Game one

The series opened on Saturday, June 17 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Few gave New Jersey much of a chance against the NHL's best team. Going into the game, Detroit was a perfect 8–0 at home in the playoffs, and had outscored their opponents 30–11 in their eight home games. In the first three rounds alone the Red Wings had scored 18 power-play goals. Detroit fans, first greeting their opponents with a chorus of boos, then chanted after every Devils name was read during introductions, "Who cares?"

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, a slapper from the slot 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 ninth road win of the playoffs.

Game two

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 defenceman 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 defenceman 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 Detroit defenceman 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 defenceman 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. Stéphane Richer would add an empty-net goal as New Jersey won, 4–2.

Game three

Game three, the very first NHL game ever played after the official summer solstice, shifted the series back to the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. During game one, the Detroit crowd taunted the Devils by collectively jeering "Who cares?" after each player was introduced. The Devils fans countered by raining boos down on the visiting Red Wings and delivering chants of "Red Wings suck." The Devils did their talking on the ice, dominating 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, but it was insufficient to keep New Jersey from winning a 5–2 game. They now had a commanding three-games-to-none lead in the series.

Game four

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 passed to Broten, who chipped the puck over Vernon's glove from just in front of the net. The goal, Broten's second of the game, gave the Devils a 3–2 lead. New Jersey would increase its lead 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. He would win the Stanley Cup again the very next season with the Colorado Avalanche.

Detroit Red Wings

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
17		Doug Brown	RW	R	1994–95	Southborough, Massachusetts	first
11		Shawn Burr	LW	L	1984	Sarnia, Ontario	first
22		Dino Ciccarelli	RW	R	1992–93	Sarnia, Ontario	second (1981)
77		Paul Coffey – A	D	L	1992–93	Weston, Ontario	sixth (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991)
33		Kris Draper	C	L	1993–94	Toronto, Ontario	first
21		Bob Errey	LW	L	1994–95	Montreal, Quebec	third (1991, 1992)
91		Sergei Fedorov – A	C	L	1989	Pskov, Soviet Union	first
44		Viacheslav Fetisov	D	L	1994–95	Moscow, Soviet Union	first
4		Mark Howe	D	L	1992–93	Detroit, Michigan	third (1985, 1987 (did not play)
23		Greg Johnson	C	L	1993–94	Thunder Bay, Ontario	first (did not play)
16		Vladimir Konstantinov	D	R	1989	Murmansk, Soviet Union	first
13		Vyacheslav Kozlov	LW	L	1990	Voskresensk, Soviet Union	first
18		Mike Krushelnyski	LW	L	1994–95	Montreal, Quebec	fourth (1985, 1987, 1988)
20		Martin Lapointe	RW	R	1991	Ville St. Pierre, Quebec	first
5		Nicklas Lidstrom	D	L	1989	Krylbo, Sweden	first
25		Darren McCarty	RW	R	1992	Burnaby, British Columbia	first
30		Chris Osgood	G	L	1991	Peace River, Alberta	first
55		Keith Primeau	C	L	1990	Toronto, Ontario	first
15		Mike Ramsey	D	L	1994–95	Minneapolis, Minnesota	first
3		Bob Rouse	D	R	1994–95	Surrey, British Columbia	first
26		Ray Sheppard	RW	R	1991–92	Pembroke, Ontario	first
37		Tim Taylor	C	L	1993–94	Stratford, Ontario	first
29		Mike Vernon	G	L	1994–95	Calgary, Alberta	third (1986, 1989)
19		Steve Yzerman – C	C	R	1983	Cranbrook, British Columbia	first

New Jersey Devils

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
6		Tommy Albelin	D	L	1988–89	Stockholm, Sweden	first
30		Martin Brodeur	G	L	1990	Montreal, Quebec	first
9		Neal Broten	C	L	1994–95	Roseau, Minnesota	third (1981, 1991)
18		Sergei Brylin	C	L	1992	Moscow, Soviet Union	first
19		Bobby Carpenter	C	L	1993–94	Beverly, Massachusetts	first
29		Shawn Chambers	D	L	1994–95	Royal Oak, Michigan	second (1991)
17		Tom Chorske	LW	R	1991–92	Minneapolis, Minnesota	first
20		Danton Cole	RW	R	1994–95	Pontiac, Michigan	first (did not play)
3		Ken Daneyko	D	L	1982	Windsor, Ontario	first
28		Kevin Dean	D	L	1987	Madison, Wisconsin	first (did not play)
11		Jim Dowd	C	R	1987	Brick, New Jersey	first
23		Bruce Driver – A	D	L	1981	Etobicoke, Ontario	first
12		Bill Guerin	RW	R	1989	Worcester, Massachusetts	first
16		Bobby Holik	C	R	1992–93	Jihlava, Czechoslovakia	first
22		Claude Lemieux	RW	R	1990–91	Buckingham, Quebec	third (1986, 1989)
15		John MacLean – A	RW	R	1983	Oshawa, Ontario	first
7		Chris McAlpine	D	R	1990	Roseville, Minnesota	first (did not play)
21		Randy McKay	RW	R	1991–92	Montreal, Quebec	first
27		Scott Niedermayer	D	L	1991	Edmonton, Alberta	first
8		Mike Peluso	LW	L	1993–94	Pengilly, Minnesota	second (1992)
44		Stephane Richer	RW	R	1991–92	Ripon, Quebec	third (1986, 1989)
14		Brian Rolston	C	L	1991	Flint, Michigan	first
4		Scott Stevens – C	D	L	1991–92	Kitchener, Ontario	first
31		Chris Terreri	G	L	1983	Providence, Rhode Island	first (did not play)
25		Valeri Zelepukin	LW	L	1990	Voskresensk, Soviet Union	first

Players