1995–96 New York Islanders season

1995–96 New York Islanders
1995–96 New York Islanders
Division	7th Atlantic
Conference	12th Eastern
1995–96 record	22–50–10
Home record	14–21–6
Road record	8–29–4
Goals for	229
Goals against	315
Team information
General manager	Don Maloney (Oct.–Dec.); Darcy Regier (Dec.); Mike Milbury (Dec.–Apr.)
Coach	Mike Milbury
Captain	Patrick Flatley
Arena	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Average attendance	11,355
Minor league affiliate(s)	Utah Grizzlies; Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
Team leaders
Goals	Zigmund Palffy (43)
Assists	Travis Green (45)
Points	Zigmund Palffy (87)
Penalty minutes	Brent Severyn (180)
Plus/minus	Brent Severyn (+3)
Wins	Tommy Soderstrom (11)
Goals against average	Eric Fichaud (3.31)
	← 1994–95 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 New York Islanders season was the 24th season in the franchise's history. This season saw the Islanders finish in last place with a record of 22–50–10 and miss the playoffs for the second straight year. During the season, team management fired General Manager Don Maloney, whom fans blamed for the team's downfall, and gave Mike Milbury total control of hockey operations as both head coach and general manager.

Offseason

Before the 1995–96 season, Don Maloney fired Lorne Henning and named Mike Milbury head coach. The same year, the Isles' attempt at updating their look resulted in the unveiling of the "fisherman" logo. It proved to be such a disaster that the team announced less than a year after unveiling it that they would go back to their original logo as soon as league rules could allow. Rangers fans still mock the Islanders with chants of "we want fishsticks", a reference to the way the logo resembled the Gorton's fisherman.

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division
No.		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Philadelphia Flyers	82	45	24	13	282	208	103
2	New York Rangers	82	41	27	14	272	237	96
3	Florida Panthers	82	41	31	10	254	234	92
4	Washington Capitals	82	39	32	11	234	204	89
5	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	38	32	12	238	248	88
6	New Jersey Devils	82	37	33	12	215	202	86
7	New York Islanders	82	22	50	10	229	315	54

Eastern Conference^[1]
R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	45	24	13	282	208	103
2	Pittsburgh Penguins	NE	82	49	29	4	362	284	102
3	New York Rangers	ATL	82	41	27	14	272	237	96
4	Florida Panthers	ATL	82	41	31	10	254	234	92
5	Boston Bruins	NE	82	40	31	11	282	269	91
6	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	40	32	10	265	248	90
7	Washington Capitals	ATL	82	39	32	11	234	204	89
8	Tampa Bay Lightning	ATL	82	38	32	12	238	248	88

9	New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	37	33	12	215	202	86
10	Hartford Whalers	NE	82	34	39	9	237	259	77
11	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	33	42	7	247	262	73
12	New York Islanders	ATL	82	22	50	10	229	315	54
13	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	18	59	5	191	291	41

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

1995–96 regular season^[2]

October: 2–6–2 (home: 1–3–1; road: 1–3–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
1	T	October 7, 1995	4–4 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)	0–0–1	Recap
2	L	October 10, 1995	3–7	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	0–1–1	Recap
3	L	October 14, 1995	0–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	0–2–1	Recap
4	L	October 15, 1995	3–5	@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)	0–3–1	Recap
5	L	October 17, 1995	1–5	New York Rangers (1995–96)	0–4–1	Recap
6	W	October 20, 1995	2–0	Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	1–4–1	Recap
7	L	October 25, 1995	1–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	1–5–1	Recap
8	L	October 26, 1995	5–7	Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	1–6–1	Recap
9	T	October 28, 1995	5–5 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	1–6–2	Recap
10	W	October 31, 1995	5–4 OT	@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)	2–6–2	Recap

November: 3–9–1 (home: 1–5–0; road: 2–4–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
11	L	November 3, 1995	3–5	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	2–7–2	Recap
12	L	November 4, 1995	2–3	Washington Capitals (1995–96)	2–8–2	Recap
13	L	November 7, 1995	2–5	Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	2–9–2	Recap
14	L	November 10, 1995	1–4	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	2–10–2	Recap
15	L	November 11, 1995	1–4	St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	2–11–2	Recap
16	W	November 14, 1995	5–3	@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	3–11–2	Recap
17	L	November 16, 1995	2–9	@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	3–12–2	Recap
18	L	November 17, 1995	1–2 OT	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	3–13–2	Recap
19	W	November 22, 1995	5–2	Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	4–13–2	Recap
20	T	November 24, 1995	1–1 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	4–13–3	Recap
21	L	November 25, 1995	1–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	4–14–3	Recap
22	L	November 28, 1995	3–7	Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	4–15–3	Recap
23	W	November 30, 1995	5–3	@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	5–15–3	Recap

