1996 Stanley Cup playoffs
Tournament details
DatesApril 16–June 10, 1996
Teams16
Defending championsNew Jersey Devils
(did not qualify)
Final positions
ChampionsColorado Avalanche
Runner-upFlorida Panthers
Tournament statistics
Scoring leader(s)Joe Sakic (Avalanche) (34 points)
MVPJoe Sakic (Avalanche)

The 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 16, 1996. The playoffs ended on June 10, 1996, with the Colorado Avalanche sweeping the Florida Panthers to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in both teams' first Finals appearance. Colorado became the first relocated team to win the Stanley Cup in their inaugural season after relocating from Quebec City prior to the start of the regular season.

The New Jersey Devils became the first defending champion to fail to qualify for the playoffs since the Montreal Canadiens in 1970. Five Canadian teams qualified for the playoffs and all of them were eliminated during the opening round. This was the first time that both Florida teams (the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning) made it to the playoffs, each in their inaugural appearance. 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.

The Stanley Cup, 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

  1. Detroit Red Wings, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 131 points
  2. Colorado Avalanche, Pacific Division champions – 104 points
  3. Chicago Blackhawks – 94 points
  4. Toronto Maple Leafs – 80 points (34 wins)
  5. St. Louis Blues – 80 points (32 wins)
  6. Calgary Flames – 79 points (34 wins)
  7. Vancouver Canucks – 79 points (32 wins)
  8. Winnipeg Jets – 78 points

Playoff bracket

In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice was awarded to the team with the better regular season record. Each best-of-seven series followed a 2–2–1–1–1 format: the higher-seeded team played at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the lower-seeded team was at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary).

Conference quarterfinals Conference semifinals Conference finals Stanley Cup Finals
            
1 Philadelphia 4
8 Tampa Bay 2
1 Philadelphia 2
4 Florida 4
2 Pittsburgh 4
7 Washington 2
4 Florida 4
Eastern Conference
2 Pittsburgh 3
3 NY Rangers 4
6 Montreal 2
2 Pittsburgh 4
3 NY Rangers 1
4 Florida 4
5 Boston 1
E4 Florida 0
W2 Colorado 4
1 Detroit 4
8 Winnipeg 2
1 Detroit 4
5 St. Louis 3
2 Colorado 4
7 Vancouver 2
1 Detroit 2
Western Conference
2 Colorado 4
3 Chicago 4
6 Calgary 0
2 Colorado 4
3 Chicago 2
4 Toronto 2
5 St. Louis 4

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern Conference quarterfinals

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

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was the first time that the Tampa Bay area was represented in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Game six was the final game they ever played at the Thunderdome.

April 16 Tampa Bay Lightning 3–7 Philadelphia Flyers CoreStates Spectrum Recap  
No scoring First period 00:55 – Dale Hawerchuk (1)
05:56 – pp – Joel Otto (1)
06:27 – Trent Klatt (1)
Jason Wiemer (1) – pp – 15:08
Mikael Andersson (1) – 16:26		 Second period 03:41 – John LeClair (1)
07:32 – pp – Eric Lindros (1)
12:01 – Pat Falloon (1)
John Cullen (1) – 04:01 Third period 12:27 – Rod Brind'Amour (1)
Daren Puppa 10 saves / 14 shots
Jeff Reese 15 saves / 18 shots		 Goalie stats Ron Hextall 14 saves / 17 shots
April 18 Tampa Bay Lightning 2–1 OT Philadelphia Flyers CoreStates Spectrum Recap  
No scoring First period 01:48 – pp – Dale Hawerchuk (2)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Alexander Selivanov (1) – 04:02 Third period No scoring
Brian Bellows (1) – 09:05 First overtime period No scoring
Daren Puppa 26 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Ron Hextall 25 saves / 27 shots
April 21 Philadelphia Flyers 4–5 OT Tampa Bay Lightning Thunderdome Recap  
Joel Otto (2) – 10:30
Trent Klatt (2) – 18:33		 First period 02:52 – pp – Petr Klima (1)
Pat Falloon (2) – pp – 00:39 Second period 02:56 – sh – Rob Zamuner (1)
14:43 – Rob Zamuner (2)
Eric Lindros (2) – 03:20 Third period 18:41 – Brian Bellows (2)
No scoring First overtime period 02:04 – Alexander Selivanov (2)
Ron Hextall 27 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Jeff Reese 38 saves / 42 shots
April 23 Philadelphia Flyers 4–1 Tampa Bay Lightning Thunderdome Recap  
John LeClair (2) – pp – 07:56
Joel Otto (3) – 12:43		 First period No scoring
Dale Hawerchuk (3) – 16:55 Second period 09:24 – pp – Petr Klima (2)
John LeClair (3) – pp – 10:17 Third period No scoring
Ron Hextall 21 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Jeff Reese 29 saves / 33 shots
April 25 Tampa Bay Lightning 1–4 Philadelphia Flyers CoreStates Spectrum Recap  
No scoring First period 11:13 – pp – Mikael Renberg (1)
No scoring Second period 01:50 – Shjon Podein (1)
John Cullen (2) – sh – 17:59 Third period 01:21 – pp – Pat Falloon (3)
02:43 – pp – John LeClair (4)
Daren Puppa 20 saves / 24 shots
Jeff Reese 3 saves / 3 shots		 Goalie stats Ron Hextall 23 saves / 24 shots
April 27 Philadelphia Flyers 6–1 Tampa Bay Lightning Thunderdome Recap  
Karl Dykhuis (1) – pp – 05:45
Shawn Antoski (1) – 06:40
Trent Klatt (3) – 14:53		 First period 09:27 – John Cullen (3)
Bob Corkum (1) – 12:12
Eric Lindros (3) – 12:59		 Second period No scoring
Kjell Samuelsson (1) – 05:49 Third period No scoring
Ron Hextall 27 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Daren Puppa 16 saves / 21 shots
Jeff Reese 3 saves / 4 shots
Philadelphia won series 4–2

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

This was the third consecutive and fifth overall playoff meeting between these two teams; with Pittsburgh winning three of the four previous series. Pittsburgh won last year's playoff meeting in seven games. Game four of this series is the seventh longest game in NHL history. Game six was the last playoff game at USAir Arena.

