1994–95 Pittsburgh Penguins season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1994–95
Year:	1994
Team:	Pittsburgh Penguins
Conference:	Eastern
Conferencerank:	3rd
Division:	Northeast
Divisionrank:	2nd
Record:	29–16–3
Homerecord:	18–5–1
Roadrecord:	11–11–2
Goalsfor:	181
Goalsagainst:	158
Generalmanager:	Craig Patrick
Captain:	Ron Francis
Arena:	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Attendance:	16,108
Minorleague:	Cleveland Lumberjacks
Goalsleader:	Jaromir Jagr (32)
Assistsleader:	Ron Francis (48)
Pointsleader:	Jaromir Jagr (70)
Plusminusleader:	Ron Francis (+30)
Pimleader:	Francois Leroux (114)
Winsleader:	Ken Wregget (25)
Gaaleader:	Ken Wregget (3.21)

Despite the absence of Mario Lemieux, the 1994–95 Pittsburgh Penguins started the season off strong, by winning their first seven games. They remained undefeated in their first 13 games, going 12–0–1. However, after such a red-hot start to the season, the Penguins had a lukewarm record in their final 35 games, going 17–16–2. Jaromir Jagr won the Art Ross Trophy for most points (70), captain Ron Francis led the league in assists (48) and plus/minus (+30), and goaltender Ken Wregget led the league in wins (25). In a 7–3 Penguins' win over the Florida Panthers on February 7, Joe Mullen recorded an assist and became the first American-born NHL player to reach 1,000 points. Nine days later, Luc Robitaille scored four goals in a 5–2 Penguins win over the Hartford Whalers.

Regular season

The Penguins had the highest shooting percentage in the NHL during the regular season, scoring 181 goals on just 1,400 shots (12.9%).^[1]

Final standings

Playoffs

Despite finding themselves in a three-games-to-one series deficit against the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs, the Penguins won Game 5 at home in overtime, 6–5, via Luc Robitaille's goal at 4:30 of the first overtime period. Peter Bondra, Dale Hunter, Jaromir Jagr and Kevin Stevens each scored twice in the game. Pittsburgh went on to win Game 6 in Washington, 7–1, and then closed out the series at home with a 3–0 victory in Game 7. It was the second time in four years that the Penguins had come back to defeat the Capitals after being down three games to one. The Penguins faced the New Jersey Devils in the second round, and won the opening game, 3–2. With only 1:15 remaining in Game 2, Jaromir Jagr tied the game at 2–2. The game seemed certain to head to overtime until a breakaway-goal by Devils captain Scott Stevens with just 29 seconds remaining. Claude Lemieux added an empty-net goal and the Devils tied the series with a 4–2 win. In the final three games of the series, the Penguins managed to score only three goals and were ultimately eliminated at home in Game 5, 4–1.

