1996 Stanley Cup playoffs


The 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League, began on April 16, 1996. The 16 teams that qualified played best-of-seven series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, and then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup. These playoffs are noted as being the first playoffs in which all Canadian teams were eliminated during the first round. The New Jersey Devils, who had won the Stanley Cup the year before, failed to qualify for these playoffs. This was the first time that both Florida teams—the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning—made it to the playoffs.
The playoffs ended on June 10 with the Colorado Avalanche sweeping the Florida Panthers in both teams' first-ever Finals appearance. It was Colorado's first-ever Stanley Cup championship in their inaugural season after relocating from Quebec City prior to the start of the regular season; in the previous years, they were known as the Quebec Nordiques. Joe Sakic was named playoff MVP and awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.
For the second time in three years and the last time until 2013, all of the Original Six teams reached the playoffs. This was also the last time all three California-based teams missed the playoffs in the same year until 2020.
, awarded to the champion of the NHL

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

Eastern Conference

  1. Philadelphia Flyers, Atlantic Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions – 103 points
  2. Pittsburgh Penguins, Northeast Division champions – 102 points
  3. New York Rangers – 96 points
  4. Florida Panthers – 92 points
  5. Boston Bruins – 91 points
  6. Montreal Canadiens – 90 points
  7. Washington Capitals – 89 points
  8. Tampa Bay Lightning – 88 points

    Western Conference

  9. Detroit Red Wings, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 131 points
  10. Colorado Avalanche, Pacific Division champions – 104 points
  11. Chicago Blackhawks – 94 points
  12. Toronto Maple Leafs – 80 points
  13. St. Louis Blues – 80 points
  14. Calgary Flames – 79 points
  15. Vancouver Canucks – 79 points
  16. Winnipeg Jets – 78 points

    Playoff bracket

Conference Quarterfinals

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (8) Tampa Bay Lightning

This was the first playoff series between these two teams. This was the first time that the Tampa Bay area was represented in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (7) Washington Capitals

Game four of this series is the fifth longest game in NHL history. Game six was the last playoff game at USAir Arena.

(3) New York Rangers vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens

(4) Florida Panthers vs. (5) Boston Bruins

This was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. This was the first time that Miami was represented in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Western Conference Quarterfinals

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Winnipeg Jets

This was the first playoff series between these two teams. This was the final playoff series for the original Winnipeg Jets as they relocated to Phoenix, Arizona after the season. Game six was the final NHL game played at the Winnipeg Arena.

(2) Colorado Avalanche vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks

This was the first playoff series between these two teams. This series marked the first appearance of a team representing Colorado in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 18 years. The most recent team to represent Colorado prior to this was the Colorado Rockies who lost in the Preliminary round in 1978.

(3) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (6) Calgary Flames

(4) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (5) St. Louis Blues

Game five was the last playoff game at Maple Leaf Gardens, and game six was the Maple Leafs’ last playoff game as a Western Conference team.

Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference Semifinals

(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (4) Florida Panthers

Game five was the last game played at the CoreStates Spectrum.

