1995–96 Boston Bruins season

The 1995–96 Boston Bruins season was the team's 72nd season. It was the Bruins' first season at Fleet Center, which replaced Boston Garden as their home venue.

1995–96 Boston Bruins
Division	2nd Northeast
Conference	5th Eastern
1995–96 record	40–31–11
Home record	22–14–5
Road record	18–17–6
Goals for	282
Goals against	269
Team information
General manager	Harry Sinden
Coach	Steve Kasper
Captain	Ray Bourque
Arena	Fleet Center
Average attendance	17,474 (97.8%) Total: 716,443
Minor league affiliate(s)	Providence Bruins (AHL) Charlotte Checkers (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Cam Neely (26)
Assists	Adam Oates (67)
Points	Adam Oates (92)
Penalty minutes	Dean Chynoweth (88)
Plus/minus	Ray Bourque (+31)
Wins	Bill Ranford (21)
Goals against average	Bill Ranford (2.83)
← 1994–95 1996–97 →

Off-season

Regular season

During the regular season, the Bruins led the league in shots on goal with 2,838.^[1]

Final standings

Northeast Division

No.		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
1	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	49	29	4	362	284	102
2	Boston Bruins	82	40	31	11	282	269	91
3	Montreal Canadiens	82	40	32	10	265	248	90
4	Hartford Whalers	82	34	39	9	237	259	77
5	Buffalo Sabres	82	33	42	7	247	262	72
6	Ottawa Senators	82	18	59	5	191	291	41

Eastern Conference^[2]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	45	24	13	282	208	103
2	Pittsburgh Penguins	NE	82	49	29	4	362	284	102
3	New York Rangers	ATL	82	41	27	14	272	237	96
4	Florida Panthers	ATL	82	41	31	10	254	234	92
5	Boston Bruins	NE	82	40	31	11	282	269	91
6	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	40	32	10	265	248	90
7	Washington Capitals	ATL	82	39	32	11	234	204	89
8	Tampa Bay Lightning	ATL	82	38	32	12	238	248	88
9	New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	37	33	12	215	202	86
10	Hartford Whalers	NE	82	34	39	9	237	259	77
11	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	33	42	7	247	262	73
12	New York Islanders	ATL	82	22	50	10	229	315	54
13	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	18	59	5	191	291	41

