1994–95 St. Louis Blues season

1994–95 St. Louis Blues
Division2nd Central
Conference3rd Western
1994–95 record28–15–5
Home record16–6–2
Road record12–9–3
Goals for178
Goals against135
Team information
General managerMike Keenan
CoachMike Keenan
CaptainBrett Hull
ArenaKiel Center
Average attendance19,469
Minor league affiliate(s)Peoria Rivermen
Dayton Bombers
Team leaders
GoalsBrett Hull (29)
AssistsSteve Duchesne (26)
PointsBrett Hull (50)
Penalty minutesBrendan Shanahan (136)
Plus/minusSteve Duchesne (+29)
WinsCurtis Joseph (20)
Goals against averageJon Casey (2.75)

The 1994–95 St. Louis Blues season was the 28th in franchise history. The season started with good fortunes for the Blues, as Mike Keenan, who had coached the 1993–94 New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup, signed with the team in the off-season. The Blues also acquired four players from the Cup-winning Rangers: Glenn Anderson, Greg Gilbert, Doug Lidster and Esa Tikkanen. On April 16, 1995, captain Brett Hull had his first-ever four-goal game in a 6–5 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

The Blues played strong all season and finished third in the Conference. They powered their way to fourth place in scoring in the league with 178 goals.

Off-season

The Blues moved from their home in the arena where they had played since their inception to the newly built Kiel Center. The inaugural game was set to be played against their rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks, but the NHL lockout kept this game from being played. The first official game wasn't played until January 1995. The regular season was shortened to 48 games.

Regular season

The Blues scored 135 even-strength goals during the regular season, the most among all 26 NHL teams and tied the Washington Capitals for the fewest short-handed goals allowed (2).[1]

Final standings

Central Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 1 Detroit Red Wings 48 33 11 4 180 117 70
2 2 St. Louis Blues 48 28 15 5 178 135 61
3 4 Chicago Blackhawks 48 24 19 5 156 115 53
4 5 Toronto Maple Leafs 48 21 19 8 135 146 50
5 8 Dallas Stars 48 17 23 8 136 135 42
6 10 Winnipeg Jets 48 16 25 7 157 177 39

[2]

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[3]
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

With all its firepower and playoff experience, St. Louis was heavily favored to beat 6th place Vancouver in the first round of the 1995 NHL playoffs. However, after winning game 1, the Blues dropped the next two games and never regained the series lead. After a tough overtime loss in game 5, the Blues fought back in game 6 with an explosive 8–2 victory at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver to tie the series at 3–3. In game 7 at the Kiel Center, the Blues outshot the Canucks 44–22, but Vancouver goaltender Kirk McLean was solid in net, making 41 saves; St. Louis goaltender Curtis Joseph struggled, allowing 4 goals on only 21 shots. Pavel Bure added an empty-net goal with 22 seconds remaining in the third period to give the Canucks a 5–3 win and the series 4 games to 3.

