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. This was the first of nine consecutive Finals to feature only American-based franchises. New Jersey was making the franchise's first appearance in the Finals, while Detroit returned to the Finals for the first time since (and had not won since ; both of those appearances had been against the Montreal Canadiens). The Devils swept the series four games to none to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in their twenty-first season, and they became the sixth team to earn a championship after joining the league in 1967 or later. It was the first of four consecutive sweeps in the finals. 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 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 . 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 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. Game summaries Game one 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,