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Playoffs

The Bruins qualified for the playoffs for the 29th consecutive season, an NHL record that still stands (as of the 2022–23 season).^[3] The streak ended one season later. The Bruins were seeded 5th in the Eastern Conference and faced the 4th-seeded Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Bruins lost the series in five games after falling behind three games to none. The Panthers went on to lose to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1995–96 regular season[4]
October: 3–5–2 (home: 2–2–1; road: 1–3–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 T October 7, 1995 4–4 OT New York Islanders (1995–96) 0–0–1 Recap 2 W October 9, 1995 5–3 Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 1–0–1 Recap 3 L October 11, 1995 1–3 @ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 1–1–1 Recap 4 T October 12, 1995 6–6 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 1–1–2 Recap 5 L October 14, 1995 5–6 @ Dallas Stars (1995–96) 1–2–2 Recap 6 W October 17, 1995 7–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 2–2–2 Recap 7 L October 21, 1995 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 2–3–2 Recap 8 L October 26, 1995 2–4 Washington Capitals (1995–96) 2–4–2 Recap 9 W October 28, 1995 3–0 Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 3–4–2 Recap 10 L October 31, 1995 1–3 Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 3–5–2 Recap
November: 5–5–2 (home: 4–3–1; road: 1–2–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 11 L November 2, 1995 5–6 OT Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 3–6–2 Recap 12 L November 4, 1995 1–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 3–7–2 Recap 13 W November 7, 1995 4–3 @ Washington Capitals (1995–96) 4–7–2 Recap 14 W November 9, 1995 4–3 Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 5–7–2 Recap 15 L November 11, 1995 1–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 5–8–2 Recap 16 L November 14, 1995 3–5 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 5–9–2 Recap 17 T November 16, 1995 2–2 OT New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 5–9–3 Recap 18 W November 18, 1995 5–2 St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 6–9–3 Recap 19 W November 21, 1995 5–4 Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 7–9–3 Recap 20 W November 24, 1995 2–1 Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 8–9–3 Recap 21 T November 25, 1995 3–3 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 8–9–4 Recap 22 L November 30, 1995 6–9 Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 8–10–4 Recap
December: 7–4–1 (home: 5–0–0; road: 2–4–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 23 W December 2, 1995 6–4 Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 9–10–4 Recap 24 L December 3, 1995 1–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 9–11–4 Recap 25 W December 5, 1995 6–4 Dallas Stars (1995–96) 10–11–4 Recap 26 L December 8, 1995 1–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 10–12–4 Recap 27 L December 9, 1995 1–3 @ Florida Panthers (1995–96) 10–13–4 Recap 28 L December 13, 1995 2–4 @ New York Rangers (1995–96) 10–14–4 Recap 29 W December 14, 1995 6–4 Florida Panthers (1995–96) 11–14–4 Recap 30 W December 16, 1995 6–3 Calgary Flames (1995–96) 12–14–4 Recap 31 W December 22, 1995 3–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 13–14–4 Recap 32 W December 23, 1995 7–5 Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 14–14–4 Recap 33 T December 26, 1995 3–3 OT @ New York Islanders (1995–96) 14–14–5 Recap 34 W December 31, 1995 5–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 15–14–5 Recap
January: 6–6–1 (home: 4–4–0; road: 2–2–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 35 L January 2, 1996 2–5 Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 15–15–5 Recap 36 T January 3, 1996 4–4 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 15–15–6 Recap 37 W January 6, 1996 5–2 Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 16–15–6 Recap 38 L January 9, 1996 0–3 Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 16–16–6 Recap 39 W January 11, 1996 7–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 17–16–6 Recap 40 W January 13, 1996 3–2 New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 18–16–6 Recap 41 L January 15, 1996 0–6 Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 18–17–6 Recap 42 W January 16, 1996 4–2 @ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 19–17–6 Recap 43 L January 22, 1996 6–7 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 19–18–6 Recap 44 W January 25, 1996 4–3 Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 20–18–6 Recap 45 L January 27, 1996 3–5 New York Rangers (1995–96) 20–19–6 Recap 46 L January 28, 1996 4–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 20–20–6 Recap 47 W January 31, 1996 3–1 @ Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 21–20–6 Recap
