1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins season saw the return of Mario Lemieux after missing a whole season due to injuries. The Penguins improved to first in their division, and second-overall in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, the Penguins made it to the Conference finals before losing to the Florida Panthers.
==Offseason==
==Regular season==
Mario Lemieux's return to the NHL after missing the entire 1994–95 season energized the Penguins and re-instituted the team's finesse game for the 1995–96 season. The Penguins finished second in the Eastern Conference with 102 points. They led all teams in even-strength goals (235) and power-play goals (109). Despite missing 13 regular-season games, Lemieux led the league in goals (69), assists (92), points (161) power-play goals (31), and shorthanded goals (8). Czech superstar Jaromir Jagr had his best season ever, with 62 goals (second in the league), 87 assists (third in the league) and 149 points (second in the league). The third 100-point scorer on the team was Ron Francis, who tallied 27 goals and 92 assists (tied for first in the league with Lemieux) for 119 points. Petr Nedved scored 45 goals and had 54 assists for 99 points in 80 games. He finished second in the league in shooting percentage with 22.1%. Despite missing over a quarter of the season, Tomas Sandstrom also had a great year, scoring 35 goals and picking up 35 assists for 70 points in 58 games.
Lemieux scored three goals or more in a game six times, and four goals or more in a game twice. On Tuesday, March 26, 1996, Mario Lemieux scored five goals in a game against the St. Louis Blues. Lemieux tallied two even-strength goals, two power-play goals and one shorthanded goal in the game. The Penguins won 8–4.
===Season standings===
===Game log===
# 	R	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	W	October 7, 1995 	8–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (season) 	1–0–0
2 	T	October 9, 1995 	6–6 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (season) 	1–0–1
3 	L	October 12, 1995 	1–5 	@ Chicago Blackhawks (season) 	1–1–1
4 	W	October 14, 1995 	5–2 	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (season) 	2–1–1
5 	T	October 20, 1995 	2–2 OT	@ Hartford Whalers (season) 	2–1–2
6 	L	October 21, 1995 	2–3 OT	Los Angeles Kings (season) 	2–2–2
7 	W	October 26, 1995 	7–5 	@ New York Islanders (season) 	3–2–2
8 	W	October 28, 1995 	5–3 	@ New Jersey Devils (season) 	4–2–2
9 	W	November 1, 1995 	10–0 	Tampa Bay Lightning (season) 	5–2–2
10	T	November 3, 1995 	3–3 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (season) 	5–2–3
11	W	November 4, 1995 	7–4 	Philadelphia Flyers (season) 	6–2–3
12	W	November 8, 1995 	7–1 	@ Ottawa Senators (season) 	7–2–3
13	W	November 10, 1995	9–1 	@ San Jose Sharks (season) 	8–2–3
14	L	November 11, 1995	2–3 	@ Los Angeles Kings (season) 	8–3–3
15	W	November 14, 1995	4–2 	Dallas Stars (season) 	9–3–3
16	W	November 17, 1995	3–2 OT	@ Washington Capitals (season) 	10–3–3
17	W	November 18, 1995	3–0 	Washington Capitals (season) 	11–3–3
18	L	November 21, 1995	4–9 	@ New York Rangers (season) 	11–4–3
19	L	November 22, 1995	3–4 	New York Rangers (season) 	11–5–3
20	W	November 25, 1995	5–3 	Buffalo Sabres (season) 	12–5–3
21	W	November 28, 1995	7–2 	Ottawa Senators (season) 	13–5–3
22	W	November 30, 1995	9–6 	@ Boston Bruins (season) 	14–5–3
23	W	December 1, 1995 	2–1 	Florida Panthers (season) 	15–5–3
24	W	December 3, 1995 	5–4 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (season) 	16–5–3
25	W	December 5, 1995 	6–3 	@ New York Islanders (season) 	17–5–3
26	W	December 7, 1995 	7–5 	Montreal Canadiens (season) 	18–5–3
27	W	December 9, 1995 	6–0 	Hartford Whalers (season) 	19–5–3
28	L	December 13, 1995	3–6 	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (season)	19–6–3
29	W	December 15, 1995	5–1 	@ Dallas Stars (season) 	20–6–3
