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
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
| 1 || January 20, 1995 || Buffalo Sabres || 2–1 || 0–1–0 ||
| 2 || January 21, 1995 || Montreal Canadiens || 5–2 || 1–1–0 ||
| 3 || January 23, 1995 || Boston Bruins || 2–1 || 1–2–0 ||
| 4 || January 25, 1995 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–2 || 1–3–0 ||
| 5 || January 28, 1995 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 2–0 || 1–4–0 ||
| 6 || January 30, 1995 || Ottawa Senators || 6–2 || 2–4–0 ||
| 7 || February 1, 1995 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–3 || 2–5–0 ||
| 8 || February 2, 1995 || Tampa Bay Lightning || 3–3 OT || 2–5–1 ||
| 9 || February 4, 1995 || @ Ottawa Senators || 2–1 || 3–5–1 ||
| 10 || February 8, 1995 || Washington Capitals || 5–4 || 4–5–1 ||
| 11 || February 9, 1995 || @ New Jersey Devils || 4–1 || 4–6–1 ||
| 12 || February 11, 1995 || @ Tampa Bay Lightning || 3–2 || 5–6–1 ||
| 13 || February 15, 1995 || @ Buffalo Sabres || 2–1 || 6–6–1 ||
| 14 || February 16, 1995 || Montreal Canadiens || 2–2 OT || 6–6–2 ||
| 15 || February 18, 1995 || @ Montreal Canadiens || 5–2 || 6–7–2 ||
| 16 || February 20, 1995 || @ Tampa Bay Lightning || 3–1 || 7–7–2 ||
| 17 || February 21, 1995 || @ Florida Panthers || 5–3 || 8–7–2 ||
| 18 || February 24, 1995 || Hartford Whalers || 2–1 || 8–8–2 ||
| 19 || February 26, 1995 || @ Buffalo Sabres || 4–2 || 9–8–2 ||
| 20 || February 28, 1995 || Florida Panthers || 0–0 OT || 9–8–3 ||
| 21 || March 1, 1995 || @ Hartford Whalers || 5–2 || 10–8–3 ||
| 22 || March 3, 1995 || Philadelphia Flyers || 5–3 || 11–8–3 ||
| 23 || March 5, 1995 || @ Washington Capitals || 4–2 || 11–9–3 ||
| 24 || March 6, 1995 || Ottawa Senators || 4–3 || 12–9–3 ||
| 25 || March 8, 1995 || New Jersey Devils || 6–4 || 13–9–3 ||
| 26 || March 11, 1995 || @ Montreal Canadiens || 3–1 || 13–10–3 ||
| 27 || March 15, 1995 || Philadelphia Flyers || 4–3 || 13–11–3 ||
| 28 || March 18, 1995 || @ Washington Capitals || 4–1 || 13–12–3 ||
| 29 || March 22, 1995 || New Jersey Devils || 5–2 || 13–13–3 ||
| 30 || March 23, 1995 || @ New York Islanders || 1–0 || 13–14–3 ||
| 31 || March 25, 1995 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 2–1 || 13–15–3 ||
| 32 || March 30, 1995 || Quebec Nordiques || 5–4 || 13–16–3 ||
| 33 || April 1, 1995 || @ Boston Bruins || 3–2 || 14–16–3 ||
| 34 || April 2, 1995 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 4–2 || 14–17–3 ||
| 35 || April 5, 1995 || @ Florida Panthers || 5–0 || 15–17–3 ||
| 36 || April 7, 1995 || New York Islanders || 4–3 || 15–18–3 ||
| 37 || April 9, 1995 || @ New Jersey Devils || 2–0 || 15–19–3 ||
| 38 || April 12, 1995 || Buffalo Sabres || 3–1 || 16–19–3 ||
| 39 || April 14, 1995 || Boston Bruins || 5–3 || 17–19–3 ||
| 40 || April 16, 1995 || @ New York Islanders || 3–2 || 18–19–3 ||
| 41 || April 18, 1995 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–5 || 18–20–3 ||
| 42 || April 20, 1995 || Hartford Whalers || 3–2 || 19–20–3 ||
| 43 || April 23, 1995 || @ Boston Bruins || 5–4 || 19–21–3 ||
| 44 || April 24, 1995 || Washington Capitals || 5–4 || 20–21–3 ||
| 45 || April 26, 1995 || Tampa Bay Lightning || 6–4 || 21–21–3 ||
| 46 || April 28, 1995 || New York Islanders || 4–2 || 21–22–3 ||
| 47 || April 30, 1995 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 2–0 || 22–22–3 ||
| 48 || May 2, 1995 || Florida Panthers || 4–3 || 22–23–3 ||
Legend:
Playoffs
| 1 || May 6, 1995 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 5–4 || Nordiques lead 1–0 ||
| 2 || May 8, 1995 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 8–3 || Series tied 1–1 ||
| 3 || May 10, 1995 || Quebec Nordiques || 4–3 || Rangers lead 2–1 ||
| 4 || May 12, 1995 || Quebec Nordiques || 3–2 OT || Rangers lead 3–1 ||
| 5 || May 14, 1995 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 4–2 || Rangers lead 3–2 ||
| 6 || May 16, 1995 || Quebec Nordiques || 4–2 || Rangers win 4–2 ||
| 1 || May 21, 1995 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 5–4 OT || Flyers lead 1–0 ||
| 2 || May 22, 1995 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 4–3 OT || Flyers lead 2–0 ||
| 3 || May 24, 1995 || Philadelphia Flyers || 5–2 || Flyers lead 3–0 ||
| 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. Player Regular season Playoffs 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 Player Regular season Playoffs 35 Mike Richter 35 14 17 2 884 97 2.92 .890 2 1993 7 2 5 189 23 3.60 .878 0 384 30 Glenn Healy 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 TypeAward/honorRecipientRef League(annual) Lester Patrick Trophy Brian Mullen Team Ceil Saidel Memorial Award Adam Graves "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 MilestonePlayerDateRef First game Jean-Yves Roy January 25, 1995 Darren Langdon February 18, 1995 1,000th point Steve Larmer March 8, 1995 1,000th game played Steve Larmer April 20, 1995 Jay Wells April 30, 1995
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.
Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League) 1 26 Dan Cloutier G Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) 2 52 Rudolf Vercik LW Slovan Bratislava (Slovak Extraliga) 3 78 Adam Smith D Tacoma Rockets (WHL) 4 100 Alexander Korobolin D Chelyabinsk Mechel (Rus-1) 4 104 Sylvain Blouin LW Laval Titan (QMJHL) 5 130 Martin Ethier D Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL) 6 135 Yuri Litvinov C PHC Krylya Sovetov (Russia) 6 156 David Brosseau RW Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) 7 182 Alexei Lazarenko RW CSKA Moscow (Russia) 8 208 Craig Anderson D Park Center Senior High School (USHS-MN) 9 209 Vitali Yeremeyev G HC Kamenogorsk (Russia) 9 234 Eric Boulton LW Oshawa Generals (OHL) 10 260 Radoslav Kropac F Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) 11 267 Jamie Butt LW Tacoma Rockets (WHL) 11 286 Kim Johnsson D Malmö IF (SEL)
References