Wings-Devils 1995 Stanley Cup Final

[Jim MacDonald]

Hey everyone,

As much as it will pain me to do this, I was 17 when I started my love/enjoyment of hockey, unfortunately for me this coincided with the Devils sweeping the Wings. Since I was a bit too young/green to understand hockey's nuances that I've come to learn and love, I wanted to learn/get peeps thoughts on how the Devils took it to the Wings in 95, from Devils Fans, Wings Fans and hockey fans in general. My thoughts to start

1. Keith Primeau was supposedly playing a great two-way game coming into the final, and Scott Stevens caught him with a check that give him a back spasm which affected him the rest of the way.

2. Stevie Y had the sprain in his left knee

3. Devils had the big wingers that seemed to destroy us and we couldn't match-up or handle their size (MacLean, Lemieux, the Crash Line)

4. Did Jacque Lemaire implement the neutral zone trap during the regular season for his team?

I know it seemed EVERYONE was giving the cup to the Wings before the series started, granted the Wings had a great regular season and went through the playoffs like a hot knife through butter. Did the Devils have a relative "quiet-modest" 1994-1995 season? Look forward to the knowledge/feedback as always. Thanks!-Jim

 

[Sadekuuro]

Detroit struggled mightily to even get into the offensive zone with possession (I always found it surprising that renowned hockey genius Scotty Bowman, with two of the best skaters of all time at his disposal, seemed so flummoxed by the neutral zone trap). Vernon wasn't great and they gave away Game 2, but the decisive factor was their inability to break the trap.

 

[c9777666]

I sometimes wonder how things might have changed for Detroit if the Devils don’t win the ECF vs. Philly.

If Claude Lemieux doesn’t score that long range goal vs. Hextall in game 5 and it goes to overtime, I don’t know if it’s a guarantee the Devils still get to the Cup Finals.

 

[Thenameless]

My close friend and I had begun to understand hockey at a deeper level by then. Neither of us thought Detroit had a chance going into the Finals. New Jersey was playing what we thought to be "perfect" hockey, which would have even enabled them to handle some dynasty offensive powerhouses of the past. To me, the Devils are unique in being the only Defensive Dynasty.

Montreal, Islanders, Red Wings: Balanced Play Dynasties
Oilers, Penguins: Offensive Dynasties
Devils: Defensive Dynasty

 

[Staniowski]

The '95 Devils....what a team!

One of the most memorable teams of all-time and quite misunderstood by many.

They beat Bourque, Neely, Oates, and the Bruins in the 1st round; Jagr, Francis, and the Penguins in the 2nd round; Lindros, LeClair, and the Flyers in the semis; and Yzerman, Fedorov, Lidstrom, and the Red Wings in the finals.

And, for the most part, they won all four series in fairly dominant fashion. Overall, they outscored their opponents 67 to 34, they outshot the other teams 605 to 465, and had the most shots in 17 of their 20 games.

The team "system" that they played was not invented by Lemaire. There were other teams that played aspects of it in the past, including some European teams like the Czech national team, and Lemaire said his line in the late '70s - with Lafleur and Shutt - sometimes played a similar system. Roger Neilson and Bob Johnson used aspects of it, with varying success. But this Jersey team perfected it and it was incredibly effective. I think it was effective largely because other coaches and teams were kind of "shocked" by it, they didn't anticipate it and they didn't have time to react in any meaningful way.

To call it a "defensive" system is true to a certain extent. But the Devils were very aggressive and they scored a lot of goals. While they did try to shut down the neutral zone, the key was positioning and support all over the ice. They produced a lot of turnovers and they took advantage of them.

After watching them very closely in the first two rounds, I predicted they would win the next 8 games straight and win the cup. I didn't think anybody could beat them. Of course, I was wrong - the Flyers won games 3 and 4 in the semis. But they really demolished the Red Wings. I remember Bowman saying the most embarrassed he ever was in his career was in game 3 when, after losing the first 2 games at Joe Louis, they were down 5 to 0.