30	L	December 17, 1995	5–6 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (season) 	20–7–3
31	W	December 19, 1995	7–1 	Calgary Flames (season) 	21–7–3
32	L	December 22, 1995	2–4 	Montreal Canadiens (season) 	21–8–3
33	L	December 23, 1995	0–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens (season) 	21–9–3
34	W	December 26, 1995	6–3 	Buffalo Sabres (season) 	22–9–3
35	W	December 28, 1995	9–4 	Hartford Whalers (season) 	23–9–3
36	W	December 30, 1995	6–5 	Florida Panthers (season) 	24–9–3
37	L	January 1, 1996 	2–4 	@ Washington Capitals (season) 	24–10–3
38	W	January 3, 1996 	4–1 	Ottawa Senators (season) 	25–10–3
39	W	January 5, 1996 	5–2 	Detroit Red Wings (season) 	26–10–3
40	L	January 6, 1996 	2–3 	@ St. Louis Blues (season) 	26–11–3
41	W	January 8, 1996 	8–5 	Vancouver Canucks (season) 	27–11–3
42	L	January 12, 1996 	5–6 	Montreal Canadiens (season) 	27–12–3
43	L	January 13, 1996 	8–10 	San Jose Sharks (season) 	27–13–3
44	L	January 16, 1996 	2–5 	Colorado Avalanche (season) 	27–14–3
45	W	January 17, 1996 	1–0 	@ Buffalo Sabres (season) 	28–14–3
46	W	January 22, 1996 	7–6 OT	Boston Bruins (season) 	29–14–3
47	W	January 24, 1996 	4–3 	@ Ottawa Senators (season) 	30–14–3
48	W	January 27, 1996 	7–4 	Philadelphia Flyers (season) 	31–14–3
49	L	January 29, 1996 	1–2 	@ Florida Panthers (season) 	31–15–3
50	L	January 31, 1996 	1–4 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (season) 	31–16–3
51	L	February 3, 1996 	0–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (season) 	31–17–3
52	W	February 6, 1996 	6–5 	Boston Bruins (season) 	32–17–3
53	T	February 7, 1996 	1–1 OT	@ New Jersey Devils (season) 	32–17–4
54	W	February 10, 1996	6–3 	Chicago Blackhawks (season) 	33–17–4
55	L	February 12, 1996	1–4 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (season) 	33–18–4
56	W	February 16, 1996	1–0 	@ Winnipeg Jets (season) 	34–18–4
57	W	February 18, 1996	4–3 OT	New York Rangers (season) 	35–18–4
58	L	February 21, 1996	3–6 	@ Buffalo Sabres (season) 	35–19–4
59	W	February 23, 1996	5–4 	Hartford Whalers (season) 	36–19–4
60	L	February 24, 1996	3–7 	@ Montreal Canadiens (season) 	36–20–4
61	W	February 27, 1996	7–4 	@ Vancouver Canucks (season) 	37–20–4
62	L	February 29, 1996	3–7 	@ Calgary Flames (season) 	37–21–4
63	W	March 1, 1996 	5–4 	@ Edmonton Oilers (season) 	38–21–4
64	W	March 5, 1996 	9–4 	Winnipeg Jets (season) 	39–21–4
65	W	March 7, 1996 	5–1 	Ottawa Senators (season) 	40–21–4
66	L	March 9, 1996 	3–4 OT	New Jersey Devils (season) 	40–22–4
67	L	March 13, 1996 	2–3 	@ Hartford Whalers (season) 	40–23–4
68	L	March 14, 1996 	2–4 	@ Boston Bruins (season) 	40–24–4
69	W	March 16, 1996 	4–2 	New York Islanders (season) 	41–24–4
70	W	March 21, 1996 	5–4 	Edmonton Oilers (season) 	42–24–4
71	L	March 23, 1996 	5–7 	Buffalo Sabres (season) 	42–25–4
72	W	March 24, 1996 	8–2 	@ New York Rangers (season) 	43–25–4
73	W	March 26, 1996 	8–4 	St. Louis Blues (season) 	44–25–4
74	W	March 28, 1996 	3–2 	@ Florida Panthers (season) 	45–25–4
75	W	March 30, 1996 	2–1 	New Jersey Devils (season) 	46–25–4
76	L	March 31, 1996 	1–4 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (season) 	46–26–4
77	W	April 4, 1996 	4–2 	Washington Capitals (season) 	47–26–4
78	W	April 6, 1996 	2–1 	Tampa Bay Lightning (season) 	48–26–4
79	L	April 8, 1996 	4–5 	@ Hartford Whalers (season) 	48–27–4
80	L	April 10, 1996 	2–6 	New York Islanders (season) 	48–28–4
81	W	April 11, 1996 	5–3 	@ Ottawa Senators (season) 	49–28–4
82	L	April 14, 1996 	5–6 	@ Boston Bruins (season) 	49–29–4
==Playoffs==
In the 1996 Playoffs, the Penguins advanced to the third round for the first time since 1992, defeating the Washington Capitals in six games and the New York Rangers in five games. In the Eastern Conference finals, the heavily-favored Penguins were upset in seven games by the defense-oriented Florida Panthers.
