The 1995 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1994–95 season, and the culmination of the 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils and the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings. The Devils swept the series four games to none to win their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history in their 21st season. They became the sixth team to earn a championship after joining the league in 1967 or later. This was the first of nine consecutive Finals to feature only American-based franchises. It was the Devils franchise's first appearance in the Finals, while Detroit returned to the Finals for the first time since 1966 (and had not won since 1955; both of those appearances had been against the Montreal Canadiens). It was the first of four consecutive sweeps in the finals. This is also the first time in both the NHL and NBA history where both finals involved the first-seeded team being swept. Despite the fact that the regular season was cut short by the owners' lockout, both the season and the Finals were saved at the eleventh hour – this was the latest date that the Stanley Cup was awarded. This record was later matched in 2013 and then broken by the COVID-19 pandemic affected 2019–20 NHL season. The fifth seeded Devils held the record as the lowest seeded team to win the Stanley Cup until the Los Angeles Kings broke the record in 2012. Their regular season winning percentage was also the lowest for a Cup winner since the 1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs. This was the first Cup Finals since 1980 to be played entirely within one time zone. Paths to the Finals Further information: 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs, 1994–95 Detroit Red Wings season, and 1994–95 New Jersey Devils season To get to the Finals, New Jersey defeated the Boston Bruins 4–1, the Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1, and their rival the Philadelphia Flyers 4–2. Detroit defeated the Dallas Stars 4–1, the San Jose Sharks 4–0, and then division rival Chicago Blackhawks 4–1. June 17 New Jersey Devils 2–1 Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena Game reference The series opened on Saturday, June 17 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Few gave New Jersey much of a chance against the NHL's best team. Going into the game, Detroit was a perfect 8–0 at home in the playoffs, and had outscored their opponents 30–11 in their eight home games. In the first three rounds alone the Red Wings had scored 18 power-play goals. Detroit fans, first greeting their opponents with a chorus of boos, then chanted after every Devils name was read during introductions, "Who cares?" After a scoreless first period, the underdog Devils got on the board first, when Stephane Richer blasted a slap shot from the top of the right circle that just squeezed through Detroit goaltender Mike Vernon. The power-play goal came at 9:41 of the second period and gave New Jersey a 1–0 lead. The Red Wings responded less than four minutes later and tied the game on a power-play goal by Dino Ciccarelli at 13:08. The Devils would regain the lead on a goal by Claude Lemieux, a slapper from the slot at 3:17 of the third period. New Jersey would go on to win the game 2–1 and take a one-game-to-none series lead. They played a solid defensive game, frustrating the Red Wings and holding them to just 17 shots. The win was their ninth road win of the playoffs. This was the first year that coverage of the Cup Finals in the United States was split between Fox and ESPN. Fox broadcast games one and four with Mike Emrick and John Davidson, while ESPN broadcast games two and three with Gary Thorne and Bill Clement. This was also the first Cup Finals in which the U.S. national networks had exclusive rights, and no longer could any of the regional rights holders of the participating U.S. teams produce local telecasts of their respective games. However, because the Devils swept the Red Wings and game four of the series was on Fox, their television play-by-play announcer, Emrick, called the win, as he also was part of Fox's lead broadcast team. That game, the first Stanley Cup-clinching game to air on network television in the United States since game six in 1980, drew a 4.7 rating and a 10 share.[1] In the New York City area, the game drew a 10.6 rating and 21 share and in Detroit, 14.1 and 26.[1] In Canada, Bob Cole and Harry Neale were in the broadcast booth for CBC. On the radio side, the series was broadcast continentally on NHL Radio with Kenny Albert and Gary Green announcing. Devils team broadcasters Mike Miller and Sherry Ross called the series on local radio on WABC–AM 770 in New York City and Red Wings team broadcasters Bruce Martyn and Paul Woods called the series on local radio on WJR–AM 760 in Detroit.