April 17 Washington Capitals 6–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
Peter Bondra (1) – 19:23 First period 02:53 – Petr Nedved (1)
03:04 – Petr Nedved (2)
Sylvain Cote (1) – 16:12
Todd Krygier (1) – 19:26		 Second period 05:47 – pp – Ron Francis (1)
11:09 – Tomas Sandstrom (1)
Sergei Gonchar (1) – pp – 07:58
Todd Krygier (2) – 12:26
Michal Pivonka (1) – en – 19:55		 Third period No scoring
Jim Carey 12 saves / 16 shots
Olaf Kolzig 12 saves / 12 shots		 Goalie stats Tom Barrasso 29 saves / 34 shots
April 19 Washington Capitals 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 03:03 – pp – Petr Nedved (2)
03:39 – Chris Joseph (1)
Pat Peake (1) – pp – 03:48
Pat Peake (2) – pp – 12:33
Mike Eagles (1) – 14:55		 Second period 13:54 – Petr Nedved (3)
Peter Bondra (2) – pp – 11:43
Michal Pivonka (2) – en – 19:08		 Third period No scoring
Olaf Kolzig 33 saves / 36 shots Goalie stats Tom Barrasso 29 saves / 33 shots
April 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 Washington Capitals USAir Arena Recap  
Ron Francis (2) – pp – 08:29
Glen Murray (1) – 17:52		 First period No scoring
Dave Roche (1) – 12:33
Kevin Miller (1) – 16:00		 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 12:29 – pp – Sylvain Cote (2)
Tom Barrasso 38 saves / 39 shots Goalie stats Jim Carey 15 saves / 19 shots
April 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 4OT Washington Capitals USAir Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 13:50 – pp – Michal Pivonka (3)
Jaromir Jagr (1) – sh – 18:42 Second period 07:36 – pp – Peter Bondra (3)
Petr Nedved (5) – pp – 08:00 Third period No scoring
Petr Nedved (6) – 19:15 Fourth overtime period No scoring
Tom Barrasso 8 saves / 9 shots
Ken Wregget 53 saves / 54 shots		 Goalie stats Olaf Kolzig 62 saves / 65 shots
April 26 Washington Capitals 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 08:36 – Mario Lemieux (1)
Andrew Brunette (1) – 14:51 Second period 10:14 – Francois Leroux (1)
13:15 – Bryan Smolinski (1)
No scoring Third period 16:13 – Jaromir Jagr (2)
Olaf Kolzig 28 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Ken Wregget 39 saves / 40 shots
April 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 Washington Capitals USAir Arena Recap  
Mario Lemieux (2) – pp – 01:57
Jaromir Jagr (3) – pp – 06:03
Ron Francis (3) – 12:24		 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 01:43 – Dale Hunter (1)
No scoring Third period 00:50 – Sergei Gonchar (2)
Ken Wregget 35 saves / 37 shots Goalie stats Jim Carey 2 saves / 4 shots
Olaf Kolzig 21 saves / 22 shots
Pittsburgh won series 4–2

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

This was the fourteenth playoff meeting between these two teams; with Montreal winning seven of the thirteen previous series. They last met in the 1986 Prince of Wales Conference final, which Montreal won in five games.

April 16 Montreal Canadiens 3–2 OT New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
Saku Koivu (1) – 19:50 First period 07:17 – pp – Adam Graves (1)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Vincent Damphousse (1) – 06:44 Third period 05:58 – Niklas Sundstrom (1)
Vincent Damphousse (2) – 05:04 First overtime period No scoring
Jocelyn Thibault 43 saves / 45 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 29 saves / 32 shots
April 18 Montreal Canadiens 5–3 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
Vincent Damphousse (3) – sh – 07:14
Mark Recchi (1) – pp – 18:29		 First period No scoring
Lyle Odelein (1) – 05:43 Second period 16:01 – Sergio Momesso (1)
Vincent Damphousse (4) – 16:34
Marc Bureau (1) – 19:54		 Third period 07:12 – Sergio Momesso (2)
12:17 – Ulf Samuelsson (1)
Jocelyn Thibault 35 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 24 saves / 28 shots
April 21 New York Rangers 2–1 Montreal Canadiens Molson Centre Recap  
Adam Graves (2) – pp – 15:30
Adam Graves (3) – pp –17:50		 First period 19:00 – pp – Mark Recchi (2)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Mike Richter 16 saves / 17 shots Goalie stats Jocelyn Thibault 33 saves / 35 shots
April 23 New York Rangers 4–3 Montreal Canadiens Molson Centre Recap  
Mark Messier (1) – pp – 12:56 First period 17:11 – David Wilkie (1)
Shane Churla (1) – 06:00
Adam Graves (4) – pp – 09:04
Adam Graves (5) – 13:43		 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 09:38 – Saku Koivu (2)
16:16 – Pierre Turgeon (1)
Mike Richter 28 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Jocelyn Thibault 15 saves / 19 shots
April 26 Montreal Canadiens 2–3 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 18:31 – sh – Jari Kurri (1)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Saku Koivu (3) – 06:09
Rory Fitzpatrick (1) – 16:22		 Third period 00:13 – pp – Brian Leetch (1)
03:03 – Alexei Kovalev (1)
Jocelyn Thibault 39 saves / 42 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 25 saves / 27 shots
April 28 New York Rangers 5–3 Montreal Canadiens Molson Centre Recap  
Pat Verbeek (1) – 06:24
Adam Graves (6) – pp – 09:16
Alexei Kovalev (2) – 09:43
Jari Kurri (2) – 10:18		 First period 12:41 – pp – Mark Recchi (3)
Doug Lidster (1) – pp – 11:33 Second period 02:11 – Pierre Turgeon (2)
No scoring Third period 00:56 – Patrice Brisebois (1)
Mike Richter 27 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Jocelyn Thibault 5 saves / 9 shots
Pat Jablonski 16 saves / 17 shots
New York won series 4–2