Schedule and results

Regular season

|- style="background:#cfc;"| 1 || Jan 20 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–3 || Tampa Bay Lightning || 1–0–0 || 2 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 2 || Jan 23 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–5 || Florida Panthers || 2–0–0 || 4 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 3 || Jan 25 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–2 || New York Rangers || 3–0–0 || 6 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 4 || Jan 27 || Ottawa Senators || 4–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–0–0 || 8 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 5 || Jan 29 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–1 || Washington Capitals || 5–0–0 || 10 || |-|- style="background:#cfc;"| 6 || Feb 1 || New York Rangers || 3–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–0–0 || 12 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 7 || Feb 4 || Tampa Bay Lightning || 3–6 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 7–0–0 || 14 || |- style="background:#ffc;"| 8 || Feb 5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–3 OT || New Jersey Devils || 7–0–1 || 15 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 9 || Feb 7 || Florida Panthers || 3–7 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 8–0–1 || 17 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 10 || Feb 9 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–2 || New York Islanders || 9–0–1 || 19 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 11 || Feb 11 || Montreal Canadiens || 1–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 10–0–1 || 21 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 12 || Feb 14 || Boston Bruins || 3–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 11–0–1 || 23 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 13 || Feb 16 || Hartford Whalers || 2–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 12–0–1 || 25 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 14 || Feb 18 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–4 || Hartford Whalers || 12–1–1 || 25 || |- style="background:#ffc;"| 15 || Feb 19 || Buffalo Sabres || 3–3 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || 12–1–2 || 26 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 16 || Feb 21 || Quebec Nordiques || 4–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 13–1–2 || 28 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 17 || Feb 24 || Tampa Bay Lightning || 4–2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 13–2–2 || 28 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 18 || Feb 25 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–3 || New York Islanders || 13–3–2 || 28 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 19 || Feb 27 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 7–5 || Quebec Nordiques || 14–3–2 || 30 || |-|- style="background:#fcf;"| 20 || Mar 2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–6 || Buffalo Sabres || 14–4–2 || 30 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 21 || Mar 4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–3 OT || Boston Bruins || 15–4–2 || 32 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 22 || Mar 5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–6 || Philadelphia Flyers || 15–5–2 || 32 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 23 || Mar 7 || Quebec Nordiques || 5–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 15–6–2 || 32 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 24 || Mar 9 || New York Islanders || 2–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 16–6–2 || 34 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 25 || Mar 11 || Buffalo Sabres || 2–6 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 17–6–2 || 36 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 26 || Mar 13 || Montreal Canadiens || 2–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 18–6–2 || 38 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 27 || Mar 15 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–8 || Montreal Canadiens || 18–7–2 || 38 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 28 || Mar 16 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–3 || Quebec Nordiques || 18–8–2 || 38 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 29 || Mar 19 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–3 || Ottawa Senators || 19–8–2 || 40 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 30 || Mar 21 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–2 || Buffalo Sabres || 20–8–2 || 42 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 31 || Mar 24 || New Jersey Devils || 2–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 21–8–2 || 44 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 32 || Mar 26 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 0–2 || Florida Panthers || 21–9–2 || 44 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 33 || Mar 28 || New York Islanders || 3–6 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 22–9–2 || 46 || |-|- style="background:#cfc;"| 34 || Apr 1 || Philadelphia Flyers || 2–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 23–9–2 || 48 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 35 || Apr 5 || Hartford Whalers || 8–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 23–10–2 || 48 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 36 || Apr 8 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–2 || Montreal Canadiens || 23–11–2 || 48 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 37 || Apr 10 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–3 || Ottawa Senators || 24–11–2 || 50 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 38 || Apr 11 || Washington Capitals || 1–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 25–11–2 || 52 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 39 || Apr 15 || Ottawa Senators || 2–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 26–11–2 || 54 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 40 || Apr 16 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–4 OT || Philadelphia Flyers || 26–12–2 || 54 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 41 || Apr 18 || New York Rangers || 5–6 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 27–12–2 || 56 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 42 || Apr 22 || Washington Capitals || 2–1 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 27–13–2 || 56 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 43 || Apr 23 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–2 || Hartford Whalers || 28–13–2 || 58 || |- style="background:#ffc;"| 44 || Apr 26 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–3 OT || New Jersey Devils || 28–13–3 || 59 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 45 || Apr 28 || Boston Bruins || 1–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 29–13–3 || 61 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 46 || Apr 30 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–5 || Boston Bruins || 29–14–3 || 61 || |-|- style="background:#fcf;"| 47 || May 2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–7 || Washington Capitals || 29–15–3 || 61 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 48 || May 3 || Florida Panthers || 4–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 29–16–3 || 61 || |-|- style="text-align:center;"| Legend: = Win = Loss = Tie

Playoffs

|- style="background:#fcf;"| 1 || May 6 || Washington Capitals || 4–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 0–1 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 2 || May 8 || Washington Capitals || 5–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–1 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 3 || May 10 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–6 || Washington Capitals || 1–2 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 4 || May 12 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–6 || Washington Capitals || 1–3 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 5 || May 14 || Washington Capitals || 6–5 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–3 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 6 || May 16 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 7–1 || Washington Capitals || 3–3 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 7 || May 18 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–0 || Washington Capitals || 4–3 || |-|- style="background:#cfc;"| 1 || May 20 || New Jersey Devils || 3–2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–0 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 2 || May 22 || New Jersey Devils || 2–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–1 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 3 || May 24 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–5 || New Jersey Devils || 1–2 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 4 || May 26 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–2 OT || New Jersey Devils || 1–3 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 5 || May 28 || New Jersey Devils || 1–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–4 || |-|- style="text-align:center;"| Legend: = Win = Loss

