1994–95 New York Rangers season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1994–95
Year:	1994
Team:	New York Rangers
Conferencerank:	8th
Divisionrank:	4th
Record:	22–23–3
Homerecord:	11–10–3
Roadrecord:	11–13–0
Goalsfor:	139
Goalsagainst:	134
Attendance:	18,194 (99.9%)
Goalsleader:	Adam Graves (17)
Assistsleader:	Mark Messier (39)
Pointsleader:	Mark Messier (53)
Pimleader:	Nick Kypreos (93)
Plusminusleader:	Adam Graves (+9)
Winsleader:	Mike Richter (14)
Gaaleader:	Glenn Healy (2.36)

The 1994–95 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 69th season. The season was shortened to 48 games due to the 1994–95 NHL lockout.

For the third time in as many years, the Rangers started the season with a different head coach. Mike Keenan, who had led the team to the Stanley Cup one year earlier, left to become head coach and general manager of the St. Louis Blues under controversial circumstances. Colin Campbell was hired to replace him and the Blues sent Petr Nedved to the Rangers as compensation for Keenan, with Doug Lidster and Esa Tikkanen sent to St. Louis with their former coach.

The Rangers barely qualified for the playoffs in the shortened season, finishing one point ahead of the Florida Panthers for the last spot in the Eastern Conference. The team advanced to the second round of the playoffs, where they fell in a sweep to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Regular season

Final standings

Playoffs

See main article: 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Rangers faced the first-place Quebec Nordiques in the first round of the playoffs. They narrowly lost Game 1, 5–4, as the Nordiques were powered by Joe Sakic's hat-trick. New York came back in game 2, winning 8–3. Sergei Nemchinov and Petr Nedved each scored twice. After edging the Nordiques 4–3 in Game 3, the Rangers found themselves trailing 2–0 in Game 4. They would tie it up on goals by Brian Leetch and Alexei Kovalev. Steve Larmer scored the winner at 8:09 of the first overtime period. Facing elimination, the Nordiques played a determined Game 5 at home and won 4–2 to cut New York's lead in the series to 3–2. The Rangers, at home for Game 6, built up a 4–0 lead and ended up winning 4–2, to eliminate the Nordiques four games to two. The Nordiques moved to Colorado almost immediately, as the announcement came on May 25, 1995.

In the second round, the Rangers faced a determined Philadelphia Flyers team that was led by the "Legion of Doom" line. In Game 1, the Rangers jumped out to a 2–0 lead after the first period on power-play goals by Brian Leetch and Petr Nedved. With the help of John LeClair's hat trick, the Flyers took a 4–3 lead in the third period. With only 19 seconds remaining, Pat Verbeek tied the game at 4–4. However, it was the Flyers who would ultimately win the game, as Eric Desjardins scored at 7:03 of the first overtime period. Game 2 started nearly identically to Game 1, as New York led 2–0 after the first period on power-play goals. Both were scored by Brian Leetch. Philadelphia re-gained control of the game as they had in Game 1, leading 3–2 midway through the third period. With under eight minutes to go, Leetch completed his hat trick to tie the score at 3–3. This game also went into overtime, and the Flyers needed only 25 seconds to win it, as defenseman Kevin Haller scored his 3rd of the playoffs to give Philadelphia a 2–0 lead in the series. The Flyers went on to dominate Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York, winning 5–2 and 4–1 to complete the sweep.

