1995–96 New York Islanders season

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. 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.

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	Mike Milbury
Coach	Lorne Henning Mike Milbury (interim)
Captain	Patrick Flatley
Arena	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals	Zigmund Palffy (43)
Assists	Travis Green (45)
Points	Zigmund Palffy (87)

Offseason

The short-lived "Fisherman" logo

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

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 7, 1995	4–4 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)	0–0–1
2	L	October 10, 1995	3–7	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	0–1–1
3	L	October 14, 1995	0–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	0–2–1
4	L	October 15, 1995	3–5	@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)	0–3–1
5	L	October 17, 1995	1–5	New York Rangers (1995–96)	0–4–1
6	W	October 20, 1995	2–0	Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	1–4–1
7	L	October 25, 1995	1–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	1–5–1
8	L	October 26, 1995	5–7	Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	1–6–1
9	T	October 28, 1995	5–5 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	1–6–2
10	W	October 31, 1995	5–4 OT	@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)	2–6–2
11	L	November 3, 1995	3–5	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	2–7–2
12	L	November 4, 1995	2–3	Washington Capitals (1995–96)	2–8–2
13	L	November 7, 1995	2–5	Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	2–9–2
14	L	November 10, 1995	1–4	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	2–10–2
15	L	November 11, 1995	1–4	St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	2–11–2
16	W	November 14, 1995	5–3	@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	3–11–2
17	L	November 16, 1995	2–9	@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	3–12–2
18	L	November 17, 1995	1–2 OT	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	3–13–2
19	W	November 22, 1995	5–2	Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	4–13–2
20	T	November 24, 1995	1–1 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	4–13–3
21	L	November 25, 1995	1–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	4–14–3
22	L	November 28, 1995	3–7	Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	4–15–3
23	W	November 30, 1995	5–3	@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	5–15–3
24	W	December 2, 1995	4–1	New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	6–15–3
25	L	December 5, 1995	3–6	Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	6–16–3
26	L	December 6, 1995	4–7	@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	6–17–3
27	L	December 9, 1995	2–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	6–18–3
28	W	December 10, 1995	6–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	7–18–3
29	L	December 12, 1995	1–3	Florida Panthers (1995–96)	7–19–3
30	L	December 14, 1995	3–4 OT	@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)	7–20–3
31	T	December 16, 1995	3–3 OT	Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	7–20–4
32	L	December 19, 1995	1–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	7–21–4
33	T	December 21, 1995	3–3 OT	@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)	7–21–5
34	W	December 23, 1995	3–1	Washington Capitals (1995–96)	8–21–5
35	T	December 26, 1995	3–3 OT	Boston Bruins (1995–96)	8–21–6
36	L	December 27, 1995	3–5	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	8–22–6
37	W	December 31, 1995	5–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	9–22–6
38	T	January 4, 1996	2–2 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	9–22–7
39	W	January 6, 1996	5–4	Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	10–22–7
40	T	January 9, 1996	3–3 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	10–22–8
41	W	January 11, 1996	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	11–22–8
42	W	January 15, 1996	3–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	12–22–8
43	L	January 17, 1996	3–6	Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	12–23–8
44	L	January 22, 1996	3–4	@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	12–24–8
45	L	January 24, 1996	1–4	@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)	12–25–8
46	L	January 26, 1996	1–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	12–26–8
47	L	January 27, 1996	3–6	@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	12–27–8
48	W	January 30, 1996	5–4 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	13–27–8
49	L	February 3, 1996	5–6 OT	@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)	13–28–8
50	W	February 4, 1996	5–3	Dallas Stars (1995–96)	14–28–8
51	L	February 6, 1996	2–4	New York Rangers (1995–96)	14–29–8
52	L	February 8, 1996	2–6	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	14–30–8
53	W	February 10, 1996	4–3	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	15–30–8
54	L	February 12, 1996	1–4	Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	15–31–8
55	L	February 15, 1996	3–6	Calgary Flames (1995–96)	15–32–8
56	W	February 17, 1996	4–2	San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	16–32–8
57	W	February 22, 1996	5–3	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	17–32–8
58	L	February 23, 1996	2–3 OT	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	17–33–8
59	W	February 25, 1996	2–0	Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	18–33–8
60	L	February 27, 1996	2–6	Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	18–34–8
61	L	February 29, 1996	1–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	18–35–8
62	L	March 1, 1996	2–6	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	18–36–8
63	L	March 3, 1996	5–7	Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)	18–37–8
64	W	March 5, 1996	5–3	Boston Bruins (1995–96)	19–37–8
65	L	March 7, 1996	3–4	@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)	19–38–8
66	W	March 9, 1996	4–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)	20–38–8
67	L	March 16, 1996	2–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	20–39–8
68	L	March 17, 1996	1–5	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	20–40–8
69	L	March 19, 1996	1–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	20–41–8
70	L	March 21, 1996	2–3	@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)	20–42–8
71	L	March 23, 1996	2–3 OT	New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	20–43–8
72	L	March 25, 1996	1–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	20–44–8
73	L	March 26, 1996	1–7	Washington Capitals (1995–96)	20–45–8
74	L	March 30, 1996	1–3	@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	20–46–8
75	L	March 31, 1996	1–4	New York Rangers (1995–96)	20–47–8
76	L	April 2, 1996	2–6	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	20–48–8
77	L	April 5, 1996	2–4	@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	20–49–8
78	W	April 6, 1996	3–0	Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	21–49–8
79	L	April 8, 1996	3–4	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	21–50–8
80	W	April 10, 1996	6–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	22–50–8
81	T	April 12, 1996	1–1 OT	Florida Panthers (1995–96)	22–50–9
82	T	April 13, 1996	5–5 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	22–50–10