Suspensions

Player	Length	Date
	2 games	February 2, 1995

Injuries

Player	Injury	Date
	1–year leave for Hodgkin's Lymphoma treatment	August 29, 1994
	Wrist surgery (Out indefinitely)	October 1, 1994
	Wrist surgery (Out indefinitely)	January 20, 1995
	Separated shoulder	March 15, 1995
	Sore wrist	May 3, 1995
	Knee surgery (Out indefinitely)	July 1, 1995

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season^[2]
Player
	48	32	38	70	23	37
	44	11	48	59	30	18
	47	21	23	44	1	42
	46	23	19	42	10	37
	48	13	25	38	12	18
	46	13	24	37		66
	45	16	21	37	15	6
	27	15	12	27	0	51
	44	13	13	26	4	22
	44	1	15	16	11	113
^‡	31	4	12	16	0	16
	33	5	10	15	3	46
	48	3	11	14		66
	40	2	9	11		34
^†	13	0	9	9	7	6
	41	1	6	7	8	54
	21	1	4	5	2	25
	14	2	2	4	0	2
	7	0	4	4		6
^‡	25	0	4	4	2	36
	39	2	1	3		63
	40	0	2	2	7	114
	36	2	0	2	0	82
^†	13	0	2	2		23
	13	0	1	1	1	12
	4	1	0	1	2	0
	1	0	1	1	1	2
^†	4	0	0	0	1	13
	1	0	0	0	0	0
Total		181	316	497	—	1,010

Playoffs^[3]
Player
	12	6	13	19	3	4
	12	2	13	15	3	0
	12	10	5	15	3	6
	12	7	4	11	5	26
	12	4	7	11		21
	12	3	3	6		16
	12	1	4	5		8
	12	2	1	3		12
	12	0	3	3		4
	10	1	1	2		12
	9	0	2	2		8
	12	0	2	2	0	14
	7	0	2	2	2	8
	11	0	2	2		8
	11	0	1	1		32
	4	1	0	1		8
	1	0	0	0		0
	11	0	0	0		6
	5	0	0	0		4
	5	0	0	0	0	4
	4	0	0	0		2
	4	0	0	0		18
	8	0	0	0	0	0
	3	0	0	0		2
Total		37	63	100	—	223

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[4]
Player
	38	2208:28	25	9	2	118	3.21	1219	0.903	14
	10	496:38	3	6	0	27	3.26	255	0.894	2
	1	60:00	1	0	0	3	3.00	27	0.889	0
	2	125:00	0	1	1	8	3.84	75	0.893	0
Total		2890:06	29	16	3	156	3.24	1576	0.901	16

Playoffs^[5]
Player
	11	660:35	5	6	33	3.00	349	0.905	1	7
	2	80:00	0	1	8	6.00	41	0.805	0	2
Total		740:35	5	7	41	3.32	390	0.895	1	9

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Art Ross Trophy	Jaromir Jagr	^[6]
	Frank J. Selke Trophy	Ron Francis	^[7]
	Lady Byng Memorial Trophy	Ron Francis	^[8]
	Lester Patrick Trophy	Joe Mullen	^[9]
	NHL First All-Star team	Jaromir Jagr (Right Wing)	^[10]
	NHL Second All-Star team	Larry Murphy (Defense)
	NHL Plus-Minus Award	Ron Francis	^[11]
Team	A. T. Caggiano Memorial Booster Club Award	Jaromir Jagr	^[12]
	Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Good Guy Award	Larry Murphy	^[13]
	Bob Johnson Memorial Badger Bob Award	Ron Francis
	Bob Johnson Memorial Badger Bob Award	Joe Mullen
	Leading Scorer Award	Jaromir Jagr
	Michel Briere Memorial Rookie of the Year Trophy	No winner	^[14]
	Most Valuable Player Award	Jaromir Jagr	^[15]
	Players' Player Award	Ron Francis
	The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award	Ron Francis
	The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award	Bryan Trottier

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
1,000th point	Joe Mullen	February 7, 1995	^[16]
400th goal	Luc Robitaille	February 19, 1995	^[17]
1,000th game played	Ron Francis	April 16, 1995	^[18]

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1994–95 season:^[19]

Trades

July 29, 1994	To Los Angeles Kings----Rick Tocchet 1995 2nd round pick	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Luc Robitaille
February 16, 1995	To Tampa Bay Lightning----future considerations	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Wendell Young
April 7, 1995	To Toronto Maple Leafs----Grant Jennings	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Drake Berehowsky
April 7, 1995	To Winnipeg Jets----Greg Brown	To Pittsburgh Penguins----cash
April 7, 1995	To Ottawa Senators----Martin Straka	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Norm Maciver Troy Murray