February: 6–6–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 5–4–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 48 T February 1, 1996 2–2 OT Florida Panthers (1995–96) 21–20–7 Recap 49 W February 3, 1996 4–2 Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 22–20–7 Recap 50 L February 6, 1996 5–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 22–21–7 Recap 51 L February 7, 1996 1–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 22–22–7 Recap 52 L February 10, 1996 2–6 Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 22–23–7 Recap 53 W February 14, 1996 3–0 @ Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 23–23–7 Recap 54 L February 15, 1996 0–3 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 23–24–7 Recap 55 W February 17, 1996 4–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 24–24–7 Recap 56 T February 19, 1996 3–3 OT @ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 24–24–8 Recap 57 L February 21, 1996 3–4 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 24–25–8 Recap 58 W February 23, 1996 7–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 25–25–8 Recap 59 W February 24, 1996 2–1 @ Calgary Flames (1995–96) 26–25–8 Recap 60 L February 27, 1996 3–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 26–26–8 Recap 61 W February 28, 1996 3–1 @ New York Rangers (1995–96) 27–26–8 Recap
March: 9–4–1 (home: 4–3–1; road: 5–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 62 L March 2, 1996 0–2 Washington Capitals (1995–96) 27–27–8 Recap 63 L March 5, 1996 3–5 @ New York Islanders (1995–96) 27–28–8 Recap 64 W March 7, 1996 4–3 New York Islanders (1995–96) 28–28–8 Recap 65 W March 9, 1996 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 29–28–8 Recap 66 W March 10, 1996 4–1 @ Florida Panthers (1995–96) 30–28–8 Recap 67 W March 14, 1996 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 31–28–8 Recap 68 W March 15, 1996 5–2 @ Washington Capitals (1995–96) 32–28–8 Recap 69 T March 18, 1996 3–3 OT San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 32–28–9 Recap 70 W March 20, 1996 2–1 @ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 33–28–9 Recap 71 W March 21, 1996 3–1 Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 34–28–9 Recap 72 L March 23, 1996 4–5 New York Rangers (1995–96) 34–29–9 Recap 73 W March 27, 1996 6–5 OT @ Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 35–29–9 Recap 74 L March 28, 1996 3–4 OT Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 35–30–9 Recap 75 W March 31, 1996 6–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 36–30–9 Recap
April: 4–1–2 (home: 2–0–1; road: 2–1–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 76 T April 1, 1996 1–1 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 36–30–10 Recap 77 W April 3, 1996 4–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 37–30–10 Recap 78 T April 4, 1996 3–3 OT Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 37–30–11 Recap 79 W April 7, 1996 4–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 38–30–11 Recap 80 W April 11, 1996 3–2 Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 39–30–11 Recap 81 L April 13, 1996 0–2 @ Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 39–31–11 Recap 82 W April 14, 1996 6–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 40–31–11 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1996 Stanley Cup playoffs[4]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (4) Florida Panthers – Panthers win 4–1 Game Result Date Score Opponent Attendance Series Recap 1 L April 17, 1996 3–6 @ Florida Panthers 14,703 Panthers lead 1–0 Recap 2 L April 22, 1996 2–6 @ Florida Panthers 14,703 Panthers lead 2–0 Recap 3 L April 24, 1996 2–4 Florida Panthers 14,922 Panthers lead 3–0 Recap 4 W April 25, 1996 6–2 Florida Panthers 14,810 Panthers lead 3–1 Recap 5 L April 27, 1996 3–4 @ Florida Panthers 14,703 Panthers win 4–1 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
12	Adam Oates	C	70	25	67	92	16	18	5	2	5	7	−3	2
77	Ray Bourque	D	82	20	62	82	31	58	5	1	6	7	−4	2
16[a]	Jozef Stumpel	C	76	18	36	54	−8	14	5	1	2	3	−2	0
14	Shawn McEachern	LW	82	24	29	53	−5	34	5	2	1	3	−2	8
21	Ted Donato	LW	82	23	26	49	6	46	5	1	2	3	−3	2
8	Cam Neely	RW	49	26	20	46	3	31	—	—	—	—	—	—
20	Todd Elik	LW	59	13	33	46	2	40	4	0	2	2	−1	16
17	Dave Reid	C	63	23	21	44	14	4	5	0	2	2	−3	2
45	Sandy Moger	RW	80	15	14	29	−9	65	5	2	2	4	−1	12
23	Steve Heinze	RW	76	16	12	28	−3	43	5	1	1	2	1	4
32	Don Sweeney	D	77	4	24	28	−4	42	5	0	2	2	−3	6
22	Rick Tocchet†	RW	27	16	8	24	7	64	5	4	0	4	−7	21
25	Kevin Stevens‡	LW	41	10	13	23	1	49	—	—	—	—	—	—
27	Steve Leach‡	RW	59	9	13	22	−4	86	—	—	—	—	—	—
46	Kyle McLaren	D	74	5	12	17	16	73	5	0	0	0	−3	14
42	Tim Sweeney	LW	41	8	8	16	4	14	1	0	0	0	0	2
11	Joe Mullen	RW	37	8	7	15	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Rick Zombo	D	67	4	10	14	−7	53	—	—	—	—	—	—
38	Jon Rohloff	D	79	1	12	13	−8	59	5	1	2	3	−3	2
10	Ron Sutter†	C	18	5	7	12	10	24	5	0	0	0	−2	8
19	Mariusz Czerkawski‡	RW	33	5	6	11	−11	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
28[b]	Dean Chynoweth†	D	35	2	5	7	−1	88	4	0	0	0	−2	24
37	Clayton Beddoes	C	39	1	6	7	−5	44	—	—	—	—	—	—
41	Phil Von Stefenelli	D	27	0	4	4	2	16	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Bill Ranford†	G	40	0	2	2		0	4	0	0	0		0
6	Alexei Kasatonov	D	19	1	0	1	1	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
39	Scott Bailey	G	11	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1	Craig Billington	G	27	0	0	0		2	1	0	0	0		2
40	Mark Cornforth	D	6	0	0	0	4	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
36	John Gruden	D	14	0	0	0	−3	4	3	0	1	1	0	0
47	Ryan Hughes	C	3	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Blaine Lacher	G	12	0	0	0		4	—	—	—	—	—	—
44	Davis Payne	LW	7	0	0	0	0	7	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Marc Potvin	RW	27	0	0	0	−2	12	5	0	1	1	−2	18
49	Andre Roy	LW	3	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
19	Kevin Sawyer†	LW	2	0	0	0	1	5	—	—	—	—	—	—
48	Steve Staios†	D	12	0	0	0	−5	4	3	0	0	0	−1	0
26	Cam Stewart	C	6	0	0	0	−2	0	5	1	0	1	0	2
35	Robbie Tallas	G	1	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.