December: 4–7–3 (home: 2–2–2; road: 2–5–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
24	W	December 2, 1995	4–1	New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	6–15–3	Recap
25	L	December 5, 1995	3–6	Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	6–16–3	Recap
26	L	December 6, 1995	4–7	@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	6–17–3	Recap
27	L	December 9, 1995	2–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	6–18–3	Recap
28	W	December 10, 1995	6–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	7–18–3	Recap
29	L	December 12, 1995	1–3	Florida Panthers (1995–96)	7–19–3	Recap
30	L	December 14, 1995	3–4 OT	@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)	7–20–3	Recap
31	T	December 16, 1995	3–3 OT	Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	7–20–4	Recap
32	L	December 19, 1995	1–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	7–21–4	Recap
33	T	December 21, 1995	3–3 OT	@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)	7–21–5	Recap
34	W	December 23, 1995	3–1	Washington Capitals (1995–96)	8–21–5	Recap
35	T	December 26, 1995	3–3 OT	Boston Bruins (1995–96)	8–21–6	Recap
36	L	December 27, 1995	3–5	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	8–22–6	Recap
37	W	December 31, 1995	5–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	9–22–6	Recap

January: 4–5–2 (home: 4–1–2; road: 0–4–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
38	T	January 4, 1996	2–2 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	9–22–7	Recap
39	W	January 6, 1996	5–4	Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	10–22–7	Recap
40	T	January 9, 1996	3–3 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	10–22–8	Recap
41	W	January 11, 1996	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	11–22–8	Recap
42	W	January 15, 1996	3–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	12–22–8	Recap
43	L	January 17, 1996	3–6	Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	12–23–8	Recap
44	L	January 22, 1996	3–4	@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	12–24–8	Recap
45	L	January 24, 1996	1–4	@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)	12–25–8	Recap
46	L	January 26, 1996	1–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	12–26–8	Recap
47	L	January 27, 1996	3–6	@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	12–27–8	Recap
48	W	January 30, 1996	5–4 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	13–27–8	Recap

February: 5–8–0 (home: 4–5–0; road: 1–3–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
49	L	February 3, 1996	5–6 OT	@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)	13–28–8	Recap
50	W	February 4, 1996	5–3	Dallas Stars (1995–96)	14–28–8	Recap
51	L	February 6, 1996	2–4	New York Rangers (1995–96)	14–29–8	Recap
52	L	February 8, 1996	2–6	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	14–30–8	Recap
53	W	February 10, 1996	4–3	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	15–30–8	Recap
54	L	February 12, 1996	1–4	Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	15–31–8	Recap
55	L	February 15, 1996	3–6	Calgary Flames (1995–96)	15–32–8	Recap
56	W	February 17, 1996	4–2	San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	16–32–8	Recap
57	W	February 22, 1996	5–3	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	17–32–8	Recap
58	L	February 23, 1996	2–3 OT	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	17–33–8	Recap
59	W	February 25, 1996	2–0	Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	18–33–8	Recap
60	L	February 27, 1996	2–6	Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	18–34–8	Recap
61	L	February 29, 1996	1–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	18–35–8	Recap

March: 2–12–0 (home: 1–4–0; road: 1–8–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
62	L	March 1, 1996	2–6	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	18–36–8	Recap
63	L	March 3, 1996	5–7	Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)	18–37–8	Recap
64	W	March 5, 1996	5–3	Boston Bruins (1995–96)	19–37–8	Recap
65	L	March 7, 1996	3–4	@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)	19–38–8	Recap
66	W	March 9, 1996	4–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)	20–38–8	Recap
67	L	March 16, 1996	2–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	20–39–8	Recap
68	L	March 17, 1996	1–5	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	20–40–8	Recap
69	L	March 19, 1996	1–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	20–41–8	Recap
70	L	March 21, 1996	2–3	@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)	20–42–8	Recap
71	L	March 23, 1996	2–3 OT	New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	20–43–8	Recap
72	L	March 25, 1996	1–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	20–44–8	Recap
73	L	March 26, 1996	1–7	Washington Capitals (1995–96)	20–45–8	Recap
74	L	March 30, 1996	1–3	@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	20–46–8	Recap
75	L	March 31, 1996	1–4	New York Rangers (1995–96)	20–47–8	Recap