If you look at that Devils roster and see Brodeur, Stevens, and Niedermayer, you might think they largely won the cup. Not the case at all. Brodeur was a relatively minor player in these playoffs. In many of these 20 games, Brodeur faced almost no good scoring chances from the opposing teams. Stevens and Niedermayer both played well, but the forwards were the key - they are the ones who made the system work. I think Lemieux and Broten were the two best but several forwards played exceptionally well.

I think this Devils team had a major influence on the Red Wings - Bowman adapted the Devils system to fit the strengths of the Red Wings and they won cups in '97 and '98 playing a strong team game.

 

[Staniowski]

New Jersey was playing what we thought to be "perfect" hockey, which would have even enabled them to handle some dynasty offensive powerhouses of the past.

I agree and I remember thinking very similarly when I was watching those games. Indeed, it was almost perfect.

 

[The Panther]

Detroit struggled mightily to even get into the offensive zone with possession (I always found it surprising that renowned hockey genius Scotty Bowman, with two of the best skaters of all time at his disposal, seemed so flummoxed by the neutral zone trap). Vernon wasn't great and they gave away Game 2, but the decisive factor was their inability to break the trap.

How exactly does a team break the trap?

 

[tarheelhockey]

How exactly does a team break the trap?

Option 1: Enforce obstruction so that teams can get real speed through the neutral zone. That was what part of what made the mid-90s style trap so effective, you couldn't get going against opponents who were allowed to cling to you like a straitjacket.

Option 2: Go to the NHL rules committee and convince them to take away 2-line passes so you at least have a vertical option.

Option 3: Some teams seemed to have success with pushing the puck up one side of the ice, then reversing it to the other side. Involved a lot of back-passing and took away the transition game, but it did manage to get the puck into the zone.

 

[blood gin]

The Devils out everythinged Detroit. It wasn't just the trap and uncalled clutching and grabbing. They out shot, out chanced, out-hustled, out hit, blocked shots. They dominated. They were a deep, balanced team an OT goal away the previous season from being in the finals.

 

[blood gin]

Hey everyone,

As much as it will pain me to do this, I was 17 when I started my love/enjoyment of hockey, unfortunately for me this coincided with the Devils sweeping the Wings. Since I was a bit too young/green to understand hockey's nuances that I've come to learn and love, I wanted to learn/get peeps thoughts on how the Devils took it to the Wings in 95, from Devils Fans, Wings Fans and hockey fans in general. My thoughts to start

1. Keith Primeau was supposedly playing a great two-way game coming into the final, and Scott Stevens caught him with a check that give him a back spasm which affected him the rest of the way.

2. Stevie Y had the sprain in his left knee

3. Devils had the big wingers that seemed to destroy us and we couldn't match-up or handle their size (MacLean, Lemieux, the Crash Line)

4. Did Jacque Lemaire implement the neutral zone trap during the regular season for his team?

I know it seemed EVERYONE was giving the cup to the Wings before the series started, granted the Wings had a great regular season and went through the playoffs like a hot knife through butter. Did the Devils have a relative "quiet-modest" 1994-1995 season? Look forward to the knowledge/feedback as always. Thanks!-Jim

The NZT was implemented in 1993 by Lemaire. Though they didn't play it religiously during the 1993-1994 season. They played it more and more as the season went on

 

[JackSlater]

Not an enjoyed memory. Probably as tactical a victory in the Stanley Cup final as I have ever seen. To be fair though New Jersey players outcompeted Detroit's players all over the ice as well.

 

[tony d]

I remember the Devils run that spring, that was quite an upset. Detroit looked to be world beaters all that spring and then they faced New Jersey and ended up getting swept. Wonder how things go differently with things if Detroit wins that series.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

How exactly does a team break the trap?