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

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was the first time that Miami was represented in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

April 17 Boston Bruins 3–6 Florida Panthers Miami Arena Recap  
Rick Tocchet (1) – pp – 15:04 First period 07:37 – Ray Sheppard (1)
08:02 – Mike Hough (1)
08:54 – Jody Hull (1)
Rick Tocchet (2) – pp – 03:16 Second period 05:08 – pp – Jason Woolley (1)
09:02 – pp – Ray Sheppard (2)
Sandy Moger (1) – 19:27 Third period 18:34 – Johan Garpenlov (1)
Bill Ranford 24 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats John Vanbiesbrouck 42 saves / 45 shots
April 22 Boston Bruins 2–6 Florida Panthers Miami Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 06:15 – Ed Jovanovski (2)
Ray Bourque (1) – pp – 07:49
Steve Heinze (1) – pp – 18:39		 Second period 04:15 – pp – Ray Sheppard (3)
08:31 – Dave Lowry (1)
11:40 – Dave Lowry (2)
No scoring Third period 14:41 – Jason Woolley (2)
15:34 – Johan Garpenlov (2)
Craig Billington 22 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats John Vanbiesbrouck 37 saves / 39 shots
April 24 Florida Panthers 4–2 Boston Bruins Fleet Center Recap  
Jody Hull (2) – 00:30
Scott Mellanby (1) – pp – 10:29
Mike Hough (2) – 12:19		 First period No scoring
Jody Hull (3) – 15:16 Second period 18:40 – Shawn McEachern (1)
No scoring Third period 19:02 – pp – Rick Tocchet (3)
John Vanbiesbrouck 40 saves / 42 shots Goalie stats Bill Ranford 22 saves / 26 shots
April 25 Florida Panthers 2–6 Boston Bruins Fleet Center Recap  
No scoring First period 04:48 – Adam Oates (1)
Bill Lindsay (1) – 02:49 Second period 05:07 – Jon Rohloff (1)
05:49 – Rick Tocchet (4)
10:54 – Cam Stewart (1)
Ray Sheppard (4) – 01:58 Third period 05:35 – sh – Adam Oates (2)
16:26 – Shawn McEachern (2)
John Vanbiesbrouck 18 saves / 22 shots
Mark Fitzpatrick 9 saves / 11 shots		 Goalie stats Bill Ranford 18 saves / 20 shots
April 27 Boston Bruins 3–4 Florida Panthers Miami Arena Recap  
Ted Donato (1) – pp – 16:31 First period 03:03 – Brian Skrudland (1)
08:11 – Paul Laus (1)
Jozef Stumpel (1) – 09:33 Second period 16:42 – pp – Dave Lowry (3)
Sandy Moger (2) – pp – 12:29 Third period 15:03 – Bill Lindsay (2)
Bill Ranford 32 saves / 36 shots Goalie stats John Vanbiesbrouck 26 saves / 29 shots
Florida won series 4–1

Western Conference quarterfinals

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

This was the first playoff meeting 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.

April 17 Winnipeg Jets 1–4 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Alexei Zhamnov (1) – 10:06 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 02:27 – Kris Draper (1)
04:06 – Viacheslav Fetisov (1)
04:48 – Greg Johnson (1)
08:07 – pp – Paul Coffey (1)
Nikolai Khabibulin 30 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 13 saves / 14 shots
April 19 Winnipeg Jets 0–4 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 06:35 – sh – Paul Coffey (2)
No scoring Second period 04:56 – sh – Doug Brown (1)
12:26 – Kris Draper (2)
14:49 – pp – Igor Larionov (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Nikolai Khabibulin 30 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 16 saves / 16 shots
April 21 Detroit Red Wings 1–4 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 16:03 – Keith Tkachuk (1)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Igor Larionov (1) – 02:39 Third period 11:40 – Chad Kilger (1)
15:25 – Eddie Olczyk (1)
18:03 – Dave Manson (1)
Mike Vernon 21 saves / 25 shots Goalie stats Nikolai Khabibulin 32 saves / 33 shots
April 23 Detroit Red Wings 6–1 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena Recap  
Vladimir Konstantinov (1) – 01:22 First period No scoring
Igor Larionov (3) – pp – 05:39
Vyacheslav Kozlov (1) – pp – 07:22
Dino Ciccarelli (1) – pp – 19:05		 Second period 04:09 – Craig Janney (1)
Greg Johnson (2) – 05:42
Steve Yzerman (1) – pp – 10:42		 Third period No scoring
Mike Vernon 19 saves / 20 shots Goalie stats Nikolai Khabibulin 29 saves / 35 shots
April 26 Winnipeg Jets 3–1 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Darrin Shannon (1) – 04:09 Second period 08:57 – pp – Dino Ciccarelli (2)
Dave Manson (2) – 06:52
Alexei Zhamnov (2) – en – 19:19		 Third period No scoring
Nikolai Khabibulin 51 saves / 52 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 16 saves / 18 shots
April 28 Detroit Red Wings 4–1 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena Recap  
Vyacheslav Kozlov (2) – 03:46
Vyacheslav Kozlov (3) – pp – 14:54
Steve Yzerman (2) – 16:31		 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Keith Primeau (1) – en – 19:45 Third period 08:22 – Norm Maciver (1)
Mike Vernon 12 saves / 13 shots Goalie stats Nikolai Khabibulin 23 saves / 26 shots
Detroit won series 4–2

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

This was the first playoff meeting 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.