April: 2–3–2 (home: 1–1–1; road: 1–2–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
76	L	April 2, 1996	2–6	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	20–48–8	Recap
77	L	April 5, 1996	2–4	@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	20–49–8	Recap
78	W	April 6, 1996	3–0	Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	21–49–8	Recap
79	L	April 8, 1996	3–4	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	21–50–8	Recap
80	W	April 10, 1996	6–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	22–50–8	Recap
81	T	April 12, 1996	1–1 OT	Florida Panthers (1995–96)	22–50–9	Recap
82	T	April 13, 1996	5–5 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	22–50–10	Recap

Legend:

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

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 Islanders only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
16^[a]	Zigmund Palffy	RW	81	43	44	87	−17	56
39	Travis Green	C	69	25	45	70	−20	42
72	Mathieu Schneider‡	D	65	11	36	47	−18	93
18	Marty McInnis	RW	74	12	34	46	−11	39
17	Wendel Clark‡	LW	58	24	19	43	−12	60
44	Todd Bertuzzi	RW	76	18	21	39	−14	83
28	Alexander Semak	C	69	20	14	34	−4	68
27	Derek King	LW	61	12	20	32	−10	23
32	Niklas Andersson	LW	47	14	12	26	−3	12
4	Bryan McCabe	D	82	7	16	23	−24	156
26	Patrick Flatley	RW	56	8	9	17	−24	21
7	Scott Lachance	D	55	3	10	13	−19	54
20	Bob Sweeney‡	C	66	6	6	12	−23	59
82^[b]	Martin Straka†‡	C	22	2	10	12	−6	6
6	Chris Luongo	D	74	3	7	10	−23	55
24	Brent Severyn	LW	65	1	8	9	3	180
21	Dan Plante	RW	73	5	3	8	−22	50
11	Darius Kasparaitis	D	46	1	7	8	−12	93
9	Kirk Muller‡	LW	15	4	3	7	−10	15
34^[c]	Andrei Vasilyev	LW	10	2	5	7	4	2
37	Dennis Vaske	D	19	1	6	7	−13	21
17	Darby Hendrickson†	C	16	1	4	5	−6	33
2	Bob Beers	D	13	0	5	5	−2	10
14	Derek Armstrong	C	19	1	3	4	−6	14
3	Kenny Jonsson†	D	16	0	4	4	−5	10
33	Milan Tichy	D	8	0	4	4	3	8
15	Brad Dalgarno	RW	18	1	2	3	−2	14
75	Brett Lindros	RW	18	1	2	3	−6	47
47	Rich Pilon	D	27	0	3	3	−9	72
25	Pat Conacher†	LW	13	1	1	2	−4	0
12	Mick Vukota	RW	32	1	1	2	−3	106
10	Craig Darby	C	10	0	2	2	−1	0
14^[d]	Danton Cole‡	RW	10	1	0	1	0	0
36^[e]	Micah Aivazoff	C	12	0	1	1	−6	6
3	Dean Chynoweth‡	D	14	0	1	1	−4	40
34	Jarrett Deuling	LW	14	0	1	1	−1	11
1	Eric Fichaud	G	24	0	1	1		0
34	Jason Herter	D	1	0	1	1	1	0
38	Andreas Johansson	C	3	0	1	1	1	0
43^[f]	Chris Taylor	C	11	0	1	1	1	2
33	Ken Belanger†	LW	7	0	0	0	−2	27
36^[g]	Bob Halkidis†	D	5	0	0	0	−3	30
43	Mike MacWilliam	LW	6	0	0	0	−1	14
29	Jamie McLennan	G	13	0	0	0		2
32	Grigori Panteleev	LW	4	0	0	0	−3	0
35	Tommy Salo	G	10	0	0	0		0
30	Tommy Soderstrom	G	51	0	0	0		7
36	Jason Strudwick	D	1	0	0	0	0	7
34	Jason Widmer	D	4	0	0	0	0	7

