1996 Stanley Cup Finals

1996 Stanley Cup Finals
1996 Stanley Cup Finals
	* indicates overtime period
Location(s)	Denver (McNichols Sports Arena) (1,2); Miami (Miami Arena) (3,4)
Coaches	Colorado: Marc Crawford; Florida: Doug MacLean
Captains	Colorado: Joe Sakic; Florida: Brian Skrudland
Referees	Bill McCreary (1,4); Don Koharski (2); Andy Van Hellemond (3)
Dates	June 4–June 11
MVP	Joe Sakic (Colorado)
Series-winning goal	Uwe Krupp (4:31, 3OT, G4)

The 1996 Stanley Cup Final was the NHL championship series of the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs contested between the Western Conference champion Colorado Avalanche and the Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers, two teams in the Final for the first time and that did not exist only three seasons before. It was Colorado's first appearance in the Final, in only their first season in Denver since moving from Quebec City (where they had formerly played as the Nordiques) in 1995. It was Florida's first appearance in the Final, in only the franchise's third season since entering the NHL in 1993. Only two other teams have made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance faster: the St. Louis Blues in their debut season in 1967–68 (they lost the 1968 Finals to the Montreal Canadiens), and the 1928 Cup-winning New York Rangers (who were in their second season of play, having been formed for the 1926–27 season). This was also the first time since the formation of the NHL in 1917 that the two teams competing for the Cup were making their first Final appearance.

Colorado defeated Florida in a four-game sweep to win their first Stanley Cup becoming the seventh post-1967 expansion team and the second former WHA team (after the Edmonton Oilers) to win the Cup. Colorado's Joe Sakic earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the 1996 Playoffs.

Road to the Final

Colorado defeated the Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit Red Wings in six games each to advance to the final.

Florida defeated the Boston Bruins in five games, the Philadelphia Flyers in six, and the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven.

The series

Game one

Tuesday, June 4

Colorado Avalanche

3 – 1

Florida Panthers

McNichols Sports Arena

The series opened on Tuesday, June 4, at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. Patrick Roy was in goal for Colorado, and John Vanbiesbrouck was between the pipes for Florida (a rematch from the 1986 Wales Conference Finals when Roy was with the Montreal Canadiens and Vanbiesbrouck was with the New York Rangers). Although Colorado was the heavy favorite in the series, Florida got on the board first on Tom Fitzgerald's goal at 16:51 of the first period. That would be all the Panthers would get, however, as Colorado scored three times within five minutes in the second period. Scott Young scored at 10:32, Mike Ricci scored at 12:21, and Uwe Krupp scored at 14:21. The Avalanche went on to win the game 3–1, with Roy making 25 saves in the victory.

Game two

Thursday, June 6

Colorado Avalanche

8 – 1

Florida Panthers

McNichols Sports Arena

Peter Forsberg got the Avalanche on the board first in game two, scoring an unassisted goal at 4:11 of the first period. The Panthers tied the game on Stu Barnes' power-play goal at 7:52. Rene Corbet broke the 1–1 tie with a power-play goal at 10:43, and then Forsberg scored two power-play goals of his own at 13:46 and 15:05 to complete the hat trick. Colorado led 4–1 after just one period. The Avalanche would make it 5–1 with Corbet’s second goal of the game at 4:37 of the second period. Valeri Kamensky followed with a goal just 31 seconds later, and Jon Klemm scored at 10:03 to give Colorado a dominating 7–1 lead after two periods. Klemm would add another goal at 17:28 of the third period. It was the Avalanche’s fourth power-play goal of the game. Colorado won the game 8–1, with three players scoring at least twice.