April 16 Vancouver Canucks 2–5 Colorado Avalanche McNichols Sports Arena Recap  
Russ Courtnall (1) – 11:30 First period 16:52 – Peter Forsberg (1)
Esa Tikkanen (1) – 13:03 Second period 00:28 – Joe Sakic (1)
00:53 – Valeri Kamensky (1)
10:32 – pp – Sandis Ozolinsh (1)
16:47 – Peter Forsberg (2)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Kirk McLean 9 saves / 12 shots
Corey Hirsch 13 saves / 15 shots		 Goalie stats Patrick Roy 29 saves / 31 shots
April 18 Vancouver Canucks 5–4 Colorado Avalanche McNichols Sports Arena Recap  
Gino Odjick (1) – 03:00
Alexander Mogilny (1) – 06:09		 First period 00:59 – Peter Forsberg (3)
04:52 – Mike Ricci (1)
09:57 – pp – Sandis Ozolinsh (2)
Trevor Linden (1) – 04:08
Martin Gelinas (1) – 10:41		 Second period No scoring
Gino Odjick (2) – 02:20 Third period 10:06 – Joe Sakic (2)
Corey Hirsch 28 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Patrick Roy 24 saves / 29 shots
April 20 Colorado Avalanche 4–0 Vancouver Canucks General Motors Place Recap  
Peter Forsberg (3) – pp – 11:49 First period No scoring
Valeri Kamensky (2) – pp – 04:19
Claude Lemieux (1) – pp – 08:27		 Second period No scoring
Scott Young (1) – 11:58 Third period No scoring
Patrick Roy 28 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Corey Hirsch 27 saves / 31 shots
April 22 Colorado Avalanche 3–4 Vancouver Canucks General Motors Place Recap  
Mike Keane (1) – 14:43 First period 16:39 – pp – Esa Tikkanen (2)
Adam Deadmarsh (1) – 03:46 Second period 08:30 – pp – Jyrki Lumme (1)
13:18 – Josef Beranek (1)
19:40 – Gino Odjick (3)
Joe Sakic (3) – 06:36 Third period No scoring
Patrick Roy 22 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Corey Hirsch 30 saves / 33 shots
April 25 Vancouver Canucks 4–5 OT Colorado Avalanche McNichols Sports Arena Recap  
Josef Beranek (2) – 15:15 First period 09:07 – pp – Joe Sakic (4)
Trevor Linden (2) – pp – 14:29
Trevor Linden (3) – pp – 15:56		 Second period 08:17 – Valeri Kamensky (3)
Trevor Linden (4) – 10:08 Third period 09:12 – Rene Corbet (1)
14:07 – pp – Joe Sakic (5)
No scoring First overtime period 00:51 – Joe Sakic (6)
Corey Hirsch 28 saves / 33 saves Goalie stats Patrick Roy 16 saves / 20 shots
Stephane Fiset 0 saves / 0 shots
April 27 Colorado Avalanche 3–2 Vancouver Canucks General Motors Place Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Curtis Leschyshyn (1) – 04:29
Claude Lemieux (2) – pp – 12:06		 Second period 03:43 – pp – Markus Naslund (1)
10:45 – pp – Esa Tikkanen (3)
Joe Sakic (7) – 17:18 Third period No scoring
Patrick Roy 20 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Corey Hirsch 19 saves / 22 shots
Colorado won series 4–2

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

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams; with Calgary winning both previous series. They last met in the 1989 Clarence Campbell Conference final, which Calgary won in five games.

April 17 Calgary Flames 1–4 Chicago Blackhawks United Center Recap  
Sheldon Kennedy (1) – 03:23 First period 04:33 – pp – Bernie Nicholls (1)
15:34 – Joe Murphy (1)
No scoring Second period 07:05 – Joe Murphy (2)
No scoring Third period 00:31 – Eric Daze (1)
Trevor Kidd 22 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Ed Belfour 19 saves / 20 shots
April 19 Calgary Flames 0–3 Chicago Blackhawks United Center Recap  
No scoring First period 18:09 – pp – Gary Suter (1)
No scoring Second period 13:50 – Jeremy Roenick (1)
17:00 – Jeff Shantz (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Rick Tabaracci 29 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Ed Belfour 33 saves / 33 shots
April 21 Chicago Blackhawks 7–5 Calgary Flames Canadian Airlines Saddledome Recap  
James Black (1) – 07:15
Eric Daze (2) – 19:03		 First period No scoring
Tony Amonte (1) – pp – 01:52
Eric Weinrich (1) – pp – 02:29
Brent Sutter (1) – 03:17		 Second period 12:24 – Theoren Fleury (1)
Eric Daze (3) – 13:12
Joe Murphy (3) – 13:40		 Third period 01:27 – Theoren Fleury (2)
03:07 – Steve Chiasson (1)
05:51 – Cory Stillman (1)
18:50 – Steve Chiasson (2)
Ed Belfour 28 saves / 33 shots Goalie stats Trevor Kidd 9 saves / 14 shots
Rick Tabaracci 7 saves / 9 shots
April 23 Chicago Blackhawks 2–1 3OT Calgary Flames Canadian Airlines Saddledome Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 05:53 – Jarome Iginla (1)
Jeremy Roenick (2) – 19:51 Third period No scoring
Joe Murphy (4) – 10:02 Third overtime period No scoring
Ed Belfour 55 saves / 56 shots Goalie stats Rick Tabaracci 41 saves / 43 shots
Chicago won series 4–0

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

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams: with the teams splitting the four previous playoff series. They last met in the 1993 Norris Division Finals, which Toronto won in seven games. Game five was the last playoff game at Maple Leaf Gardens.