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
30	Tommy Soderstrom	51	11	22	6	1370	167	3.87	.878	2	2590
1	Eric Fichaud	24	7	12	2	659	68	3.31	.897	1	1234
29	Jamie McLennan	13	3	9	1	342	39	3.68	.886	0	636
35	Tommy Salo	10	1	7	1	250	35	4.01	.860	0	523

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Lester Patrick Trophy	Ken Morrow	^[3]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Mathieu Schneider	^[4]
Team	Bob Nystrom Award	Dan Plante	^[5]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Todd Bertuzzi	October 7, 1995	^[6]
	Bryan McCabe	October 7, 1995
	Jason Herter	December 6, 1995
	Eric Fichaud	January 30, 1996
	Jarrett Deuling	February 25, 1996
	Mike MacWilliam	March 17, 1996
	Jason Strudwick	March 30, 1996
	Andreas Johansson	April 5, 1996

Transactions

Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.^[7]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	2	Wade Redden	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
2	28	Jan Hlavac	Czech Republic	Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
2	41	D. J. Smith	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
5	106	Vladimir Orszagh	Slovakia	Iskra Banská Bystrica (Slovakia)
7	158	Andrew Taylor	Canada	Detroit Junior Red Wings (OHL)
9	210	David MacDonald	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
9	211	Mike Broda	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

Notes

^ Palffy wore number 68 in his first eleven games.
^ Straka wore number 43 in his first game.
^ Vasilyev wore number 14 in his first six games and then number 36 in his next two games.
^ Cole wore number 10 in his first game.
^ Aivazoff wore number 34 in his first game and then number 10 in his next eight games.
^ Taylor wore number 14 in his first five games.
^ Halkidis wore number 3 in his first three games.

References

"New York Islanders 1995-96 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
"1995-96 New York Islanders Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.

^ "1995–1996 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
^ "1995-96 New York Islanders Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
^ "Lester Patrick Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
^ "1996 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ "New York Islanders – Awards and Honors". New York Islanders. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
^ "1995-96 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
^ "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.

[3] Palffy wore number 68 in his first eleven games.

[4] Straka wore number 43 in his first game.

[5] Vasilyev wore number 14 in his first six games and then number 36 in his next two games.

[6] Cole wore number 10 in his first game.

[7] Aivazoff wore number 34 in his first game and then number 10 in his next eight games.

[8] Taylor wore number 14 in his first five games.

[9] Halkidis wore number 3 in his first three games.

[1] "1995–1996 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 3, 2014.

[2] "1995-96 New York Islanders Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.

[10] "Lester Patrick Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved August 27, 2023.

[11] "1996 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.

[12] "New York Islanders – Awards and Honors". New York Islanders. Retrieved August 9, 2022.

[13] "1995-96 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2024.

[14] "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.

[1]

[2]

[a]

[b]

[c]

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[3]

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[7]

v t e New York Islanders seasons
1970s	1970–71 . 1971–72 . 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

v t e New York Islanders
Founded in 1972 Based in Elmont, New York
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Expansion draft Seasons Current season
History	Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) New York Islanders Hockey Club, L.P. (Jon Ledecky, governor) General manager Lou Lamoriello Head coach Patrick Roy Team captain Anders Lee Current roster
Arenas	Nassau Coliseum Barclays Center UBS Arena
Rivalries	New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Washington Capitals
Affiliates	AHL Bridgeport Islanders ECHL Worcester Railers
Media	TV MSG Network MSG Sportsnet Radio WEPN-FM WRHU 88.7 FM
Culture and lore	The Trio Grande Easter Epic Sparky the Dragon Penguins–Islanders brawl The Lighthouse Project Hockey Night Live! John Spano 2014 NHL Stadium Series 2024 NHL Stadium Series
Category Commons

v t e 1995–96 NHL season
Northeast	Boston Buffalo Hartford Montreal Ottawa Pittsburgh
Atlantic	Florida New Jersey NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Tampa Bay Washington
Central	Chicago Dallas Detroit St. Louis Toronto Winnipeg
Pacific	Anaheim Calgary Colorado Edmonton Los Angeles San Jose Vancouver
See also	Draft Waiver draft Rat trick Legion of Doom Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup Finals