Game three

Saturday, June 8

Florida Panthers

2 – 3

Colorado Avalanche

Miami Arena

The Avalanche went to the Miami Arena in Florida with a 2–0 series lead. Claude Lemieux, back after his two-game suspension, scored the first goal of the game at 2:44 of the first period to give Colorado a 1–0 lead. Florida played determinedly, however, and tied the game on Ray Sheppard’s power-play goal at 9:14. Rob Niedermayer scored at 11:19 to give the Panthers their second lead of the series. The score was 2–1 Florida after one period. At 1:38 of the second period, Colorado’s Mike Keane scored a game-tying goal. Captain Joe Sakic scored the go-ahead goal just 82 seconds later, and Colorado went on to win 3–2 and take a commanding three-games-to-none lead in the series. Patrick Roy made 32 saves in the win.

Game four

Monday, June 10 & Tuesday, June 11

Florida Panthers

0 – 1

3OT

Colorado Avalanche

Miami Arena

With their backs to the wall, the Panthers played a defensive game. Florida goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck went save for save with Colorado goaltender Patrick Roy. The two teams played a marathon game that took until the third overtime period. Uwe Krupp’s unassisted goal at 4:31 ended 44 minutes and 31 seconds of overtime and gave the Avalanche a 1–0 win and a four-games-to-none series win. Goaltender Patrick Roy stopped all 63 shots he faced. Colorado outscored Florida 15–4 in the series, and Patrick Roy stopped 147 of 151 shots, for a save percentage of .974. Joe Sakic was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, having led all skaters in goals with 18, and points with 34. For both Patrick Roy and Claude Lemieux, it was one of their three Stanley Cup wins in eleven years. Roy and Lemieux first won the Cup in 1986 with the Montreal Canadiens. Roy won a second Cup with Montreal in 1993. Lemieux won a second cup with New Jersey in 1995.

The Avalanche became the third team to win the cup after relocating: the 1989 Calgary Flames won the Cup after moving from Atlanta and the New Jersey Devils in 1995 won the Cup 13 years after they played their last game in the same city and same arena that the Avs played in as the Colorado Rockies.

Rosters

Bolded years under Finals appearance indicates year won Stanley Cup.

Colorado Avalanche

Goaltenders
	Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of birth		Finals appearance
35	Stephane Fiset	L	1988		Montreal, Quebec	first (did not play)
33	Patrick Roy	L	1995–96		Quebec City, Quebec	fourth (1986, 1989, 1993)

Defensemen
#	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of birth		Finals appearance
2	Sylvain Lefebvre - A	L	1994–95		Richmond, Quebec	first
4	Uwe Krupp	R	1994–95		Cologne, Germany	first
5	Alexei Gusarov	L	1988		Leningrad, USSR	first
6	Craig Wolanin - A	L	1989–90		Grosse Pointe, Michigan	first (did not play)
7	Curtis Leschyshyn - A	L	1988		Thompson, Manitoba	first
8	Sandis Ozolinsh	L	1995–96		Riga, Latvia	first
24	Jon Klemm	R	1991–92		Cranbrook, British Columbia	first
52	Adam Foote	R	1988		Toronto, Ontario	first

Forwards
#	Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of birth		Finals appearance
9	Mike Ricci – A	C	L	1991–92		Scarborough, Ontario	first
10	Troy Murray	C	R	1995–96		Calgary, Alberta	first (did not play)
12	Chris Simon	LW	L	1992–93		Wawa, Ontario	first (did not play)
13	Valeri Kamensky	LW	R	1988		Voskresensk, USSR	first
14	Dave Hannan	C/LW	L	1995–96		Sudbury, Ontario	second (1988)
16	Warren Rychel	LW	L	1995–96		Strathroy, Ontario	second (1993)
18	Adam Deadmarsh	RW	R	1993		Trail, British Columbia	first
19	Joe Sakic – C	C	L	1987		Burnaby, British Columbia	first
20	René Corbet	LW	R	1991		Victoriaville, Quebec	first
21	Peter Forsberg	C	L	1994–95		Örnsköldsvik, Sweden	first
22	Claude Lemieux	RW	R	1995–96		Buckingham, Quebec	fourth (1986, 1989, 1995)
25	Mike Keane	RW	R	1995–96		Winnipeg, Manitoba	fourth (1986, 1989, 1993)
26	Stephane Yelle	C	L	1993–94		Ottawa, Ontario	first
48	Scott Young	RW	R	1994–95		Clinton, Massachusetts	second (1991)