April 16 St. Louis Blues 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
Shayne Corson (1) – pp – 15:13 First period 09:49 – pp – Mats Sundin (1)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Brett Hull (1) – 11:13
Stephen Leach (1) – 12:32		 Third period No scoring
Grant Fuhr 33 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Felix Potvin 26 saves / 29 shots
April 18 St. Louis Blues 4–5 OT Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
Shayne Corson – pp – 16:51 First period 10:24 – Mike Gartner (1)
14:42 – Wendel Clark (1)
18:40 – Mats Sundin (2)
Charlie Huddy (1) – 03:50
Murray Baron (1) – sh – 18:26		 Second period No scoring
Brett Hull (2) – pp – 10:44 Third period 14:10 – pp – Kirk Muller (1)
No scoring First overtime period 04:02 – pp – Mats Sundin (3)
Jon Casey 23 saves / 28 shots
Grant Fuhr 11 saves / 11 shots		 Goalie stats Felix Potvin 30 saves / 34 shots
April 21 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–3 OT St. Louis Blues Kiel Center Recap  
Kirk Muller (2) – pp – 16:04 First period No scoring
Mark Kolesar (1) – sh – 03:53 Second period 10:28 – Brian Noonan (1)
12:31 – pp – Peter Zezel (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 01:24 – Glenn Anderson (1)
Felix Potvin 37 saves / 40 shots
Don Beaupre 0 saves / 0 shots		 Goalie stats Jon Casey 19 saves / 21 shots
April 23 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–5 St. Louis Blues Kiel Center Recap  
No scoring First period 08:42 – sh – Shayne Corson (3)
No scoring Second period 00:45 – Shayne Corson (4)
19:54 – sh – Brett Hull (3)
Kirk Muller (3) – 17:32 Third period 07:02 – Brian Noonan (2)
16:11 – Brain Noonan (3)
Felix Potvin 18 saves / 21 shots
Don Beaupre 11 saves / 13 shots		 Goalie stats Jon Casey 41 saves / 42 shots
April 25 St. Louis Blues 4–5 OT Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
Shayne Corson (5) – pp – 02:31
Chris Pronger (1) – 06:42		 First period 10:42 – pp – Mike Gartner (2)
11:55 – pp – Doug Gilmour (1)
14:42 – Todd Warriner (1)
Peter Zezel (2) – 02:33 Second period 18:04 – Mike Gartner (3)
Al MacInnis (1) – pp – 19:47 Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 07:31 – pp – Mike Gartner (4)
Jon Casey 35 saves / 40 shots Goalie stats Felix Potvin 35 saves / 39 shots
April 27 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–2 St. Louis Blues Kiel Center Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Wendel Clark (2) – pp – 07:55 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period Al MacInnis (2) – 01:40
Stephen Leach (2) – 14:03
Felix Potvin 33 saves / 35 shots Goalie stats Jon Casey 23 saves / 24 shots
St. Louis won series 4–2

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference semifinals

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

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Game five was the last game played at the CoreStates Spectrum.

May 2 Florida Panthers 2–0 Philadelphia Flyers CoreStates Spectrum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Stu Barnes (1) – 05:56 Second period No scoring
Dave Lowry (4) – pp – 15:50 Third period No scoring
John Vanbiesbrouck 18 saves / 18 shots Goalie stats Ron Hextall 13 saves / 15 shots
May 4 Florida Panthers 2–3 Philadelphia Flyers CoreStates Spectrum Recap  
Ray Sheppard (5) – 19:37 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 04:47 – Karl Dykhuis (2)
15:39 – pp – John LeClair (5)
Dave Lowry (5) – pp – 04:36 Third period 09:11 – Eric Lindros (4)
John Vanbiesbrouck 44 saves / 47 shots Goalie stats Ron Hextall 24 saves / 26 shots
May 7 Philadelphia Flyers 3–1 Florida Panthers Miami Arena Recap  
Dan Quinn (1) – pp – 16:19
Eric Lindros (5) – pp – 17:13		 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 07:34 – Paul Laus (2)
Trent Klatt (4) – 06:36 Third period No scoring
Ron Hextall 24 saves / 25 shots Goalie stats John Vanbiesbrouck 31 saves / 34 shots
May 9 Philadelphia Flyers 3–4 OT Florida Panthers Miami Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 01:02 – Rob Niedermayer (1)
08:23 – pp – Rob Niedermayer (2)
Mikael Renberg (2) – 16:18
Rod Brind'Amour (2) – pp – 17:36		 Second period 19:54 – Stu Barnes (2)
Mikael Renberg (3) – 18:53 Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 04:06 – Dave Lowry (6)
Ron Hextall 28 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats John Vanbiesbrouck 43 saves / 46 shots
May 12 Florida Panthers 2–1 2OT Philadelphia Flyers CoreStates Spectrum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 07:02 – pp – Eric Lindros (6)
Stu Barnes (3) – 02:39 Third period No scoring
Mike Hough (3) – 08:05 Second overtime period No scoring
John Vanbiesbrouck 34 saves / 35 shots Goalie stats Ron Hextall 40 saves / 42 shots
May 14 Philadelphia Flyers 1–4 Florida Panthers Miami Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 14:54 – sh – Bill Lindsay (3)
No scoring Second period No scoring
John LeClair (6) – 15:43 Third period 02:55 – pp – Rob Niedermayer (3)
11:12 – Dave Lowry (7)
18:35 – Johan Garpenlov (3)
Ron Hextall 26 saves / 29 shots
Garth Snow 0 saves / 0 shots		 Goalie stats John Vanbiesbrouck 34 saves / 35 shots
Florida won series 4–2

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

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams; with Pittsburgh winning both previous series. They last met in the 1992 Patrick Division Finals, which Pittsburgh won in six games.

