1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins season saw the return of Mario Lemieux after missing an entire season due to injuries. The Penguins improved to first in the Northeast Division and second overall in the Eastern Conference. In the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Penguins progressed to the Conference Finals before losing to the Florida Panthers.

1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins
Northeast Division champions
Division1st Northeast
Conference2nd Eastern
1995–96 record49–29–4
Home record32–9–0
Road record17–20–4
Goals for362
Goals against284
Team information
General managerCraig Patrick
CoachEddie Johnston
CaptainMario Lemieux
Alternate captainsRon Francis
Jaromir Jagr
ArenaPittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
GoalsMario Lemieux (69)
AssistsMario Lemieux (92)
PointsMario Lemieux (161)
Penalty minutesFrancois Leroux (161)
WinsTom Barrasso (29)
Goals against averageKen Wregget (3.24)

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, leading all League teams in goals (362), even-strength goals (235), power-play goals (109), power-play percentage (25.95%) and shooting percentage while scoring 362 goals on just 2,645 shots (13.7%).[1][2] Despite missing 12 regular-season games, Lemieux led the NHL in goals (69), assists (92), points (161) power-play goals (31) and shorthanded goals (8). Czech superstar Jaromir Jagr had a career year, scoring 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 NHL 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 NHL in shooting percentage, with 22.1%.[3] Despite missing over a quarter of the season, Tomas Sandstrom also had a strong 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 March 26, 1996, he scored five goals in a home game against the St. Louis Blues. Lemieux tallied two even-strength goals, two power-play goals and one short-handed goal in the game, which the Penguins won 8–4.

Season standings

Northeast Division
No. GP W L T GF GA PTS
1Pittsburgh Penguins8249294362284102
2Boston Bruins8240311128226991
3Montreal Canadiens8240321026524890
4Hartford Whalers823439923725977
5Buffalo Sabres823342724726272
6Ottawa Senators821859519129141
Eastern Conference[4]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1Philadelphia FlyersATL82452413282208103
2Pittsburgh PenguinsNE8249294362284102
3New York RangersATL8241271427223796
4Florida PanthersATL8241311025423492
5Boston BruinsNE8240311128226991
6Montreal CanadiensNE8240321026524890
7Washington CapitalsATL8239321123420489
8Tampa Bay LightningATL8238321223824888
9New Jersey DevilsATL8237331221520286
10Hartford WhalersNE823439923725977
11Buffalo SabresNE823342724726273
12New York IslandersATL8222501022931554
13Ottawa SenatorsNE821859519129141

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

1995–96 Schedule
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie

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.

1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Legend:        = Win        = Loss

Suspensions

PlayerLengthDateReason
Ron Francis2 gamesFebruary 27, 1996Checking from behind

Injuries

PlayerInjuryDate
Tom BarrassoPulled Groin (DTD)December 7, 1995
Tom BarrassoShoulder injury (Out Indefinitely)February 5, 1996
Stefan BergkvistAppendectomyFebruary 21, 1996

Player statistics

Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season[7]
Player GP TOI W L T GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Tom Barrasso492799:01291621603.4316260.90220318
Ken Wregget372132:15201321153.2412050.9053028
Total4931:16492942753.3528310.90350526
Playoffs[8]
Player GP TOI W L T GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Ken Wregget9598:47720232.303280.930010
Tom Barrasso10557:30450262.803370.9231008
Total1156:171170492.546650.9261018

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

PlayerAward
Ron FrancisPlayer's Player Award
Pittsburgh Penguins Masterton Nominee
Jaromir JagrBob Johnson Memorial Award
NHL First All-Star Team
Mario LemieuxMost Valuable Player Award
Booster Club Award
Leading Point Scorer Award
Hart Memorial Trophy
Art Ross Trophy
Lester B. Pearson Award
NHL First All-Star Team
Petr NedvedUnsung Hero Award
Disaster Specialists "Baz" Bastien Memorial "Good Guy" Award
Dave RocheEdward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award

Transactions

The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 1995–96 season:[9]

Trades

July 8, 1995 To Toronto Maple Leafs

Larry Murphy

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Dmitri Mironov
1996 2nd round pick

August 1, 1995 To Boston Bruins

Kevin Stevens
Shawn McEachern

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Glen Murray
Bryan Smolinski
1996 3rd round pick