Two ways - swift puck movement from highly skilled defensemen; dump and chase. The dump and chase is most effective, as the trap only stops the rush. Of course, thats where Brodeur's puckhandling came in

 

[blogofmike]

The two most vivid impressions I have are Sergei Fedorov as the only competent Wings player, and I think this is the time Scott Stevens catches an unaware Slava Kozlov with his head down.

Paul Coffey was up and down, and I think he got hurt blocking a shot or something and was out of the play on a Devils goal in one of the close games.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

The NZT was implemented in 1993 by Lemaire. Though they didn't play it religiously during the 1993-1994 season. They played it more and more as the season went on

Very interesting *nodding head*

 

[blood gin]

The two most vivid impressions I have are Sergei Fedorov as the only competent Wings player, and I think this is the time Scott Stevens catches an unaware Slava Kozlov with his head down.

Paul Coffey was up and down, and I think he got hurt blocking a shot or something and was out of the play on a Devils goal in one of the close games.

That was game 2 I believe. Jimmy Dowd scored

 

[danincanada]

Not a good memory. As a Wings fan it seemed like it was over so quickly. Must be how the Flyers felt in '97 but they never got to prove they learned from it and have another chance.

Looking back the situation was very unique going in because they hadn't played each other, or the other conference, during the season. The Devils took their experience from the '94 playoffs and became a very hungry and focused team. To me, again, that's similar to '97 with the Red Wings.

I recall that when Detroit traded for Larionov, Bowman said he could be their Neal Broten so he must have left a lasting impression in the finals.

 

[danincanada]

The two most vivid impressions I have are Sergei Fedorov as the only competent Wings player, and I think this is the time Scott Stevens catches an unaware Slava Kozlov with his head down.

Paul Coffey was up and down, and I think he got hurt blocking a shot or something and was out of the play on a Devils goal in one of the close games.

I remember thinking Fedorov should be more selfish and try to do it all on his own and just skate through the team because I believed he could do it with his skating. It's obviously wasn't that simple though. Yzerman had a dreadful finals but he was battling an injury that kept him out of some of the Conference Finals.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

Not a good memory. As a Wings fan it seemed like it was over so quickly. Must be how the Flyers felt in '97 but they never got to prove they learned from it and have another chance.

Looking back the situation was very unique going in because they hadn't played each other, or the other conference, during the season. The Devils took their experience from the '94 playoffs and became a very hungry and focused team. To me, again, that's similar to '97 with the Red Wings.

I recall that when Detroit traded for Larionov, Bowman said he could be their Neal Broten so he must have left a lasting impression in the finals.

Wow...what a quote about Larionov/Broten! I've never heard that! This confirms the 95 final did stick in his crawl!

 

[Jim MacDonald]

Its interesting too that a couple of you guys were outside of the "general consensus" the Wings were gonna win the series and were actually the complete opposite. Staniowski and The Nameless specifically...that they had zero chance! So crazy.....

 

[JackSlater]

Its interesting too that a couple of you guys were outside of the "general consensus" the Wings were gonna win the series and were actually the complete opposite. Staniowski and The Nameless specifically...that they had zero chance! So crazy.....

I thought that New Jersey had zero chance. That was nice for a while.

 

[The Panther]

I re-watched highlights from this series last night, and it seemed like Detroit's offense failed in Detroit, while Vernon failed in New Jersey. (Not that the Wings were filling the net in Jersey either.) Coffey, as someone said, was up and down, but the guy who looked a bit lost to me on a lot of Devils' goals was Bob Rouse.

Lemieux's goal in game two would never count today, as it was an obvious interference call, but in those days the refs sort of called that when they felt like it. And Stevens & Ciccarelli would have been tossed from some games and given suspensions. Quite a battle there.

 

[blood gin]

I re-watched highlights from this series last night, and it seemed like Detroit's offense failed in Detroit, while Vernon failed in New Jersey. (Not that the Wings were filling the net in Jersey either.) Coffey, as someone said, was up and down, but the guy who looked a bit lost to me on a lot of Devils' goals was Bob Rouse.