May 3 New York Rangers 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Niklas Sundstrom (2) – 13:52 Second period 05:41 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (4)
16:32 – Jaromir Jagr (5)
Pat Verbeek (2) – 03:22
Mark Messier (2) – 06:44		 Third period 07:44 – Dave Roche (2)
12:43 – Mario Lemieux (3)
Mike Richter 25 saves / 29 shots Goalie stats Ken Wregget 26 saves / 29 shots
May 5 New York Rangers 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
Luc Robitaille (1) – 05:10
Bill Berg (1) – 17:26		 First period No scoring
Alexei Kovalev (3) – 01:25
Mark Messier (3) – 06:33
Pat Verbeek (3) – pp – 15:17		 Second period 06:21 – pp – Mario Lemieux (4)
Jari Kurri (3) – 19:20 Third period 06:27 – Bryan Smolinski (2)
14:19 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (6)
Mike Richter 25 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Ken Wregget 26 saves / 31 shots
May 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
Mario Lemieux (5) – 06:33
Mario Lemieux (6) – 10:18
Tomas Sandstrom (2) – 15:25		 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 03:02 – Shane Churla (2)
03:36 – Niklas Sundstrom (3)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Ken Wregget 37 saves / 39 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 29 saves / 32 shots
May 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
Jaromir Jagr (7) – 04:35 First period No scoring
Petr Nedved (7) – 01:27 Second period 06:28 – pp – Adam Graves (7)
Glen Murray (2) – 12:19
Mario Lemieux (7) – 19:31		 Third period No scoring
Ken Wregget 40 saves / 41 shots Goalie stats Mike Richter 27 saves / 30 shots
May 11 New York Rangers 3–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 11:49 – sh – Mario Lemieux (8)
Mark Messier (4) – pp – 05:50
Sergio Momesso (3) – 10:39
Niklas Sundstrom (4) – pp – 13:26		 Second period 02:35 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (8)
09:53 – pp – Mario Lemieux (9)
15:04 – Jaromir Jagr (9)
19:47 – Jaromir Jagr (10)
No scoring Third period 07:23 – Bryan Smolinski (3)
15:14 – Mario Lemieux (10)
Mike Richter 17 saves / 24 shots Goalie stats Ken Wregget 29 saves / 32 shots
Pittsburgh won series 4–1

Western Conference semifinals

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

This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams; with St. Louis winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the 1991 Norris Division Semifinals, which St. Louis won in seven games.

May 3 St. Louis Blues 2–3 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 15:17 – pp – Dino Ciccarelli (3)
Shayne Corson (6) – pp – 11:03 Second period 18:21 – Darren McCarty (1)
Brett Hull (4) – pp – 02:19 Third period 17:54 – Sergei Fedorov (1)
Jon Casey 25 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 31 saves / 33 shots
May 5 St. Louis Blues 3–8 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Shayne Corson (7) – pp – 13:37 First period 03:40 – Steve Yzerman (3)
04:45 – Vladimir Konstantinov (2)
07:02 – Nicklas Lidstrom (1)
11:41 – Darren McCarty (2)
15:40 – Martin Lapointe (1)
Peter Zezel (3) – 02:48 Second period No scoring
Adam Creighton (1) – 08:03 Third period 06:19 – pp – Nicklas Lidstrom (2)
17:56 – pp – Steve Yzerman (4)
19:35 – pp – Marc Bergevin (1)
Jon Casey 23 saves / 31 shots
Bruce Racine 0 saves / 0 shots		 Goalie stats Chris Osgood 18 saves / 21 shots
May 8 Detroit Red Wings 4–5 OT St. Louis Blues Kiel Center Recap  
Vladimir Konstantinov (3) – 01:34 First period 04:43 – Al MacInnis (3)
05:05 – Brian Noonan (4)
07:58 – pp – Shayne Corson (8)
Steve Yzerman (5) – pp – 02:57
Steve Yzerman (6) – 08:56		 Second period No scoring
Steve Yzerman (7) – pp – 03:08 Third period 08:46 – Tony Twist (1)
No scoring First overtime period 3:23 – Igor Kravchuk (1)
Mike Vernon 18 saves / 23 shots Goalie stats Jon Casey 30 saves / 34 shots
May 10 Detroit Red Wings 0–1 St. Louis Blues Kiel Center Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 04:40 – pp – Wayne Gretzky (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Chris Osgood 14 saves / 15 shots Goalie stats Jon Casey 29 saves / 29 shots
May 12 St. Louis Blues 3–2 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Brett Hull (5) – 05:15 First period No scoring
Wayne Gretzky (2) – 18:46 Second period 03:05 – Kris Draper (3)
Yuri Khmylev (1) – 09:11 Third period 10:23 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (4)
Jon Casey 37 saves / 39 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 18 saves / 21 shots
May 14 Detroit Red Wings 4–2 St. Louis Blues Kiel Center Recap  
Igor Larionov (4) – 10:17
Kris Draper (4) – sh – 14:05		 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Dino Ciccarelli (4) – pp – 09:15
Nicklas Lidstrom (3) – 19:31		 Third period 15:13 – pp – Stephen Leach (3)
16:12 – Brett Hull (6)
Chris Osgood 18 saves / 20 shots Goalie stats Jon Casey 18 saves / 22 shots
May 16 St. Louis Blues 0–1 2OT Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring Second overtime period 01:15 – Steve Yzerman (8)
Jon Casey 39 saves / 40 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 29 saves / 29 shots
Detroit won series 4–3

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

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.