Playoffs

The Islanders missed the playoffs for the second straight year.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Zigmund Palffy	RW	81	43	44	87	56	-17	17	1	6
Travis Green	C	69	25	45	70	42	-20	14	1	2
Mathieu Schneider	D	65	11	36	47	93	-18	7	0	1
Marty McInnis	RW	74	12	34	46	39	-11	2	0	1
Wendel Clark	LW/D	58	24	19	43	60	-12	6	0	2
Todd Bertuzzi	RW	76	18	21	39	83	-14	4	0	2
Alexander Semak	C	69	20	14	34	68	-4	6	0	2
Derek King	LW	61	12	20	32	23	-10	5	1	0
Niklas Andersson	LW	47	14	12	26	12	-3	3	2	1
Bryan McCabe	D	82	7	16	23	156	-24	3	0	1
Patrick Flatley	RW	56	8	9	17	21	-24	0	0	0
Scott Lachance	D	55	3	10	13	54	-19	1	0	0
Bob Sweeney	C/RW	66	6	6	12	59	-23	0	1	1
Martin Straka	C	22	2	10	12	6	-6	0	0	0
Chris Luongo	D	74	3	7	10	55	-23	1	0	0
Brent Severyn	LW	65	1	8	9	180	3	0	0	0
Dan Plante	RW	73	5	3	8	50	-22	0	2	0
Darius Kasparaitis	D	46	1	7	8	93	-12	0	0	0
Kirk Muller	LW	15	4	3	7	15	-10	0	0	0
Andrei Vasilyev	LW	10	2	5	7	2	4	0	0	1
Dennis Vaske	D	19	1	6	7	21	-13	1	0	1
Darby Hendrickson	C	16	1	4	5	33	-6	0	0	1
Bob Beers	D	13	0	5	5	10	-2	0	0	0
Derek Armstrong	C	19	1	3	4	14	-6	0	0	0
Kenny Jonsson	D	16	0	4	4	10	-5	0	0	0
Milan Tichy	D	8	0	4	4	8	3	0	0	0
Brad Dalgarno	RW	18	1	2	3	14	-2	0	0	0
Brett Lindros	RW	18	1	2	3	47	-6	0	0	0
Rich Pilon	D	27	0	3	3	72	-9	0	0	0
Pat Conacher	LW	13	1	1	2	0	-4	0	0	0
Mick Vukota	RW	32	1	1	2	106	-3	0	0	0
Craig Darby	C	10	0	2	2	0	-1	0	0	0
Danton Cole	C/RW	10	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Micah Aivazoff	C	12	0	1	1	6	-6	0	0	0
Dean Chynoweth	D	14	0	1	1	40	-4	0	0	0
Jarrett Deuling	LW	14	0	1	1	11	-1	0	0	0
Eric Fichaud	G	24	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jason Herter	D	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0
Andreas Johansson	C	3	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0
Chris Taylor	C	11	0	1	1	2	1	0	0	0
Ken Belanger	LW	7	0	0	0	27	-2	0	0	0
Bob Halkidis	D	5	0	0	0	30	-3	0	0	0
Mike MacWilliam	LW	6	0	0	0	14	-1	0	0	0
Jamie McLennan	G	13	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Grigori Panteleev	LW	4	0	0	0	0	-3	0	0	0
Tommy Salo	G	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tommy Soderstrom	G	51	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	0
Jason Strudwick	D	1	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	0
Jason Widmer	D	4	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Tommy Soderstrom	2590	51	11	22	6	167	3.87	2	1370	1203	.878
Eric Fichaud	1234	24	7	12	2	68	3.31	1	659	591	.897
Jamie McLennan	636	13	3	9	1	39	3.68	0	342	303	.886
Tommy Salo	523	10	1	7	1	35	4.02	0	250	215	.860
Team:	4983	82	22	50	10	309	3.72	3	2621	2312	.882

[2]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

[3]

Transactions

Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.

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)

References

1. "1995–1996 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
2. "1995-96 New York Islanders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
3. Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.426, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6

External links

• Islanders on Hockey Database