1994–95 Vancouver Canucks season

1994–95 Vancouver Canucks
Division2nd Pacific
Conference6th Western
1994–95 record18–18–12
Home record10–8–6
Road record8–10–6
Goals for153
Goals against148
Team information
General managerPat Quinn
CoachRick Ley
CaptainTrevor Linden
Alternate captainsSergio Momesso
Dana Murzyn
ArenaPacific Coliseum
Average attendance13,932
Minor league affiliate(s)Syracuse Crunch
South Carolina Stingrays
Team leaders
GoalsPavel Bure (20)
AssistsPavel Bure (23)
PointsPavel Bure (43)
Penalty minutesDana Murzyn (129)
Plus/minusDana Murzyn (+14)
WinsKirk McLean (18)
Goals against averageKirk McLean (2.75)

The 1994–95 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 25th NHL campaign. Goaltender Kirk McLean earned all eighteen of the Canucks' wins during the lockout-shortened, 48–game season. Pavel Bure was not the same offensive dynamo that he had been over the prior two seasons, each of which saw him hit the 60-goal mark, but he did still lead the club in goals (20), assists (23, and tied with Jeff Brown), points (43) and shots (198). A trade with the Dallas Stars on April 7, 1995, saw Russ Courtnall join his brother Geoff on the Canucks. The team finished the season with as many wins as losses, good for 6th place in the Western Conference, and they led the league with 12 ties. This was also the team's final season at the Pacific Coliseum before moving to GM Place, now known as Rogers Arena.

Regular season

Pacific Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 2 Calgary Flames 48 24 17 7 163 135 55
2 6 Vancouver Canucks 48 18 18 12 153 148 48
3 7 San Jose Sharks 48 19 25 4 129 161 42
4 9 Los Angeles Kings 48 16 23 9 142 174 41
5 11 Edmonton Oilers 48 17 27 4 136 183 38
6 12 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 48 16 27 5 125 164 37

[1]

Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Western Conference[2]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Detroit Red Wings CEN 48 33 11 4 180 117 70
2 x – Calgary Flames PAC 48 24 17 7 163 135 55
3 St. Louis Blues CEN 48 28 15 5 178 135 61
4 Chicago Blackhawks CEN 48 24 19 5 156 115 53
5 Toronto Maple Leafs CEN 48 21 19 8 135 146 50
6 Vancouver Canucks PAC 48 18 18 12 153 148 48
7 San Jose Sharks PAC 48 19 25 4 129 161 42
8 Dallas Stars CEN 48 17 23 8 136 135 42
9 Los Angeles Kings PAC 48 16 23 9 142 174 41
10 Winnipeg Jets CEN 48 16 25 7 157 177 39
11 Edmonton Oilers PAC 48 17 27 4 136 183 38
12 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim PAC 48 16 27 5 125 164 37

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy


Playoffs

See also: 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs

In the post-season, Vancouver was the clear underdog against the third-place St. Louis Blues, who had members from the 1994 Stanley-Cup champion Rangers team, as well as their head coach, Mike Keenan. After losing game one at the Kiel Center by a score of 2–1, the Canucks won game two by a score of 5–3 behind Kirk McLean's 33-save performance and Pavel Bure's shorthanded insurance goal in the third period. The shots on goal were 26 for Vancouver and 36 for St. Louis, as they had been in the first game. The Canucks carried over their momentum from their win in game two to the Pacific Coliseum for game three, where they triumphed 6–1. Sergio Momesso scored twice. The Canucks were looking to win game four as well, leading 2–1 after Russ Courtnall's shorthanded goal at 4:41 of the second period. But the Blues got their jump from Brendan Shanahan who scored a natural hat trick to give the Blues a 4–2 lead. Glenn Anderson would add another goal at 13:01 of the third period as St. Louis went on to win 5–2 to square the series at two games apiece. In game five at the Kiel Center, the Canucks scored four times on their first 19 shots, as Curtis Joseph would be pulled in favor of Jon Casey. Trailing Vancouver 5–4 with under 12 minutes to play, Murray Baron tied the game at 8:22 of the third period. The game would go into overtime where Cliff Ronning scored at 1:48 of the first overtime period to give the Canucks a 3–2 lead in the series.

