1994–95 Vancouver Canucks season

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.

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)

Regular season
Pacific Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
12Calgary Flames482417716313555
26Vancouver Canucks4818181215314848
37San Jose Sharks481925412916142
49Los Angeles Kings481623914217441
511Edmonton Oilers481727413618338
612Mighty Ducks of Anaheim481627512516437

[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
1p – Detroit Red WingsCEN483311418011770
2x – Calgary FlamesPAC482417716313555
3St. Louis BluesCEN482815517813561
4Chicago BlackhawksCEN482419515611553
5Toronto Maple LeafsCEN482119813514650
6Vancouver CanucksPAC4818181215314848
7San Jose SharksPAC481925412916142
8Dallas StarsCEN481723813613542
9Los Angeles KingsPAC481623914217441
10Winnipeg JetsCEN481625715717739
11Edmonton OilersPAC481727413618338
12Mighty Ducks of AnaheimPAC481627512516437

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)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TJanuary 20, 19951–1 OTDallas Stars (1994–95)0–0–1Recap
2LJanuary 21, 19951–7St. Louis Blues (1994–95)0–1–1Recap
3LJanuary 24, 19953–6@ Detroit Red Wings (1994–95)0–2–1Recap
4LJanuary 25, 19952–6@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1994–95)0–3–1Recap
5WJanuary 28, 19953–1@ St. Louis Blues (1994–95)1–3–1Recap
February: 4–4–5 (home: 2–3–3; road: 2–1–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
6TFebruary 1, 19954–4 OTToronto Maple Leafs (1994–95)1–3–2Recap
7LFebruary 5, 19954–9Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95)1–4–2Recap
8TFebruary 7, 19954–4 OTEdmonton Oilers (1994–95)1–4–3Recap
9WFebruary 9, 19955–1Winnipeg Jets (1994–95)2–4–3Recap
10TFebruary 11, 19951–1 OTSan Jose Sharks (1994–95)2–4–4Recap
11LFebruary 15, 19951–3@ San Jose Sharks (1994–95)2–5–4Recap
12TFebruary 17, 19952–2 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95)2–5–5Recap
13WFebruary 18, 19956–2@ Los Angeles Kings (1994–95)3–5–5Recap
14WFebruary 20, 19958–2Los Angeles Kings (1994–95)4–5–5Recap
15LFebruary 22, 19951–4Winnipeg Jets (1994–95)4–6–5Recap
16TFebruary 24, 19953–3 OT@ Dallas Stars (1994–95)4–6–6Recap
17WFebruary 26, 19955–1@ San Jose Sharks (1994–95)5–6–6Recap
18LFebruary 28, 19953–4San Jose Sharks (1994–95)5–7–6Recap
March: 6–6–2 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–3–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
19TMarch 2, 19952–2 OT@ Calgary Flames (1994–95)5–7–7Recap
20WMarch 4, 19955–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1994–95)6–7–7Recap
21LMarch 6, 19952–5Detroit Red Wings (1994–95)6–8–7Recap
22WMarch 11, 19955–3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95)7–8–7Recap
23WMarch 12, 19955–2@ Edmonton Oilers (1994–95)8–8–7Recap
24TMarch 14, 19953–3 OT@ Winnipeg Jets (1994–95)8–8–8Recap
25LMarch 16, 19952–9@ Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95)8–9–8Recap
26LMarch 17, 19951–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1994–95)8–10–8Recap
27WMarch 21, 19953–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1994–95)9–10–8Recap
28LMarch 23, 19951–3Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95)9–11–8Recap
29LMarch 25, 19951–2Detroit Red Wings (1994–95)9–12–8Recap
30LMarch 26, 19950–2@ Calgary Flames (1994–95)9–13–8Recap
31WMarch 29, 19955–2Los Angeles Kings (1994–95)10–13–8Recap
32WMarch 31, 19956–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95)11–13–8Recap
April: 7–5–3 (home: 4–1–2; road: 3–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
33WApril 1, 19955–1@ Edmonton Oilers (1994–95)12–13–8Recap
34TApril 4, 19952–2 OTDallas Stars (1994–95)12–13–9Recap
35LApril 7, 19954–7@ Winnipeg Jets (1994–95)12–14–9Recap
36WApril 8, 19954–2@ Calgary Flames (1994–95)13–14–9Recap
37WApril 11, 19955–0Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95)14–14–9Recap
38LApril 13, 19954–6Edmonton Oilers (1994–95)14–15–9Recap
39WApril 15, 19953–1@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1994–95)15–15–9Recap
40TApril 17, 19952–2 OT@ Dallas Stars (1994–95)15–15–10Recap
41LApril 18, 19951–4@ St. Louis Blues (1994–95)15–16–10Recap