Florida Panthers

Goaltenders
#	Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of birth		Finals appearance
30	Mark Fitzpatrick	L	1993–94		Toronto, Ontario	first (did not play)
34	John Vanbiesbrouck	L	1993–94		Detroit, Michigan	first

Defensemen
#	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of birth		Finals appearance
2	Terry Carkner	L	1995–96		Smiths Falls, Ontario	second (1995)
3	Paul Laus	R	1993–94		Beamsville, Ontario	first
5	Gord Murphy – A	R	1993–94		Willowdale, Ontario	first
6	Jason Woolley	L	1994–95		Toronto, Ontario	first (did not play)
23	Rhett Warrener	R	1994		Shaunavon, Saskatchewan	first
24	Robert Svehla	R	1993–94		Martin, Czechoslovakia	first
55	Ed Jovanovski	L	1994		Windsor, Ontario	first

Forwards
#	Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of birth		Finals appearance
10	Dave Lowry	LW	L	1993–94		Sudbury, Ontario	first
11	Bill Lindsay	LW	L	1993–94		Bigfork, Montana	first
12	Jody Hull	RW	R	1993–94		Petrolia, Ontario	first (did not play)
14	Stu Barnes	C	R	1993–94		Spruce Grove, Alberta	first
18	Mike Hough	LW	L	1993–94		Montreal, Quebec	first
19	Radek Dvorak	RW	R	1995		Tábor, Czechoslovakia	first
20	Brian Skrudland – C	C	L	1993–94		Peace River, Alberta	third (1986, 1989)
21	Tom Fitzgerald	RW	R	1993–94		Billerica, Massachusetts	first
26	Ray Sheppard	RW	R	1995–96		Petawawa, Ontario	first
27	Scott Mellanby - A	RW	R	1993–94		Montreal, Quebec	second (1987)
28	Martin Straka	C	L	1995–96		Plzeň, Czechoslovakia	first
29	Johan Garpenlov	LW	L	1995–96		Stockholm, Sweden	first
44	Rob Niedermayer	C	L	1993		Cassiar, British Columbia	first

Colorado Avalanche - 1996 Stanley Cup Champions

Players

Centres

Wingers

Defencemen

Goaltenders

33 Patrick Roy
35 Stephane Fiset

Coaching and administrative staff

Charlie Lyons (Chairman/Chief Executive Officer/Owner/President/Governor), Pierre Lacroix (Vice President/General Manager), Marc Crawford (Head Coach)
Joel Quenneville (Asst. Coach), Jacques Cloutier (Goaltending Coach), Francois Giguere (Asst. General Manager)
Michel Goulet (Director of Player Personnel), Dave Draper (Chief Scout), Jean Martineau (Director of Public Relations)
Pat Karns (Athletic Trainer), Matthew Sokolowski (Asst. Trainer), Rob McLean (Equipment Manager)
Mike Kramer (Asst. Equipment Manager), Brock Gibbins (Asst. Equipment Manager), Skip Allen (Strength-Conditioning Coach)
Paul Fixter (Video Coordinator), Leo Vyssokov (Massage Therapist)
Sandis Ozolinsh was first Latvian born-trained player to win the Stanley Cup.
Uwe Krupp was first the German born-trained player to win the Stanley Cup.

Stanley Cup engravings

Adam Deadmarsh's name was misspelled ADAM DEADMARCH. This mistake was corrected by stamping an "S" over the "C" twice. Deadmarsh's name was the first player's name to be corrected on the Presentation Stanley Cup.

References

Diamond, Dan (2000). Total Stanley Cup. NHL.
Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.

Preceded by New Jersey Devils 1995	Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup Champions 1996	Succeeded by Detroit Red Wings 1997

Road to the Final

The series

Game one

Game two

Game three

Game four

Rosters

Colorado Avalanche

Florida Panthers

Colorado Avalanche - 1996 Stanley Cup Champions

Players

Coaching and administrative staff

Stanley Cup engravings

See also

References