Looking to close out the series at home in game six, the Canucks were dominated by the Blues who won by a score of 8–2. Esa Tikkanen (who would soon become a Canuck himself) picked up four points in the game (2 goals and 2 assists). Kirk McLean allowed six goals on just 17 shots. With the series tied at 3–3, a crucial game seven in St. Louis took place on Friday, May 19. Although the Blues had twice as many shots as the Canucks (44–22), Curtis Joseph allowed 4 goals on 21 shots while Kirk McLean made 41 saves. Call-up rookie Adrian Aucoin began a successful NHL career by blasting a slapshot on the power-play to give the Canucks the lead, and Pavel Bure added an empty-net goal with 22 seconds remaining to seal the game 5–3 and earn the Canucks a 4–3 series win. It was Bure's seventh goal of the playoffs. It was a series with marked offensive output, as each team scored 27 goals over the seven games. The Canucks' special teams dominated throughout, as Vancouver scored 11 power-play goals and six short-handed goals in the series.

In the second round, the Canucks faced the Chicago Blackhawks. Both teams skated to a 1–1 tie before Joe Murphy scored the winner at 9:04 of the first overtime period. Blackhawks goaltender Ed Belfour stopped 26 of 27 Vancouver shots. Game two was also close, as Chicago edged Vancouver 2–0 on goals by Jim Cummins and Patrick Poulin. Down two games to none in the series, the Canucks battled desperately to get a win at home in game three, but relinquished leads of 1–0 and 2–1. Ironically it was ex-Canuck Murray Craven who tied the game at 2–2 with 45 seconds remaining in the third period to send the game to overtime. Chris Chelios scored at 6:22 of the first overtime period as the Hawks took a commanding three-games-to-none series lead. In game four, Vancouver broke a 1–1 tie on two goals by Roman Oksiuta to lead 3–1 in the second period, but Chicago came back again on goals by another ex-Canuck Gerald Diduck and Jeremy Roenick, leaving the score after 60 minutes tied at three goals apiece. Once again, the overtime hero was Chris Chelios, who scored 5:35 into the extra frame to give the Blackhawks a 4–0 sweep over the Canucks, advancing them to the third round for the first time in three years.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1994–95 regular season[3]
January: 1–3–1 (home: 0–1–1; road: 1–2–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
1 T January 20, 1995 1–1 OT Dallas Stars (1994–95) 0–0–1 Recap
2 L January 21, 1995 1–7 St. Louis Blues (1994–95) 0–1–1 Recap
3 L January 24, 1995 3–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1994–95) 0–2–1 Recap
4 L January 25, 1995 2–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1994–95) 0–3–1 Recap
5 W January 28, 1995 3–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1994–95) 1–3–1 Recap
February: 4–4–5 (home: 2–3–3; road: 2–1–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
6 T February 1, 1995 4–4 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1994–95) 1–3–2 Recap
7 L February 5, 1995 4–9 Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95) 1–4–2 Recap
8 T February 7, 1995 4–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1994–95) 1–4–3 Recap
9 W February 9, 1995 5–1 Winnipeg Jets (1994–95) 2–4–3 Recap
10 T February 11, 1995 1–1 OT San Jose Sharks (1994–95) 2–4–4 Recap