Schedule and results

Regular season

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

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

Playoffs

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

  Win   Loss

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 Blues only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.
No. Player Pos Regular season Playoffs
GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
16 Brett Hull RW 48 29 21 50 13 10 7 6 2 8 0 0
19 Brendan Shanahan LW 45 20 21 41 7 136 5 4 5 9 2 14
28 Steve Duchesne D 47 12 26 38 29 36 7 0 4 4 0 2
10 Esa Tikkanen LW 43 12 23 35 13 22 7 2 2 4 −1 20
20 Adam Creighton C 48 14 20 34 17 74 7 2 0 2 −1 16
2 Al MacInnis D 32 8 20 28 19 43 7 1 5 6 −3 10
22 Ian Laperriere RW 37 13 14 27 12 85 7 0 4 4 3 21
9[a] Glenn Anderson† RW 36 12 14 26 9 37 6 1 1 2 0 49
7 Greg Gilbert LW 46 11 14 25 22 11 7 0 3 3 0 6
5 Jeff Norton† D 28 2 18 20 21 33 7 1 1 2 1 11
33 Bill Houlder D 41 5 13 18 16 20 4 1 1 2 6 0
27 Denis Chasse RW 47 7 9 16 12 133 7 1 7 8 7 23
21 Guy Carbonneau C 42 5 11 16 11 16 7 1 2 3 3 6
25[b] Patrice Tardif C 27 3 10 13 4 29 — — — — — —
15[c] David Roberts LW 19 6 5 11 2 10 6 0 0 0 −5 4
12 Vitali Karamnov LW 26 3 7 10 7 14 2 0 0 0 0 2
6 Doug Lidster D 37 2 7 9 9 12 4 0 0 0 6 2
15 Craig Janney‡ C 8 2 5 7 3 0 — — — — — —
14 Kevin Miller‡ C 15 2 5 7 4 0 — — — — — —
23 Craig Johnson LW 15 3 3 6 4 6 1 0 0 0 0 2
14 Todd Elik† C 13 2 4 6 5 4 7 4 3 7 1 2
4 Rick Zombo D 23 1 4 5 7 24 3 0 0 0 −1 2
34 Murray Baron D 39 0 5 5 9 93 7 1 1 2 2 2
17 Basil McRae LW 21 0 5 5 4 72 7 2 1 3 4 4
18 Tony Twist LW 28 3 0 3 0 89 1 0 0 0 0 6
32 Donald Dufresne D 22 0 3 3 2 10 3 0 0 0 −1 4
26 Peter Stastny C 6 1 1 2 1 0 — — — — — —
31 Curtis Joseph G 36 0 1 1 0 7 0 1 1 0
29 Geoff Sarjeant G 4 0 1 1 2 — — — — — —
37[d] Jeff Batters D 10 0 0 0 −5 21 — — — — — —
36 Philippe Bozon LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — —
30 Jon Casey G 19 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
9 Denny Felsner LW 3 0 0 0 −1 2 — — — — — —
44 Terry Hollinger D 5 0 0 0 −1 2 — — — — — —
41 Daniel Laperriere‡ D 4 0 0 0 1 15 — — — — — —
25 Vitali Prokhorov LW 2 0 0 0 1 0 — — — — — —

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
31 Curtis Joseph 36 20 10 1 904 89 2.79 .902 1 1914 7 3 3 178 24 3.68 .865 0 392
30 Jon Casey 19 7 5 4 400 40 2.75 .900 0 872 2 0 1 10 2 4.02 .800 0 30
29 Geoff Sarjeant 4 1 0 0 52 6 3.00 .885 0 120 — — — — — — — — —

Awards and records

Awards

Type Award/honor Recipient Ref
League
(annual) 		Lester Patrick Trophy Joe Mullen [5]

Milestones

Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Craig Johnson January 21, 1995 [6]
Patrice Tardif
Geoff Sarjeant January 28, 1995

Transactions

Draft picks

St. Louis's draft picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft held at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.[7]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
3 68 Stephane Roy  Canada Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
4 94 Tyler Harlton  Canada Vernon Lakers (BCHL)
5 120 Edvin Frylen  Sweden VIK Västerås HK (Sweden)
7 172 Roman Vopat  Czech Republic Chemopetrol Litvínov (Czech Republic)
8 198 Steve Noble  Canada Stratford Cullitons (MOJHL)
9 224 Marc Stephan  Canada Tri-City Americans (WHL)
10 250 Kevin Harper  Canada Wexford Raiders (OJHL)
11 276 Scott Fankhouser  United States University of Massachusetts (Hockey East)

Notes

  1. ^ Anderson wore number 36 through March 29.
  2. ^ Tardif wore number 40 through March 22.
  3. ^ Roberts wore number 12 in his first two games and number 37 in his next three games.
  4. ^ Batters wore number 5 in his first six games.

References

  • "St. Louis Blues 1994-95 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  • "1994-95 St. Louis Blues Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  1. ^ "1994-95 NHL Summary".
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "1994-1995 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  4. ^ a b "1994-95 St. Louis Blues Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Lester Patrick Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  6. ^ "1994-95 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  7. ^ "1994 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.