May 2 Chicago Blackhawks 3–2 OT Colorado Avalanche McNichols Sports Arena Recap  
Enrico Ciccone (1) – 02:02 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 03:10 – Claude Lemieux (3)
04:25 – Joe Sakic (8)
Murray Craven (1) – pp – 01:58 Third period No scoring
Jeremy Roenick (3) – pp – 06:29 First overtime period No scoring
Ed Belfour 28 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Patrick Roy 23 saves / 26 shots
May 4 Chicago Blackhawks 1–5 Colorado Avalanche McNichols Sports Arena Recap  
Tony Amonte (2) – 04:28 First period 11:38 – pp – Valeri Kamensky (4)
12:48 – Craig Wolanin (1)
13:41 – Joe Sakic (9)
16:22 – Uwe Krupp (1)
No scoring Second period 15:14 – pp – Adam Deadmarsh (2)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Jeff Hackett 27 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Patrick Roy 30 saves / 31 shots
May 6 Colorado Avalanche 3–4 OT Chicago Blackhawks United Center Recap  
No scoring First period 10:39 – pp – Gary Suter (2)
Peter Forsberg (5) – 04:31
Mike Ricci (2) – 12:53
Joe Sakic (10) – pp – 18:37		 Second period 19:23 – Joe Murphy (5)
No scoring Third period 06:48 – Jeremy Roenick (4)
No scoring First overtime period 00:46 – Sergei Krivokrasov (1)
Patrick Roy 21 saves / 25 shots Goalie stats Ed Belfour 18 saves / 21 shots
May 8 Colorado Avalanche 3–2 3OT Chicago Blackhawks United Center Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Joe Sakic (11) – 01:41 Second period 04:40 – Gary Suter (3)
Valeri Kamensky (5) – pp – 03:49 Third period 06:15 – Jeff Shantz (2)
Joe Sakic (12) – 04:33 Third overtime period No scoring
Patrick Roy 32 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Ed Belfour 54 saves / 57 shots
May 11 Chicago Blackhawks 1–4 Colorado Avalanche McNichols Sports Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 14:33 – Chris Simon (1)
No scoring Second period 12:37 – Valeri Kamensky (6)
Jeremy Roenick (5) – 14:42 Third period 05:19 – Scott Young (2)
16:43 – Valeri Kamensky (7)
Ed Belfour 24 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Patrick Roy 22 saves / 23 shots
May 13 Colorado Avalanche 4–3 2OT Chicago Blackhawks United Center Recap  
Valeri Kamensky (8) – 04:55 First period 12:10 – Denis Savard (1)
No scoring Second period 19:36 – Bernie Nicholls (2)
Joe Sakic (13) – pp – 01:29
Valeri Kamensky (9) – 07:02		 Third period 19:00 – Joe Murphy (6)
Sandis Ozolinsh (3) – 05:18 Second overtime period No scoring
Patrick Roy 31 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Ed Belfour 41 saves / 45 shots
Colorado won series 4–2

Conference finals

Eastern Conference final

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

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was Pittsburgh's third Conference Final appearance. They last made the Conference Final in 1992, where they defeated the Boston Bruins in four games. This was Florida's first Conference Final appearance in their third season since entering the league as an expansion team in 1993.

Despite being outshot 33–25 in game one, 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 three, 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 four, 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 five, 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 six. 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 seven, 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. This was the last playoff series victory for the Panthers until 2022 when they beat the Washington Capitals in six games, and was their last appearance in the Conference Finals until 2023.

May 18 Florida Panthers 5–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
Dave Lowry (8) – pp – 01:52
Tom Fitzgerald (1) – 16:11		 First period No scoring
Tom Fitzgerald (2) – 07:12 Second period No scoring
Dave Lowry (9) – 15:41
Scott Mellanby (2) – pp – 18:48		 Third period 07:03 – Kevin Miller (2)
John Vanbiesbrouck 32 saves / 33 shots Goalie stats Ken Wregget 20 saves / 25 shots
May 20 Florida Panthers 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 07:31 – pp – Sergei Zubov (1)
13:57 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (11)
Ray Sheppard (6) – 00:29
Bill Lindsay (4) – 12:19		 Third period 08:12 – Mario Lemieux (11)
John Vanbiesbrouck35 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Tom Barrasso 30 saves / 32 shots
May 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–5 Florida Panthers Miami Arena Recap  
Bryan Smolinski (4) – 16:02 First period 01:46 – Ray Sheppard (7)
Petr Nedved (8) – 00:27 Second period 03:51 – Radek Dvorak (1)
No scoring Third period 00:55 – pp – Stu Barnes (4)
04:55 – Stu Barnes (5)
07:37 – Martin Straka (1)
Tom Barrasso 56 saves / 61 shots Goalie stats John Vanbiesbrouck 26 saves / 28 shots
May 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–1 Florida Panthers Miami Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 12:50 – Dave Lowry (10)
Brad Lauer (1) – 08:57
Bryan Smolinski (5) – 16:29		 Third period No scoring
Tom Barrasso 32 saves / 33 shots Goalie stats John Vanbiesbrouck 22 saves / 24 shots
May 28 Florida Panthers 0–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 08:48 – pp – J. J. Daigneault (1)
No scoring Second period 18:27 – Petr Nedved (9)
No scoring Third period 18:42 – Tomas Sandstrom (3)
John Vanbiesbrouck 36 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Tom Barrasso 28 saves / 28 shots
May 30 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Florida Panthers Miami Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 07:45 – Scott Mellanby (3)
Kevin Miller (3) – 01:55
Joe Dziedzic (1) – 10:16		 Second period 14:56 – Bill Lindsay (5)
Tomas Sandstrom (4) – 12:17 Third period 09:35 – Martin Straka (2)
13:58 – Rob Niedermayer (4)
Tom Barrasso 36 saves / 40 shots Goalie stats John Vanbiesbrouck 20 saves / 23 shots
June 1 Florida Panthers 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena Recap  
Mike Hough (4) – 13:13 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Tom Fitzgerald (3) – 06:18
Johan Garpenlov (4) – 17:23		 Third period 01:23 – pp – Petr Nedved (10)
John Vanbiesbrouck 39 saves / 40 shots Goalie stats Tom Barrasso 25 saves / 28 shots
Florida won series 4–3

Western Conference final

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

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was Detroit's second consecutive and fourth overall Conference Final appearance. They defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in the previous year in five games. This was Colorado's third Conference Final appearance in franchise history and first since relocating to Colorado. They last went to the Conference Final in 1985, which they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games 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 (including a shorthanded goal by Konstantinov) 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,[1] the Avalanche went on to win the game 4–1 and completed the upset. The controversial hit on Draper by Lemieux was a catalyst (along with a rough hit by Kozlov on Foote in Game 3) for the Detroit–Colorado rivalry that endured for a decade.

