Division 1st Atlantic 1995–96 record 45–24–13 Road record 18–15–8 | Conference 1st Eastern Home record 27–9–5 Goals for 282 | |
The 1995–96 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers 29th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). In the Spectrum's final season the Flyers repeated as Atlantic Division champs and clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but the Flyers lost in the Conference Semifinals to the Florida Panthers in six games.
Contents
Regular season
Building on the success of the lockout season, the Flyers began the year with a 7–1 rout in Montreal over the Canadiens. An early 5–0–1 stretch was derailed in a 5–4 loss to Chicago on October 22, in which Dominic Roussel turned in a poor performance in net. It would be one of several in the early going which forced head coach Terry Murray to favor Garth Snow as the backup to Ron Hextall.
Lindros was hurt in early November, and the club limped to a 2–4–1 record in his absence. However, after his return they ripped off eight straight wins as part of a 12–2–2 stretch which put them in contention in the Atlantic Division with the Florida Panthers. However, the momentum switched and the club struggled to a 3–6–7 record thereafter.
A 3–2 home overtime win over Montreal on February 1, in which defenseman Petr Svoboda was elbowed in the head by Marc Bureau, finally lit a fire under the team. In addition, the trade-deadline acquisition of Dale Hawerchuk, who was needed in Mikael Renberg's absence, spurred a 13–3–0 charge at the end of the season. Thanks to a 6–5 Bruins win over the Penguins on the final day, the Flyers gained the top spot in the Eastern Conference following a 3–1 win over Tampa.
Lindros hit the 100-point mark in a 3–0 win over Hartford on March 25, while LeClair netted his 50th goal of the season in a 5–1 win in New Jersey on April 10. In an ironic twist, Avalanche forward Claude Lemieux notched the game-winning goal on a fluke shot in a Colorado 5–3 win in Philly on February 11. With the Devils the previous June, Lemieux hit the net from 50 feet out to give his club a 3–2 win in Game 5 of the conference finals.
On April 2, the Flyers scored three short-handed goals in a 6-2 win over the New York Islanders.
On April 11, the Flyers organization celebrated the final regular-season game in the Spectrum. The home team took care of their end, topping the Canadiens 3–2. After the game, an emotional torch-passing ceremony saw past and present team members skating alongside each other, with a symbolic transference of leadership from Bobby Clarke to Lindros.
Season standings
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs
Playoffs
With the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the Flyers drew their division rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, coached by former Flyer Terry Crisp. After a 7–3 Philly home rout in Game 1, Lightning goalie Daren Puppa was spectacular and Brian Bradley notched the OT winner in a 2–1 Game 2 triumph. Former draft pick Alexander Selivanov ended Game 3 in Tampa with an overtime goal. Hawerchuk and LeClair provided leadership and goals in a 4–1 road win in Game 4, then the Flyers won 4–1 in Game 5 at the Spectrum. The Flyers closed out the series with a 6–1 score in Game 6 at the Thunderdome.
Next up in the conference semifinals were the Florida Panthers, a team which relied on goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck and the neutral zone trap for success. Vanbiesbrouck posted a 2–0 shutout in Game 1, and it took until midway through Game 2 for the Flyers to get rolling offensively in a narrow 3–2 win. Game 3 saw Flyers veterans Dan Quinn, Hawerchuk, Desjardins and Hextall set the tone in a 3–1 victory.
The Flyers were defeated in overtime in Game 4 and double-overtime in Game 5. The Panthers ended the Flyers' season in Game 6.
Skaters
Goaltenders
Transactions
The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 25, 1995, the day after the deciding game of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 11, 1996, the day of the deciding game of the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals.
Trades
Free agency
The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).
Re-signed
The following players were re-signed by the Flyers. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).
Entry level contracts
The following players — Flyers draft picks, undrafted free agents, and the unsigned draft picks of other teams — were signed by the Flyers to entry level contracts.
NHL Waiver Draft
The 1995 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 2, 1995. Each NHL team placed 18 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select. First-year professional players were exempt. The Flyers were not involved in any selections during the draft.
The Flyers left the following players unprotected: defensemen Darren Rumble and Todd Nelson, and forwards Gilbert Dionne, Yanick Dupre, Tony Horacek, Shawn McCosh, Clayton Norris, Russ Romaniuk, and Anatoli Semenov.
Waivers
The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions.
Departures
The following players left the team via free agency, release, or retirement. Players who were under contract and left the team during the season are marked with an asterisk (*).
Draft picks
Philadelphia's picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta, on June 28, 1995.
Farm teams
The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL and the Mobile Mysticks of the ECHL.