Lemieux's goal in game two would never count today, as it was an obvious interference call, but in those days the refs sort of called that when they felt like it. And Stevens & Ciccarelli would have been tossed from some games and given suspensions. Quite a battle there.

Lemieux didn't score in Game two. Which goal are you referring to?

 

[double5son10]

The '95 Devils....what a team!

One of the most memorable teams of all-time and quite misunderstood by many.

They beat Bourque, Neely, Oates, and the Bruins in the 1st round; Jagr, Francis, and the Penguins in the 2nd round; Lindros, LeClair, and the Flyers in the semis; and Yzerman, Fedorov, Lidstrom, and the Red Wings in the finals.

And, for the most part, they won all four series in fairly dominant fashion. Overall, they outscored their opponents 67 to 34, they outshot the other teams 605 to 465, and had the most shots in 17 of their 20 games.

The team "system" that they played was not invented by Lemaire. There were other teams that played aspects of it in the past, including some European teams like the Czech national team, and Lemaire said his line in the late '70s - with Lafleur and Shutt - sometimes played a similar system. Roger Neilson and Bob Johnson used aspects of it, with varying success. But this Jersey team perfected it and it was incredibly effective. I think it was effective largely because other coaches and teams were kind of "shocked" by it, they didn't anticipate it and they didn't have time to react in any meaningful way.

To call it a "defensive" system is true to a certain extent. But the Devils were very aggressive and they scored a lot of goals. While they did try to shut down the neutral zone, the key was positioning and support all over the ice. They produced a lot of turnovers and they took advantage of them.

After watching them very closely in the first two rounds, I predicted they would win the next 8 games straight and win the cup. I didn't think anybody could beat them. Of course, I was wrong - the Flyers won games 3 and 4 in the semis. But they really demolished the Red Wings. I remember Bowman saying the most embarrassed he ever was in his career was in game 3 when, after losing the first 2 games at Joe Louis, they were down 5 to 0.

If you look at that Devils roster and see Brodeur, Stevens, and Niedermayer, you might think they largely won the cup. Not the case at all. Brodeur was a relatively minor player in these playoffs. In many of these 20 games, Brodeur faced almost no good scoring chances from the opposing teams. Stevens and Niedermayer both played well, but the forwards were the key - they are the ones who made the system work. I think Lemieux and Broten were the two best but several forwards played exceptionally well.

I think this Devils team had a major influence on the Red Wings - Bowman adapted the Devils system to fit the strengths of the Red Wings and they won cups in '97 and '98 playing a strong team game.

Was just rewatching Gm.5 of the '93 Finals tonight and Harry Neale talked about how Demers had the Canadiens playing the neutral zone trap and that it was prohibiting LA's transition game from getting going, cutting off cross ice passes. The trap wasn't new and Lemaire was absolutely right that Bowman's (and Blake's?) Canadiens employed it. I also recall a broadcast of a Habs game from the 90s where Bill Clement talked about how Montreal had always played the trap regularly as a tactic but back in the day no one called it that and Montreal's personnel were so good they were always on the forecheck anyway, so nobody noticed. People also seem to forget that the Devils Crash Line of Holik--McKay--Peluso didn't play the trap, Lemaire using them judiciously on the forecheck to wear down opponents. That line was outstanding for a 4th line that playoffs, combining for 13 goals and 23 points.

I'd agree on Broten. He was an integral addition to that team, giving them the playmaker at center they lacked after Nichols left in FA the previous summer. Good trade by Lou. Broten was great and of course Lemieux won the Conn Smythe, but for my money Stephane Richer was the Devils best forward. Provided great playmaking, which isn't what he was known for, and was excellent defensively. But just a fabulous team effort all around.

 

[The Panther]

Lemieux didn't score in Game two. Which goal are you referring to?

My mistake. I believe I am referring to his winner in game one.