Schedule and results

Regular season

|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 1 || January 20, 1995 || Buffalo Sabres || 2–1 || 0–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 2 || January 21, 1995 || Montreal Canadiens || 5–2 || 1–1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 3 || January 23, 1995 || Boston Bruins || 2–1 || 1–2–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 4 || January 25, 1995 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–2 || 1–3–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 5 || January 28, 1995 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 2–0 || 1–4–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 6 || January 30, 1995 || Ottawa Senators || 6–2 || 2–4–0 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 7 || February 1, 1995 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–3 || 2–5–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="white"| 8 || February 2, 1995 || Tampa Bay Lightning || 3–3 OT || 2–5–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 9 || February 4, 1995 || @ Ottawa Senators || 2–1 || 3–5–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 10 || February 8, 1995 || Washington Capitals || 5–4 || 4–5–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 11 || February 9, 1995 || @ New Jersey Devils || 4–1 || 4–6–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 12 || February 11, 1995 || @ Tampa Bay Lightning || 3–2 || 5–6–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 13 || February 15, 1995 || @ Buffalo Sabres || 2–1 || 6–6–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="white"| 14 || February 16, 1995 || Montreal Canadiens || 2–2 OT || 6–6–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 15 || February 18, 1995 || @ Montreal Canadiens || 5–2 || 6–7–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 16 || February 20, 1995 || @ Tampa Bay Lightning || 3–1 || 7–7–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 17 || February 21, 1995 || @ Florida Panthers || 5–3 || 8–7–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 18 || February 24, 1995 || Hartford Whalers || 2–1 || 8–8–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 19 || February 26, 1995 || @ Buffalo Sabres || 4–2 || 9–8–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="white"| 20 || February 28, 1995 || Florida Panthers || 0–0 OT || 9–8–3 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 21 || March 1, 1995 || @ Hartford Whalers || 5–2 || 10–8–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 22 || March 3, 1995 || Philadelphia Flyers || 5–3 || 11–8–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 23 || March 5, 1995 || @ Washington Capitals || 4–2 || 11–9–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 24 || March 6, 1995 || Ottawa Senators || 4–3 || 12–9–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 25 || March 8, 1995 || New Jersey Devils || 6–4 || 13–9–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 26 || March 11, 1995 || @ Montreal Canadiens || 3–1 || 13–10–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 27 || March 15, 1995 || Philadelphia Flyers || 4–3 || 13–11–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 28 || March 18, 1995 || @ Washington Capitals || 4–1 || 13–12–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 29 || March 22, 1995 || New Jersey Devils || 5–2 || 13–13–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 30 || March 23, 1995 || @ New York Islanders || 1–0 || 13–14–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 31 || March 25, 1995 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 2–1 || 13–15–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 32 || March 30, 1995 || Quebec Nordiques || 5–4 || 13–16–3 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 33 || April 1, 1995 || @ Boston Bruins || 3–2 || 14–16–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 34 || April 2, 1995 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 4–2 || 14–17–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 35 || April 5, 1995 || @ Florida Panthers || 5–0 || 15–17–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 36 || April 7, 1995 || New York Islanders || 4–3 || 15–18–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 37 || April 9, 1995 || @ New Jersey Devils || 2–0 || 15–19–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 38 || April 12, 1995 || Buffalo Sabres || 3–1 || 16–19–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 39 || April 14, 1995 || Boston Bruins || 5–3 || 17–19–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 40 || April 16, 1995 || @ New York Islanders || 3–2 || 18–19–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 41 || April 18, 1995 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–5 || 18–20–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 42 || April 20, 1995 || Hartford Whalers || 3–2 || 19–20–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 43 || April 23, 1995 || @ Boston Bruins || 5–4 || 19–21–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 44 || April 24, 1995 || Washington Capitals || 5–4 || 20–21–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 45 || April 26, 1995 || Tampa Bay Lightning || 6–4 || 21–21–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 46 || April 28, 1995 || New York Islanders || 4–2 || 21–22–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 47 || April 30, 1995 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 2–0 || 22–22–3 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 48 || May 2, 1995 || Florida Panthers || 4–3 || 22–23–3 || |-|-| Legend:

Playoffs

|- align=center bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 1 || May 6, 1995 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 5–4 || Nordiques lead 1–0 || |- align=center bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 2 || May 8, 1995 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 8–3 || Series tied 1–1 || |- align=center bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 3 || May 10, 1995 || Quebec Nordiques || 4–3 || Rangers lead 2–1 || |- align=center bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 4 || May 12, 1995 || Quebec Nordiques || 3–2 OT || Rangers lead 3–1 || |- align=center bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 5 || May 14, 1995 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 4–2 || Rangers lead 3–2 || |- align=center bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 6 || May 16, 1995 || Quebec Nordiques || 4–2 || Rangers win 4–2 || |-|- align=center bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 1 || May 21, 1995 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 5–4 OT || Flyers lead 1–0 || |- align=center bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 2 || May 22, 1995 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 4–3 OT || Flyers lead 2–0 || |- align=center bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 3 || May 24, 1995 || Philadelphia Flyers || 5–2 || Flyers lead 3–0 || |- align=center bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 4 || May 26, 1995 || Philadelphia Flyers || 4–1 || Flyers win 4–0 || |-|-| Legend:

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 Rangers only.
= Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Rangers only.