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	70	69	92	161	54 	10 	31 	8 	8
 	RW 	82	62	87	149	96 	31 	20 	1 	12
 	C 	77	27	92	119	56 	25 	12 	1 	4
 	C 	80	45	54	99 	68 	37 	8 	1 	5
 	RW 	58	35	35	70 	69 	4 	17 	1 	2
 	D 	64	11	55	66 	22 	28 	3 	2 	1
 	C 	81	24	40	64 	69 	6 	8 	2 	1
 	LW 	66	19	33	52 	36 	17 	3 	0 	4
 	D 	72	3 	31	34 	88 	19 	1 	0 	1
 	RW 	69	14	15	29 	57 	4 	0 	0 	2
 	D 	32	2 	21	23 	32 	12 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	70	5 	14	19 	71 	6 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	71	7 	7 	14 	130	-5 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	70	4 	10	14 	153	20 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	41	2 	10	12 	87 	12 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	13	6 	5 	11 	4 	4 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	66	2 	9 	11 	161	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	69	5 	5 	10 	68 	-5 	0 	0 	3
 	RW 	56	4 	6 	10 	36 	3 	0 	1 	1
 	D 	13	3 	3 	6 	23 	0 	2 	0 	0
 	C/RW	18	2 	4 	6 	4 	-5 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	21	4 	1 	5 	6 	-5 	1 	0 	1
 	D 	11	2 	2 	4 	2 	-2 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	54	2 	2 	4 	59 	-6 	0 	1 	0
 	C 	21	1 	2 	3 	12 	7 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	49	0 	3 	3 	18 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	51	1 	1 	2 	47 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	35	0 	2 	2 	38 	-5 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	37	0 	2 	2 	8 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	10	1 	0 	1 	7 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	8 	0 	0 	0 	8 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	0 	0 	0 	18 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	2 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	3 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	2799	49	29	16	2	160	3.43	2 	1626	1466	.902
 	2132	37	20	13	2	115	3.24	3 	1205	1090	.905
Team: 	4931	82	49	29	4	275	3.35	5 	2831	2556	.903
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	18	11	16	27 	33 	3 	1 	2
 	RW 	18	11	12	23 	18 	5 	1 	1
 	C 	18	10	10	20 	16 	4 	0 	2
 	D 	18	1 	14	15 	26 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	17	1 	9 	10 	36 	1 	0 	1
 	C 	18	5 	4 	9 	10 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	11	3 	6 	9 	4 	2 	0 	1
 	LW 	16	2 	7 	9 	26 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	18	2 	6 	8 	10 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	18	0 	7 	7 	24 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	18	4 	2 	6 	30 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	18	3 	2 	5 	8 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	16	1 	2 	3 	19 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	12	1 	1 	2 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	18	1 	1 	2 	20 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	15	1 	0 	1 	8 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	15	0 	1 	1 	10 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	15	0 	1 	1 	14 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	9 	0 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	10	0 	0 	0 	8 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	4 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	0 	0 	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	C/RW	6 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	9 	0 	0 	0 	19 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	599 	9 	7 	2	23	2.30	0 	328	305	.930
 	558 	10	4 	5	26	2.80	1 	337	311	.923
Team: 	1157	18	11	7	49	2.54	1 	665	616	.926
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage; 
==Awards and records==
===Awards===
Player 	Award
Ron Francis 	Player's Player AwardPittsburgh Penguins Masterton Nominee
Jaromir Jagr 	Bob Johnson Memorial AwardNHL First All-Star Team
Mario Lemieux	Most Valuable Player AwardBooster Club AwardLeading Point Scorer AwardHart Memorial TrophyArt Ross Memorial TrophyLester B. Pearson AwardNHL First All-Star Team
Petr Nedved 	Unsung Hero AwardDisaster Specialists "Baz" Bastien Memorial "Good Guy" Award
Dave Roche 	Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award
==Transactions==
==Personnel==
==Draft picks==
==Farm teams==
The Hampton Roads Admirals of the East Coast Hockey League finished in fifth place in the East Division, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Richmond Renegades.
The Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL finished in third place in the Central Division, but were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Michigan K-Wings.
==See also==
==References==
*Penguins on Hockey Database
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Category:Pittsburgh Penguins seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins season, 1995–96
Pittsburgh Penguins season, 1995–96