11 L February 15, 1995 1–3 @ San Jose Sharks (1994–95) 2–5–4 Recap
12 T February 17, 1995 2–2 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95) 2–5–5 Recap
13 W February 18, 1995 6–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1994–95) 3–5–5 Recap
14 W February 20, 1995 8–2 Los Angeles Kings (1994–95) 4–5–5 Recap
15 L February 22, 1995 1–4 Winnipeg Jets (1994–95) 4–6–5 Recap
16 T February 24, 1995 3–3 OT @ Dallas Stars (1994–95) 4–6–6 Recap
17 W February 26, 1995 5–1 @ San Jose Sharks (1994–95) 5–6–6 Recap
18 L February 28, 1995 3–4 San Jose Sharks (1994–95) 5–7–6 Recap
March: 6–6–2 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–3–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
19 T March 2, 1995 2–2 OT @ Calgary Flames (1994–95) 5–7–7 Recap
20 W March 4, 1995 5–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1994–95) 6–7–7 Recap
21 L March 6, 1995 2–5 Detroit Red Wings (1994–95) 6–8–7 Recap
22 W March 11, 1995 5–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95) 7–8–7 Recap
23 W March 12, 1995 5–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1994–95) 8–8–7 Recap
24 T March 14, 1995 3–3 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1994–95) 8–8–8 Recap
25 L March 16, 1995 2–9 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95) 8–9–8 Recap
26 L March 17, 1995 1–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1994–95) 8–10–8 Recap
27 W March 21, 1995 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1994–95) 9–10–8 Recap
28 L March 23, 1995 1–3 Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95) 9–11–8 Recap
29 L March 25, 1995 1–2 Detroit Red Wings (1994–95) 9–12–8 Recap
30 L March 26, 1995 0–2 @ Calgary Flames (1994–95) 9–13–8 Recap
31 W March 29, 1995 5–2 Los Angeles Kings (1994–95) 10–13–8 Recap
32 W March 31, 1995 6–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95) 11–13–8 Recap
April: 7–5–3 (home: 4–1–2; road: 3–4–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
33 W April 1, 1995 5–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1994–95) 12–13–8 Recap
34 T April 4, 1995 2–2 OT Dallas Stars (1994–95) 12–13–9 Recap
35 L April 7, 1995 4–7 @ Winnipeg Jets (1994–95) 12–14–9 Recap
36 W April 8, 1995 4–2 @ Calgary Flames (1994–95) 13–14–9 Recap
37 W April 11, 1995 5–0 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95) 14–14–9 Recap
38 L April 13, 1995 4–6 Edmonton Oilers (1994–95) 14–15–9 Recap
39 W April 15, 1995 3–1 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95) 15–15–9 Recap
40 T April 17, 1995 2–2 OT @ Dallas Stars (1994–95) 15–15–10 Recap
41 L April 18, 1995 1–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1994–95) 15–16–10 Recap
42 T April 20, 1995 2–2 OT Calgary Flames (1994–95) 15–16–11 Recap
43 W April 22, 1995 6–1 Edmonton Oilers (1994–95) 16–16–11 Recap
44 L April 25, 1995 3–4 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95) 16–17–11 Recap
45 L April 26, 1995 2–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1994–95) 16–18–11 Recap
46 W April 28, 1995 3–1 St. Louis Blues (1994–95) 17–18–11 Recap
47 W April 30, 1995 6–4 Calgary Flames (1994–95) 18–18–11 Recap
May: 0–0–1 (home: 0–0–0; road: 0–0–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
48 T May 3, 1995 3–3 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1994–95) 18–18–12 Recap
Legend:

  Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1995 Stanley Cup playoffs[3]
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (3) St. Louis Blues – Canucks win 4–3
Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap
1 L May 7, 1995 1–2 @ St. Louis Blues Blues lead 1–0 Recap
2 W May 9, 1995 5–3 @ St. Louis Blues Series tied 1–1 Recap
3 W May 11, 1995 6–1 St. Louis Blues Canucks lead 2–1 Recap
4 L May 13, 1995 2–5 St. Louis Blues Series tied 2–2 Recap
5 W May 15, 1995 6–5 OT @ St. Louis Blues Canucks lead 3–2 Recap
6 L May 17, 1995 2–8 St. Louis Blues Series tied 3–3 Recap
7 W May 19, 1995 5–3 @ St. Louis Blues Canucks win 4–3 Recap
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks – Blackhawks win 4–0
Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap
1 L May 21, 1995 1–2 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks Blackhawks lead 1–0 Recap
2 L May 23, 1995 0–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks Blackhawks lead 2–0 Recap
3 L May 25, 1995 2–3 OT Chicago Blackhawks Blackhawks lead 3–0 Recap
4 L May 27, 1995 3–4 OT Chicago Blackhawks Blackhawks win 4–0 Recap
Legend:

  Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

  • Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; 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 Canucks only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
No. Player Pos Regular season Playoffs
GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
10 Pavel Bure LW 44 20 23 43 −8 48 11 7 6 13 −1 10
16 Trevor Linden C 48 18 22 40 −5 40 11 2 6 8 −1 12
14 Geoff Courtnall LW 45 16 18 34 2 81 11 4 2 6 −8 34
22 Jeff Brown D 33 8 23 31 −2 16 5 1 3 4 2 2
27 Sergio Momesso LW 48 10 15 25 −2 65 11 3 1 4 −5 16
7 Cliff Ronning C 41 6 19 25 −4 27 11 3 5 8 −5 2
23 Martin Gelinas RW 46 13 10 23 8 36 3 0 1 1 1 0
42 Josef Beranek† C 37 8 13 21 −10 28 11 1 1 2 −7 12
9 Russ Courtnall† RW 13 4 14 18 10 4 11 4 8 12 1 21
21 Jyrki Lumme D 36 5 12 17 4 26 11 2 6 8 0 8
8 Greg Adams‡ LW 31 5 10 15 1 12 — — — — — —
44 Dave Babych D 40 3 11 14 −13 18 11 2 2 4 −8 14
3 Bret Hedican D 45 2 11 13 −3 34 11 0 2 2 −5 6
33 Michael Peca C 33 6 6 12 −6 30 5 0 1 1 0 8
20 Christian Ruuttu† LW 25 5 6 11 11 23 9 1 1 2 −3 0
29 Gino Odjick LW 23 4 5 9 −3 109 5 0 0 0 −2 47
25 Nathan LaFayette‡ C 27 4 4 8 2 2 — — — — — —
5 Dana Murzyn D 40 0 8 8 14 129 8 0 1 1 −1 22
28 Roman Oksiuta† RW 12 5 2 7 2 2 10 2 3 5 0 0
24 Jiri Slegr‡ D 19 1 5 6 0 32 — — — — — —
19 Tim Hunter RW 34 3 2 5 1 120 11 0 0 0 −3 22
4 Gerald Diduck‡ D 22 1 3 4 −8 15 — — — — — —
15 John McIntyre C 28 0 4 4 −3 37 — — — — — —
34 Jassen Cullimore D 34 1 2 3 −2 39 11 0 0 0 −4 12
2 Evgeny Namestnikov D 16 0 3 3 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 2
9 Gary Leeman RW 10 2 0 2 −3 0 — — — — — —
6 Adrian Aucoin D 1 1 0 1 1 0 4 1 0 1 −1 0
20 Jose Charbonneau RW 3 1 0 1 0 0 — — — — — —
36 Dane Jackson RW 3 1 0 1 0 4 6 0 0 0 −2 10
1 Kirk McLean G 40 0 1 1 4 11 0 1 1 0
6 Adrien Plavsic‡ D 3 0 1 1 3 4 — — — — — —
24 Scott Walker D 11 0 1 1 0 33 — — — — — —
35 Kay Whitmore G 11 0 1 1 7 1 0 0 0 0
18 Shawn Antoski‡ LW 7 0 0 0 −4 46 — — — — — —
25 Alek Stojanov RW 4 0 0 0 −2 13 5 0 0 0 0 2
4 Mark Wotton D 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 4

Goaltending

No. Player Regular season Playoffs
GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
1 Kirk McLean 40 18 12 10 1140 109 2.75 .904 1 2374 11 4 7 336 36 3.27 .893 0 660
35 Kay Whitmore 11 0 6 2 279 37 3.98 .867 0 558 1 0 0 18 2 6.00 .889 0 20

Awards and records

Awards

Type Award/honour Recipient Ref
Team Babe Pratt Trophy Jeff Brown [4]
Cyclone Taylor Trophy Trevor Linden [4]
Cyrus H. McLean Trophy Pavel Bure [4]
Fred J. Hume Award Martin Gelinas [5]
Molson Cup Kirk McLean [6]
Most Exciting Player Award Pavel Bure [5]

Milestones

Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Jassen Cullimore February 17, 1995 [7]
Scott Walker April 13, 1995
Alek Stojanov April 20, 1995
Adrian Aucoin May 3, 1995
Mark Wotton

Draft picks

Vancouver's draft picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft held at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.[8]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 13 Mattias Ohlund  Sweden Luleå HF (Sweden)
2 39 Robb Gordon  Canada Powell River Kings (BCHL)
2 42 Dave Scatchard  Canada Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
3 65 Chad Allen  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
4 92 Mike Dubinsky  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
5 117 Yanick Dube  Canada Laval Titan (QMJHL)
7 169 Yuri Kuznetsov  Russia Avangard Omsk (Russia)
8 195 Rob Trumbley  Canada Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
9 221 Bill Muckalt  Canada Kelowna Spartans (BCHL)
10 247 Tyson Nash  Canada Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
11 273 Robert Longpre  Canada Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)

References

  • "Vancouver Canucks 1994-95 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  • "1994-95 Vancouver Canucks Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  1. ^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  2. ^ "1994-1995 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  3. ^ a b "1994-95 Vancouver Canucks Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Vancouver Canucks 2016–17 Media Guide, p. 249
  5. ^ a b Vancouver Canucks 2016–17 Media Guide, p. 250
  6. ^ 2015–16 Vancouver Canucks Media Guide, p. 217
  7. ^ "1994-95 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  8. ^ "1994 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.