	Regular season						Playoffs
	Player
11		C	46	14	39	53	8	40	10	3	10	13	−11	8
2		D	48	9	32	41	0	18	10	6	8	14	−1	8
21		D	38	10	26	36	−2	18	10	3	8	11	−9	2
9		LW	47	17	14	31	9	51	10	4	4	8	−13	8
28		RW	47	14	15	29	8	16	10	2	2	4	−5	6
27		C	48	13	15	28	−6	30	10	4	7	11	2	10
16		RW	45	14	13	27	−3	26	5	0	0	0	0	8
10		C	46	11	12	23	−1	26	10	3	2	5	−4	6
17		RW	19	10	5	15	−2	18	10	4	6	10	−8	20
13		LW	47	7	6	13	−6	16	10	4	5	9	6	2
25		D	47	4	8	12	−4	30	8	1	0	1	−1	0
24		D	43	2	7	9	0	36	10	0	0	0	−4	8
32		LW	41	3	5	8	−8	25	9	0	1	1	−1	10
4		D	44	1	7	8	−2	58	10	0	1	1	−5	12
23		D	44	1	3	4	3	70	9	0	0	0	1	10
19		LW	40	1	3	4	0	93	10	0	2	2	3	6
20		LW	37	1	3	4	−2	19	7	1	0	1	1	2
12		LW	20	2	1	3	−2	4
26		RW	48	1	2	3	−4	71	10	0	0	0	0	8
5		D	9	0	3	3	2	2	3	0	0	0	−1	0
15		LW	18	1	1	2	0	62
30		G	17	0	2	2		2	5	0	0	0		0
29		D	10	0	2	2	2	18
6		D	6	1	0	1	0	18
39		C	5	1	0	1	1	2
8		RW	3	1	0	1	−1	2
18		LW	1	0	0	0	0	4
37		C	1	0	0	0	0	0
22		C	12	0	0	0	1	0	8	0	0	0	−1	2
14		LW	4	0	0	0	−2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
35		G	35	0	0	0		2	7	0	0	0		0

Goaltending

	Regular season										Playoffs
	Player
35		35	14	17	2	884	97	2.92	.890	2	1993	7	2	5	189	23	3.60	.878	0	384
30		17	8	6	1	377	35	2.36	.907	1	888	5	2	1	93	13	3.39	.860	0	230

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Lester Patrick Trophy	Brian Mullen	^[1]
Team	Ceil Saidel Memorial Award	Adam Graves	^[2]
	"Crumb Bum" Award	Mark Messier
	Frank Boucher Trophy	Mark Messier
	Good Guy Award	Kevin Lowe
	Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award	Mattias Norstrom
	Players' Player Award	Adam Graves
	Rangers MVP	Mark Messier
	Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award	Mark Messier

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
1,000th point	Steve Larmer	March 8, 1995	^[3]
1,000th game played	Steve Larmer	April 20, 1995	^[4]
1,000th game played	Jay Wells	April 30, 1995	^[5]

Transactions

July 24, 1994 – Doug Lidster was traded by the New York Rangers, along with Esa Tikkanen, to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Petr Nedved.
March 23, 1995 – Hartford obtained D Glen Featherstone, D Michael Stewart and a first-round pick in the 1995 Entry Draft (Jean-Sebastien Giguere) and a fourth-round pick in the 1996 Entry Draft in exchange for RW Pat Verbeek.

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft in Hartford, Connecticut, at the Hartford Civic Center.^[6]

Round		Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	26	Dan Cloutier	G	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
2	52	Rudolf Vercik	LW	Slovakia	Slovan Bratislava (Slovak Extraliga)
3	78	Adam Smith	D	Canada	Tacoma Rockets (WHL)
4	100	Alexander Korobolin	D		Chelyabinsk Mechel (Rus-1)
4	104	Sylvain Blouin	LW	Canada	Laval Titan (QMJHL)
5	130	Martin Ethier	D	Canada	Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
6	135	Yuri Litvinov	C		PHC Krylya Sovetov (Russia)
6	156	David Brosseau	RW	Canada	Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
7	182	Alexei Lazarenko	RW	Ukraine	CSKA Moscow (Russia)
8	208	Craig Anderson	D	United States	Park Center Senior High School (USHS-MN)
9	209	Vitali Yeremeyev	G	Kazakhstan	HC Kamenogorsk (Russia)
9	234	Eric Boulton	LW	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
10	260	Radoslav Kropac	F	Slovakia	Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)
11	267	Jamie Butt	LW	Canada	Tacoma Rockets (WHL)
11	286	Kim Johnsson	D	Sweden	Malmö IF (SEL)

References

Web site: New York Rangers 1994-95 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . September 6, 2023.
Web site: 1994-95 New York Rangers Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts . Hockey-Reference.com . September 6, 2023.

Notes and References

Web site: Lester Patrick Trophy . records.nhl.com . September 11, 2023.
Book: 2014–15 New York Rangers Media Guide. New York Rangers. 2014. 349–352.
Web site: NHL / Larmer's Point Sparks Rangers / 43rd player to reach 1,000 . sfgate.com . September 11, 2023 . March 9, 1995.
Web site: Lapointe . Joe . HOCKEY; Nedved's Questionable Goal Is the Right Answer . The New York Times . September 11, 2023 . April 21, 1995 . Last night's game was the 1,000th of STEVE LARMER's career.
Web site: Yannis . Alex . HOCKEY; Only Sure Thing for Rangers: 8th Place . The New York Times . September 11, 2023 . May 3, 1995 . JAY WELLS was honored before the game for playing his 1,000th game in the National Hockey League Sunday at Philadelphia..
Web site: 1994 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . September 6, 2023.