May 19 Colorado Avalanche 3–2 OT Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 06:00 – pp – Paul Coffey (3)
Stephane Yelle (1) – sh – 00:44 Second period No scoring
Adam Deadmarsh (3) – 01:34 Third period 05:33 – sh – Paul Coffey (4)
Mike Keane (2) – 17:31 First overtime period No scoring
Patrick Roy 29 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 27 saves / 30 shots
May 21 Colorado Avalanche 3–0 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
Joe Sakic (14) – pp – 11:36 First period No scoring
Warren Rychel (1) – 05:45
Sandis Ozolinsh (4) – 08:03		 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Patrick Roy 35 saves / 35 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 17 saves / 20 shots
May 23 Detroit Red Wings 6–4 Colorado Avalanche McNichols Sports Arena Recap  
Darren McCarty (3) – 09:22
Nicklas Lidstrom (4) – 10:31		 First period 15:37 – pp – Claude Lemieux (4)
Dino Ciccarelli (5) – pp – 05:36
Vladimir Konstantinov (4) – sh – 15:34
Igor Larionov (5) – pp – 17:41		 Second period 05:56 – Sandis Ozolinsh (5)
19:44 – Adam Foote (1)
19:51 – Adam Deadmarsh (4)
Nicklas Lidstrom (5) – 00:32 Third period No scoring
Chris Osgood 15 saves / 19 shots Goalie stats Patrick Roy 16 saves / 22 shots
May 25 Detroit Red Wings 2–4 Colorado Avalanche McNichols Sports Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 16:23 – Adam Deadmarsh (5)
Dino Ciccarelli (6) – pp – 04:17 Second period 07:20 – Joe Sakic (15)
Doug Brown (2) – 14:02 Third period 03:25 – pp – Uwe Krupp (2)
19:58 – Peter Forsberg (6)
Chris Osgood 13 saves / 16 shots Goalie stats Patrick Roy 29 saves / 31 shots
May 27 Colorado Avalanche 2–5 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 11:35 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (5)
12:39 – Igor Larionov (6)
Mike Ricci (3) – pp – 02:10
Mike Ricci (4) – pp – 08:00		 Second period 04:18 – Sergei Fedorov (2)
12:15 – Doug Brown (3)
19:28 – Greg Johnson (3)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Patrick Roy 21 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Chris Osgood 26 saves / 28 shots
May 29 Detroit Red Wings 1–4 Colorado Avalanche McNichols Sports Arena Recap  
Paul Coffey (5) – pp – 15:36 First period 11:57 – Joe Sakic (16)
No scoring Second period 05:55 – pp – Joe Sakic (17)
07:51 – pp – Mike Ricci (5)
16:44 – Peter Forsberg (7)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Chris Osgood 18 saves / 22 shots Goalie stats Patrick Roy 23 saves / 24 shots
Colorado won series 4–2

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. This was also the first Stanley Cup Final ever played in the Deep South. 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. This was the Panthers' last Finals appearance until 2023. The Avalanche swept the Panthers to win their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history.

June 4 Florida Panthers 1–3 Colorado Avalanche McNichols Sports Arena Recap  
Tom Fitzgerald (4) – 16:51 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 10:32 – Scott Young (3)
12:21 – Mike Ricci (6)
14:21 – Uwe Krupp (3)
No scoring Third period No scoring
John Vanbiesbrouck 27 saves / 30 shots Goalie stats Patrick Roy 25 saves / 26 shots
June 6 Florida Panthers 1–8 Colorado Avalanche McNichols Sports Arena Recap  
Stu Barnes (6) – pp – 07:52 First period 04:11 – Peter Forsberg (8)
10:43 – pp – Rene Corbet (2)
13:46 – pp – Peter Forsberg (9)
15:05 – pp – Peter Forsberg (10)
No scoring Second period 04:37 – Rene Corbet (3)
05:08 – Valeri Kamensky (10)
10:03 – Jon Klemm (1)
No scoring Third period 17:28 – pp – Jon Klemm (2)
Mark Fitzpatrick 15 saves / 19 shots
John Vanbiesbrouck 7 saves / 11 shots		 Goalie stats Patrick Roy 27 saves / 28 shots
June 8 Colorado Avalanche 3–2 Florida Panthers Miami Arena Recap  
Claude Lemieux (5) – 02:44 First period 09:14 – pp – Ray Sheppard (8)
11:19 – Rob Niedermayer (5)
Mike Keane (3) – 01:38
Joe Sakic (18) – 03:00		 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Patrick Roy 32 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats John Vanbiesbrouck 19 saves / 22 shots
June 10 Colorado Avalanche 1–0 3OT Florida Panthers Miami Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Uwe Krupp (4) – 04:31 Third overtime period No scoring
Patrick Roy 63 saves / 63 shots Goalie stats John Vanbiesbrouck 55 saves / 56 shots
Colorado won series 4–0

Playoff statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.[2]

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
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.[3]

Player Team GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
Ed BelfourChicago Blackhawks963323232.07.9291 665:54
Patrick RoyColorado Avalanche22166649512.10.9213 1453:53
Chris OsgoodDetroit Red Wings1587322332.12.8982 935:48
Ron HextallPhiladelphia Flyers1266319272.13.9150 759:41
John VanbiesbrouckFlorida Panthers221210735502.25.9321 1331:31

See also

References

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