain the lead on a goal by Claude Lemieux who stuffed a rebound past Vernon at 3 : 17 of the third period . New Jersey would go on to win the game 2 - 1 and take a one - game - to - none series lead . They played a solid defensive game , frustrating the Red Wings and holding them to just 17 shots . The win was their record - setting ninth road win of the playoffs . In game two , Detroit played with a sense of urgency . Vyacheslav Kozlov scored on the power play at 7 : 17 of the second period to make the score 1 - 0 in favor of the Red Wings . Devils forward John MacLean would tie the game at 1 - 1 less than two and a half minutes later with a goal at 9 : 40 . Then , on a Detroit breakaway , New Jersey defenseman and captain Scott Stevens laid a thundering body check on Kozlov as he made a move to the inside past the New Jersey blue line . Although the Red Wings regained the lead on Sergei Fedorov ' s goal at 1 : 36 of the third period , the Stevens hit seemed to inspire the Devils . With the midway point of the third period approaching , New Jersey defenseman Scott Niedermayer picked up the puck in his own zone and skated up the ice . Once over the Detroit blue line , he got a step on defenseman Paul Coffey and fired a shot towards the Detroit net . Although the puck missed the net , it bounced off the end boards and came right back to Niedermayer who shot it past Mike Vernon to tie the game at 2 - 2 . The game remained tied until late in the third period . Devils defenseman Shawn Chambers fired a shot from the point and the rebound came right to Jim Dowd who backhanded the puck into the net to give the Devils a 3 - 2 lead . Stephane Richer would add an empty - net goal as New Jersey won , 4 - 2 . New Jersey had shocked everyone in the hockey world by winning the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals in Detroit . In game three at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford , NJ , the Devils dominated the Red Wings , scoring five consecutive goals . Bruce Driver , Claude Lemieux , Neal Broten , Randy McKay and Bobby Holik all scored to give the Devils a 5 - 0 lead with 11 : 46 remaining in the game . Detroit scored twice on power - play goals by Sergei Fedorov and Steve Yzerman at 16 : 57 and 18 : 27 of the third period , as New Jersey won 5 - 2 . They now had a commanding three - games - to - none lead in the series . In game four on Saturday , June 24th , the Devils jumped out to a 1 - 0 lead on Neal Broten ’ s goal just 68 seconds into the game . However , the Red Wings were fighting to stay alive and tied the game on Sergei Fedorov ' s goal just 55 seconds later . Coffey scored a shorthanded goal at 13 : 01 to give Detroit a 2 - 1 lead . New Jersey responded less than five minutes later , at 17 : 45 on a slap - shot goal by Shawn Chambers that beat Mike Vernon glove side . Then in the second period , Scott Niedermayer fed Broten in front of the net who chipped the puck over Vernon ’ s glove . The goal was Broten ’ s second of the game and it gave the Devils a 3 - 2 lead . New Jersey would its lead increase with goals by Sergei Brylin and Chambers ( his second of the game ) at 7 : 46 and 12 : 32 of the third period . The Devils won the game 5 - 2 and the series four games to none . It was New Jersey ' s first Stanley Cup Championship in team history . Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur allowed just seven goals against the Red Wings in the series and Devils forward Claude Lemieux was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP , having led all skaters in playoff goals with 13 . New Jersey Devils 1995 Stanley Cup Champions . Scott Stevens ( captain ) , Martin Brodeur , Tommy Albelin , Neal Broten , Sergei Brylin , Bob Carpenter , Shawn Chambers , Tom Chorske , Danton Cole , Ken Daneyko , Kevin Dean , Jim Dowd , Bruce Driver , Bill Guerin , Bobby Holik , Claude Lemieux , John MacLean , Chris McAlpine , Randy McKay , Scott Niedermayer , Mike David Peluso , Stephane Richer , Brian Rolston , Chris Terreri , Valeri Zelepukin , Lou Lamoriello ( president / general manager ) , Jacques Lemaire ( head coach )