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (3) New York Rangers

Western Conference Semifinals

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (5) St. Louis Blues

(2) Colorado Avalanche vs. (3) Chicago Blackhawks

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference Final

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (4) Florida Panthers

This was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. This was the third conference final appearance for Pittsburgh and first since defeating Boston in four games in 1992. Florida made their first appearance in a conference final since entering the league as an expansion team in 1993.
Despite being outshot 33–25 in Game 1, the Panthers came out on top with an impressive 5–1 win. Florida goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck made 32 saves and Florida forward Tom Fitzgerald scored twice. The Penguins wanting to avoid going down two games to none against the Panthers came out with a better effort in game two and won the game 3–2 and evened the series at one game each. In Game 3, the Panthers fired an incredible 61 shots on Penguins goaltender Tom Barrasso and it paid off as the Panthers won 5–2 to take a 2–1 series lead, with Florida forward Stu Barnes scoring twice. Going into the third period of Game 4, the Penguins trailed 1–0. Pittsburgh tied the score on Brad Lauer's goal with 11:03 remaining in regulation, then Bryan Smolinski scored the go ahead goal with 3:31 to go to give the Penguins a 2–1 lead. Pittsburgh hung on to win the game 2–1 and tie the series at two games apiece. In Game 5, the Penguins shut-out the Panthers 3–0, with Tom Barrasso stopping all 28 Florida shots he faced.
Leading the series three games to two, Pittsburgh looked to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in Game 6. The Penguins led 2–1 in the second period, but the Panthers scored three of the next four goals and edged the Penguins 4–3 to tie the series at 3–3. In Game 7, Florida took a 1–0 lead on Mike Hough's goal at 13:13 of the first period. After a scoreless second period, Pittsburgh tied the game on Petr Nedved's power-play goal at 1:23 of the third period. The Panthers regained the lead on Tom Fitzgerald's bizarre 58-foot slapshot at 6:18 and got an insurance goal from Johan Garpenlov at 17:23. Florida hung on to win the game 3–1 and the series four games to three, John Vanbiesbrouck making 39 saves in the victory. To date, this remains the last playoff series victory for the Panthers.

Western Conference Final

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (2) Colorado Avalanche

This was the first playoff series between these two teams. This was the fourth conference final appearance for Detroit and second in consecutive years as the Red Wings defeated Chicago in five games the year before. Colorado made their third conference final appearance in franchise history and first since losing to Philadelphia in six games in 1985 when the team was known as the Quebec Nordiques.
Game 1 was a hard-fought battle. The score was tied at two in the first overtime period when Mike Keane scored at 17:31 to give Colorado a 3–2 win. The Avalanche won Game 2, 3–0, with Colorado goaltender Patrick Roy stopping all 35 shots faced. Down two games to none, the Red Wings played solidly in Game 3. Detroit defencemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov combined to score three goals and Detroit won 6–4. In game four the Red Wings outshot the Avalanche 31–17 but lost the game 4–2 thanks to 29 saves made by Patrick Roy.
Detroit played with desperation and determination in game five. Inspired by Vladimir Konstantinov's big body check on Avalanche forward Claude Lemieux, the Red Wings went on to win 5–2. The Red Wings victory forced a Game 6 back in Colorado. Game 6 became famous in the history of the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry. At 14:07 of the first period, Detroit forward Kris Draper was down along the half-boards at centre ice when Colorado forward Claude Lemieux checked Draper's head from behind into the edge of the bench. The hit sent Draper to the hospital with a broken jaw and a shattered cheek and orbital bone, which required surgery and stitches. Draper did not return to play until the middle of the 1996–97 season. While Lemieux was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct match penalty for the hit, the Avalanche went on to win the game 4–1 and completed the upset. The controversial hit on Draper by Lemieux was a catalyst for the Detroit–Colorado rivalry that endured for a decade.

Stanley Cup Finals

Since the formation of the NHL in 1917 this was the only time to date that both teams competing in the Stanley Cup Finals made their first appearance.
This was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. Colorado made their first Finals appearance in their first season in Denver, this was the franchise's seventeenth season in the league, while Florida made their first Finals appearance in just their third season of existence. Colorado became the third NHL team to win the Stanley Cup following a relocation, and the first to do so in their inaugural season after relocation.

Playoff statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.
PlayerTeam
Joe SakicColorado Avalanche22181634+1014
Mario LemieuxPittsburgh Penguins18111627+333
Jaromir JagrPittsburgh Penguins18111223+718
Valeri KamenskyColorado Avalanche22101222+1128
Peter ForsbergColorado Avalanche22101121+1018
Petr NedvedPittsburgh Penguins18101020+316
Steve YzermanDetroit Red Wings1881220-14
Sergei FedorovDetroit Red Wings1921820+810
Sandis OzolinshColorado Avalanche2251419+516
Dave LowryFlorida Panthers2210717+839

Goaltenders

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.
PlayerTeam
Chicago Blackhawks963323232.07.9291 665:54
Colorado Avalanche22166649512.10.9213 1453:53
Detroit Red Wings1587322332.12.8982 935:48
Philadelphia Flyers1266319272.13.9150 759:41
Florida Panthers221210735502.25.9321 1331:31