42TApril 20, 19952–2 OTCalgary Flames (1994–95)15–16–11Recap
43WApril 22, 19956–1Edmonton Oilers (1994–95)16–16–11Recap
44LApril 25, 19953–4 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1994–95)16–17–11Recap
45LApril 26, 19952–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1994–95)16–18–11Recap
46WApril 28, 19953–1St. Louis Blues (1994–95)17–18–11Recap
47WApril 30, 19956–4Calgary Flames (1994–95)18–18–11Recap
May: 0–0–1 (home: 0–0–0; road: 0–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
48TMay 3, 19953–3 OT@ San Jose Sharks (1994–95)18–18–12Recap
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
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LMay 7, 19951–2@ St. Louis BluesBlues lead 1–0Recap
2WMay 9, 19955–3@ St. Louis BluesSeries tied 1–1Recap
3WMay 11, 19956–1St. Louis BluesCanucks lead 2–1Recap
4LMay 13, 19952–5St. Louis BluesSeries tied 2–2Recap
5WMay 15, 19956–5 OT@ St. Louis BluesCanucks lead 3–2Recap
6LMay 17, 19952–8St. Louis BluesSeries tied 3–3Recap
7WMay 19, 19955–3@ St. Louis BluesCanucks win 4–3Recap
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks – Blackhawks win 4–0
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LMay 21, 19951–2 OT@ Chicago BlackhawksBlackhawks lead 1–0Recap
2LMay 23, 19950–2@ Chicago BlackhawksBlackhawks lead 2–0Recap
3LMay 25, 19952–3 OTChicago BlackhawksBlackhawks lead 3–0Recap
4LMay 27, 19953–4 OTChicago BlackhawksBlackhawks win 4–0Recap
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.
Regular season Playoffs
No. Player Pos GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
10Pavel BureLW44202343−848117613−110
16Trevor LindenC48182240−54011268−112
14Geoff CourtnallLW4516183428111426−834
22Jeff BrownD3382331−216513422
27Sergio MomessoLW48101525−26511314−516
7Cliff RonningC4161925−42711358−52
23Martin GelinasRW46131023836301110
42Josef Beranek†C3781321−102811112−712
9Russ Courtnall†RW1341418104114812121
21Jyrki LummeD36512174261126808
8Greg Adams‡LW3151015112——————
44Dave BabychD4031114−131811224−814
3Bret HedicanD4521113−33411022−56
33Michael PecaC336612−630501108
20Christian Ruuttu†LW25561111239112−30
29Gino OdjickLW23459−31095000−247
25Nathan LaFayette‡C2744822——————
5Dana MurzynD40088141298011−122
28Roman Oksiuta†RW12527221023500
24Jiri Slegr‡D19156032——————
19Tim HunterRW34325112011000−322
4Gerald Diduck‡D22134−815——————
15John McIntyreC28044−337——————
34Jassen CullimoreD34123−23911000−412
2Evgeny NamestnikovD1603324100002
9Gary LeemanRW10202−30——————
6Adrian AucoinD1101104101−10
20Jose CharbonneauRW310100——————
36Dane JacksonRW3101046000−210
1Kirk McLeanG400114110110
6Adrien Plavsic‡D301134——————
24Scott WalkerD11011033——————
35Kay WhitmoreG11011710000
18Shawn Antoski‡LW7000−446——————
25Alek StojanovRW4000−213500002
4Mark WottonD100010500004

Goaltending
Regular season Playoffs
No. Player GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
1Kirk McLean4018121011401092.75.904123741147336363.27.8930660
35Kay Whitmore11062279373.98.86705581001826.00.889020

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]

Draft picks

Vancouver'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)
113Mattias Ohlund SwedenLuleå HF (Sweden)
239Robb Gordon CanadaPowell River Kings (BCHL)
242Dave Scatchard CanadaPortland Winter Hawks (WHL)
365Chad Allen CanadaSaskatoon Blades (WHL)
492Mike Dubinsky CanadaBrandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
5117Yanick Dube CanadaLaval Titan (QMJHL)
7169Yuri Kuznetsov RussiaAvangard Omsk (Russia)
8195Rob Trumbley CanadaMoose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
9221Bill Muckalt CanadaKelowna Spartans (BCHL)
10247Tyson Nash CanadaKamloops Blazers (WHL)
11273Robert Longpre CanadaMedicine 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. "1994-95 Vancouver Canucks Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  4. Vancouver Canucks 2016–17 Media Guide, p. 249
  5. Vancouver Canucks 2016–17 Media Guide, p. 250
  6. 2015–16 Vancouver Canucks Media Guide, p. 217
  7. "1994 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
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