No.	Player	Regular season											Playoffs
		GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
30	Bill Ranford†	40	39	21	12	4	1,030	109	2.84	.894	1	2,306:31	4	4	1	3	112	16	4.01	.857	0	239:15
1	Craig Billington	27	24	10	13	3	594	79	3.44	.867	1	1,379:42	1	1	0	1	28	6	6.00	.786	0	60:00
39	Scott Bailey	11	8	5	1	2	264	31	3.26	.883	0	570:57	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Blaine Lacher	12	10	3	5	2	284	44	3.94	.845	0	670:45	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Robbie Tallas	1	1	1	0	0	29	3	3.00	.897	0	60:00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Lester Patrick Trophy	Milt Schmidt	[5]
	NHL All-Rookie Team	Kyle McLaren (Defense)	[6]
	NHL First All-Star team	Ray Bourque (Defense)	[6]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Ray Bourque[c]	[8]
		Cam Neely
Team	Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy	Ray Bourque	[9]
	Seventh Player Award	Kyle McLaren	[9]
	Three Stars Awards	Adam Oates (1st)	[10]
		Ray Bourque (2nd)
		Bill Ranford (3rd)

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Kyle McLaren	October 7, 1995	[11]
	Phil Von Stefenelli	October 26, 1995
	Ryan Hughes	November 4, 1995
	Mark Cornforth
	Scott Bailey	November 16, 1995
	Clayton Beddoes	December 2, 1995
	Andre Roy	February 3, 1996
	Davis Payne	February 7, 1996
	Rob Tallas	March 7, 1996
	Steve Staios	March 21, 1996
1,000th game played	Joe Mullen	March 5, 1996	[12]
500th game played	Bill Ranford	March 5, 1996

Transactions

Trades Date Details August 1, 1995 (1995-08-01) To Pittsburgh Penguins Glen Murray Bryan Smolinski 1996 3rd-round pick (#72 overall) To Boston Bruins Shawn McEachern Kevin Stevens August 17, 1995 (1995-08-17) To Tampa Bay Lightning David Shaw To Boston Bruins 1996 DET 3rd-round pick (#80 overall) October 2, 1995 (1995-10-02) To St. Louis Blues Fred Knipscheer To Boston Bruins Darin Kimble Rick Zombo December 9, 1995 (1995-12-09) To New York Islanders 1996 5th-round pick (#128 overall) To Boston Bruins Dean Chynoweth January 11, 1996 (1996-01-11) To Edmonton Oilers Mariusz Czerkawski Rights to Sean Brown 1996 1st-round pick (#19 overall) To Boston Bruins Bill Ranford January 25, 1996 (1996-01-25) To Los Angeles Kings Kevin Stevens To Boston Bruins Rick Tocchet March 8, 1996 (1996-03-08) To St. Louis Blues Stephen Leach To Boston Bruins Kevin Sawyer Steve Staios

Free agents Date Player Team June 26, 1995 (1995-06-26) Mark Major to Detroit Red Wings July 24, 1995 (1995-07-24) Brett Harkins to Florida Panthers August 5, 1995 (1995-08-05) Sergei Zholtok to Las Vegas Thunder (IHL) August 8, 1995 (1995-08-08) Todd Elik from St. Louis Blues August 9, 1995 (1995-08-09) Ted Crowley August 9, 1995 (1995-08-09) Jeff Serowik to Chicago Blackhawks August 9, 1995 (1995-08-09) Peter Taglianetti from Pittsburgh Penguins August 9, 1995 (1995-08-09) Tim Sweeney from Mighty Ducks of Anaheim August 10, 1995 (1995-08-10) Peter Allen to Pittsburgh Penguins August 22, 1995 (1995-08-22) Jamie Huscroft to Calgary Flames September 6, 1995 (1995-09-06) Davis Payne September 8, 1995 (1995-09-08) Joe Mullen from Pittsburgh Penguins September 13, 1995 (1995-09-13) Rob Tallas October 6, 1995 (1995-10-06) Mark Cornforth October 6, 1995 (1995-10-06) Ryan Hughes December 28, 1995 (1995-12-28) John Blue to Buffalo Sabres March 9, 1996 (1996-03-09) Ron Sutter from New York Islanders June 7, 1996 (1996-06-07) Kirk Nielsen

Waivers

Date	Player	Team
October 2, 1995 (1995-10-02)	Brent Hughes	to Buffalo Sabres in waiver draft

Draft picks

Boston's draft picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.^[13]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
11	9	Kyle McLaren	D	Canada	Tacoma Rockets (WHL)
1	21	Sean Brown	D	Canada	Belleville Bulls (OHL)
2	47	Paxton Schafer	G	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
3	73	Bill McCauley	D	United States	Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL)
4	99	Cameron Mann	RW	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHL)
6	151	Evgeny Shaldybin	D	Russia	Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)
7	177	P. J. Axelsson	LW	Sweden	Frölunda HC (Sweden)
8	203	Sergei Zhukov	D	Russia	Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)
9	229	Jonathan Murphy	D	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHL)

Notes

1. The Bruins acquired this pick as the result of a trade on August 26, 1994 that sent Glen Wesley to Hartford in exchange for first-round picks in 1996, 1997 and this pick.

• The Bruins fifth-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on January 17, 1994 that sent Vincent Riendeau to Boston in exchange for this pick (125th overall).

See also

• 1995–96 NHL season

Notes

1. Stumpel wore number 22 until Tocchet was acquired.
2. Chynoweth wore number 47 in his first two games.
3. Bourque was voted to the starting lineup.^[7]