August 31, 1995 To New York Rangers

Luc Robitaille
Ulf Samuelsson

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Petr Nedved
Sergei Zubov

December 28, 1995 To Winnipeg Jets

Norm MacIver

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Neil Wilkinson

March 1, 1996 To Ottawa Senators

1996 8th round pick

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Dave McLlwain

March 20, 1996 To Vancouver Canucks

Markus Naslund

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Alek Stojanov

March 20, 1996 To St. Louis Blues

1996 6th round pick

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Jean-Jacques Daigneault

March 20, 1996 To San Jose Sharks

1996 5th round pick

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Kevin Miller

Free agents

Player Acquired from Lost to Date
Troy MurrayColorado AvalancheAugust 7, 1995
Corey FosterOttawa SenatorsAugust 7, 1995
Peter TaglianettiBoston BruinsAugust 9, 1995
Peter AllenBoston BruinsAugust 10, 1995
Mike HudsonToronto Maple LeafsAugust 28, 1995
Joe MullenBoston BruinsSeptember 8, 1995
John CullenTampa Bay LightningSeptember 11, 1995
Ladislav KarabinBuffalo SabresSeptember 20, 1995

Signings

Player Date
Brad LauerAugust 10, 1995
Evgeny DavydovAugust 10, 1995
Troy CrowderAugust 10, 1995
Glen MurraySeptember 8, 1995

Other

Name Date Details
Evgeny DavydovSeptember 25, 1995Released
Perry GancharOctober 15, 1995Retired

Personnel

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age NHL Draft Birthplace
38 Peter Allen D R 26 1991 Calgary, Alberta
28 Greg Andrusak D R 26 1988 Cranbrook, British Columbia
35 Tom Barrasso G R 31 1983 Boston, Massachusetts
9 Len Barrie C L 27 1988 Kimberley, British Columbia
55 Drake Berehowsky D R 24 1990 Toronto, Ontario
33 Stefan Bergqvist D L 21 1993 Leksand, Sweden
28 Jeffrey Christian LW L 25 1988 Burlington, Ontario
36 J. J. Daigneault D L 30 1984 Montreal, Quebec
16 Joe Dziedzic LW L 24 1990 Minneapolis, Minnesota
52 Rusty Fitzgerald C L 23 1991 Minneapolis, Minnesota
4 Corey Foster D L 26 1988 Ottawa, Ontario
10 Ron Francis (A) C L 33 1981 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
68 Jaromir Jagr (A) RW L 24 1990 Kladno, Czech Republic
23 Chris Joseph D R 26 1987 Burnaby, British Columbia
14 Brad Lauer RW L 29 1985 Humboldt, Saskatchewan
66 Mario Lemieux (C) C R 30 1984 Montreal, Quebec
18 Francois Leroux D L 26 1988 Ste-Adele, Quebec
26 Dave McLlwain C L 29 1986 Seaforth, Ontario
8 Kevin Miller C R 30 1984 Lansing, Michigan
15 Dmitri Mironov D R 30 1991 Moscow, Russia
24 Ian Moran D R 23 1990 Cleveland, Ohio
27 Glen Murray RW R 23 1991 Halifax, Nova Scotia
93 Petr Nedved C L 24 1990 Liberec, Czech Republic
76 Richard Park RW R 20 1994 Seoul, South Korea
44 Ed Patterson RW R 23 1991 Delta, British Columbia
51 Dave Roche LW L 20 1993 Lindsay, Ontario
17 Tomas Sandstrom RW L 31 1982 Jakobstad, Finland
20 Bryan Smolinski C R 24 1990 Toledo, Ohio
11 Alek Stojanov RW L 23 1991 Windsor, Ontario
2 Chris Tamer D L 25 1990 Dearborn, Michigan
12 Chris Wells C L 20 1994 Calgary, Alberta
6 Neil Wilkinson D R 28 1986 Selkirk, Manitoba
31 Ken Wregget G L 32 1982 Brandon, Manitoba
56 Sergei Zubov D R 25 1990 Moscow, Russia

Draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.[10]

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 24 Aleksey Morozov Right Wing  Russia Krylja Sovetov (Russia)
3 76 Jean-Sebastien Aubin Goaltender  Canada Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL)
4 102 Oleg Belov Center  Russia CSKA Moscow (Russia)
5 128 Jan Hrdina Center  Czech Republic Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
6 154 Alexei Kolkunov Center  Russia Krylja Sovetov (Russia)
7 180 Derrick Pyke Right Wing  Canada Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
8 206 Sergei Voronov Defense  Russia Moscow Dynamo (Russia)
9 232 Frank Ivankovic Goaltender  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHL)
Draft notes[11]

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 International Hockey League (IHL) finished in third place in the Central Division, but were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Michigan K-Wings.

References

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