Free agents

Player	Acquired from	Lost to	Date
			August 2, 1994
			August 3, 1994
			August 3, 1994
			August 15, 1994

Signings

Player	Date
	August 10, 1994
	September 20, 1994
	April 7, 1995

Other

Name	Date	Details
	September 20, 1994	Released
	January 18, 1995	Lost in waiver draft (to Detroit Red Wings)
	January 18, 1995	Claimed in waiver draft (from Tampa Bay Lightning)
	January 18, 1995	Claimed in waiver draft (from Ottawa Senators)
	January 18, 1995	Claimed in waiver draft (from New York Rangers)
	January 18, 1995	Claimed in waiver draft (from Winnipeg Jets)
	January 18, 1995	Claimed in waiver draft (from Detroit Red Wings)
	January 18, 1995	Lost in waiver draft (to Edmonton Oilers)

Draft picks

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks. Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.^[20]

Round		Player	Pos	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	24		Center	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
2	50		Right Wing	Belleville Bulls (OHL)
3	57		Defense	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
3	73		Left Wing	Lawrence Academy (USHS–MA)
3	76		Defense	CSKA Moscow (Russia)
4	102	Tom O'Connor	Defense	Springfield Olympics (EJHL)
5	128	Clint Johnson	Left Wing	East High School (Duluth) (USHS–MN)
6	154		Center	CSKA Moscow (Russia)
7	161		Center	Granby Bisons (QMJHL)
7	180	Drew Palmer	Defense	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
8	206		Left Wing	CSKA Moscow (RUssia)
9	232	Jason Godbout	Defense	Hill-Murray School (USHS–MN)
10	258		Center	Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)
11	284	Brian Leitza	Goaltender	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)

Draft notes^[21]

The Hartford Whalers' third-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a March 10, 1992, trade that sent Frank Pietrangelo to the Whalers in exchange for a seventh-round pick and this pick.
The Boston Bruins' third-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of an October 8, 1993, trade that sent Paul Stanton to the Bruins in exchange for this pick.
The Hartford Whalers' seventh-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a March 10, 1992, trade that sent Frank Pietrangelo to the Whalers in exchange for a third-round pick and this pick.

References

Web site: Pittsburgh Penguins 1994-95 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . September 5, 2023.
Web site: 1994-95 Pittsburgh Penguins Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts . Hockey-Reference.com . September 5, 2023.

Notes and References

Web site: 1994-95 NHL Summary . Hockey-Reference.com . September 5, 2023.
Web site: 1994–1995 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
Web site: 1994–1995 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
Web site: 1994–1995 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
Web site: 1994–1995 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
Web site: Art Ross Trophy . records.nhl.com . September 11, 2023.
Web site: Frank J. Selke Trophy . records.nhl.com . September 11, 2023.
Web site: Lady Byng Memorial Trophy . records.nhl.com . September 11, 2023.
Web site: Lester Patrick Trophy . records.nhl.com . September 11, 2023.
Web site: Postseason All-Star Teams . records.nhl.com . September 11, 2023.
Web site: Ron Francis Carolina Hurricanes . NHL.com . September 11, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210802125034/https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/team/staff/executive-management/ron-francis . August 2, 2021 . He also won the Alka-Seltzer Plus Award in 1995, when he led the NHL in plus/minus.
2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins Media Guide, p.313
2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins Media Guide, p.312
2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins Media Guide, p.311
2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins Media Guide, p.314
Web site: Mullen first American to total 1,000 points . Tampa Bay Times . September 11, 2023 . February 8, 1995.
Web site: NHL - This week in NHL history . ESPN.com . September 11, 2023 . February 13, 2000 . Feb. 19, 1995: Left wing Luc Robitaille, then with the Pittsburgh Penguins, recorded his 400th career goal in an 3-3 tie with the Buffalo Sabres at Civic Arena..
Web site: 1981 NHL Entry Draft -- Ron Francis . www.hockeydraftcentral.com . September 11, 2023 . Played his 1,000th career NHL game for Pittsburgh on April 16, 1995, at Philadelphia..
Web site: Hockey Transactions Search Results. ProSportsTransactions.
Web site: NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results. NHL.com. July 14, 2012.
Web site: 1994 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions. Pro Sports Transactions. July 14, 2012.