Hockey InsightsChampions

Stanley Cup Final · 1996-97

Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup

DET def. PHI

Detroit Red Wings won the 1996-97 Stanley Cup Final 4-0 over Philadelphia Flyers, 1 were decided by a single goal.

4-0

Series result · 4 games

Detroit Red Wings lifted the Cup in Game 4 at Joe Louis Arena.

Series after

api-web.nhle.com club-schedule-season + gamecenter boxscore · fetched 2026-08-17 · 4 Final games

The road to the Final

16 clubs, 4 rounds

The whole tournament, in the shape that spring actually had: 16 clubs, 4 rounds. Every series carries the games the schedule feed publishes. 82 in all that spring. The champion's road is the lit line — STL 4-2 · ANA 4-0 · COL 4-2 · PHI 4-0. Hover a series to read it beside the board; choose one to open its games underneath.

Conference Quarterfinals8 series

Conference Semifinals4 series

Eastern Conference Finals2 series

Stanley Cup Final1 series

api-web.nhle.com/v1/playoff-bracket/1997 · fetched 2026-08-17 · DET champion · 4 rounds

The series, game by game

Pick a game

Every game of the Final as its own card. Choosing one opens its goal sequence below and repaints the series score in the band above to the moment that game ended.

Game 1 · DET 4, PHI 2

1997-05-31 · CoreStates Center

A straightforward win: no overtime, no blown lead, no shutout.

Goal sequence

1stDET 2 · PHI 1
06:38 K. MaltbyDETAssists: K. DraperGo-ahead1-0SH
07:37 R. Brind'AmourPHIAssists: E. Lindros, J. NiinimaaEqualizer1-1PP59s later
15:56 J. KocurDETGo-ahead2-18m 19s later
2ndDET 1 · PHI 1
11:41 S. FedorovDETAssists: L. Murphy, D. McCartyGAME WINNER3-115m 45s later
17:11 J. LeClairPHIAssists: M. Renberg, E. LindrosCut the lead3-25m 30s later
3rdDET 1 · PHI 0
00:56 S. YzermanDETAssists: L. MurphyInsurance4-23m 45s later

Goaltending

M. VernonDET60:00 · 2 GA · 2.00 GAA 26/28 · .929 SV%W
R. HextallPHI60:00 · 4 GA · 4.00 GAA 26/30 · .867 SV%L

Shots on goal

DET30
PHI28
DifferentialDET +2

Points

L. MurphyDET2
E. LindrosPHI2
K. MaltbyDET1
S. YzermanDET1
D. McCartyDET1

Shots by player

S. FedorovDET5
B. ShanahanDET4
N. LidstromDET4
R. Brind'AmourPHI4
E. LindrosPHI4

Three stars

The league publishes three stars in this feed from about 2010; none are on file for this game.

The team line · DET / PHI

Faceoffs won0.0% / 0.0%
Power play0/5 / 1/5
Power play %0.0% / 20.0%
Penalty minutes10 / 10
Hits0 / 0
Blocked shots0 / 0
Giveaways0 / 0
Takeaways0 / 0

api-web.nhle.com gamecenter/1996030411/landing + /boxscore + wsc/game-story · fetched 2026-08-17

The series as a whole

4 games

The shape of the Final, its intensity, and who carried it. The Conn Smythe Trophy is voted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and is not carried in this feed. These are the series leader boards, not an award pick, and no composite score is computed.

Shape

Games played4
Series result4-0
GoalsDET 16 · PHI 6
Overtime games0
Multi-overtime games0
One-goal games1
Decided by three or more1
Shutouts0
Lead changes1
Comeback wins0
Home wins2–2
Empty-net goals0

gamecenter boxscore + landing · fetched 2026-08-17 · Empty-net goals are counted from the goal feed's own goalModifier flag. A count of zero means none was flagged, which for an early Final may mean none was recorded.

Intensity

Penalty minutes80 · 20.0 per game
Shots on goal223
Power-play goals8

gamecenter boxscore playerByGameStats · fetched 2026-08-17

Goaltending, whole series

M. VernonDET4 games · 240.0 min · .944 SV% · 1.50 GAA 102/1084-0
R. HextallPHI3 games · 178.2 min · .862 SV% · 4.04 GAA 75/870-3
G. SnowPHI1 games · 58.4 min · .857 SV% · 4.11 GAA 24/280-1

gamecenter boxscore goalies · fetched 2026-08-17

Scoring leaders

S. FedorovDET6 P (3G 3A)
B. ShanahanDET4 P (3G 1A)
S. YzermanDET4 P (3G 1A)
R. Brind'AmourPHI4 P (3G 1A)
K. MaltbyDET3 P (2G 1A)
M. LapointeDET3 P (2G 1A)

Winning goals

S. FedorovDET2 winners
K. MaltbyDET1 winner
D. McCartyDET1 winner

gamecenter boxscore playerByGameStats · fetched 2026-08-17

In the era

98 Finals · 520 games

This Final measured against its own decade and against every Final the league's game feed covers. The 1990s line covers 10 Finals and 49 games. Rates are per Final game, and every Final contributes only to the rates it has data for: hits-per-game is computed over the Finals since 1997-98 that record hits, not over all of them. Each rate publishes its denominator.

This Final against the era

Overtime games0 of 4
This Final0%
1990s18%
All Finals18%
One-goal games1 of 4
This Final25%
1990s45%
All Finals41%
Shutouts0 of 4
This Final0%
1990s8%
All Finals17%
Goals per game22 goals
This Final5.50
1990s5.51
All Finals5.33

derived from all 98 Finals in data/cup_finals/ · fetched 2026-08-17

Records across the feed

Longest Final2023-24 · 7 games
Most overtime games1950-51 · 5
Highest scoring1972-73 · 9.33 per game
Most one-goal games2014-15 · 5

derived from data/cup_finals/index.json · fetched 2026-08-17

What the record actually holds

Coverage

6 of 14 statistical modules are published for this Final. A module counts as available only if the series contains a non-zero value for it. Historical boxscores carry the same field names as modern ones filled with zeros — 1978-79 publishes hits: 0 for all 170 skaters — so field presence is not evidence and is not treated as such.

Goal-by-goal sequenceGoaltender win/loss decisionsPenalty minutesTeam shots on goalGoaltender shots/saves/save%Goaltender even-strength/PP/SH splitsSkater time on iceHitsBlocked shots, giveaways, takeawaysFaceoff percentageShift countsGoal strength (even, power play, shorthanded)Winning-goal scorer (from the schedule feed)On-ice situation codes

Not published for this Final

Blocked shots, giveaways, takeawaysBlocked shots, giveaways and takeaways begin in 1997-98.
Faceoff percentageFaceoff percentage begins in 1997-98.
Goaltender even-strength/PP/SH splitsEven-strength, power-play and shorthanded shot splits begin in 1997-98.
HitsHits were not recorded as an official statistic until 1997-98.
Shift countsShift counts begin in 1997-98.
On-ice situation codesOn-ice situation codes begin in 2009-10.
Skater time on icePer-skater time on ice begins in 1997-98.
Winning-goal scorer (from the schedule feed)The schedule feed does not name a winning-goal scorer before 2008-09.
Method

Final games are selected from the club schedule feed on seriesStatus.seriesAbbrev of SCF, not on a round number: the Cup Final is round four only in a four-round playoff, and the 1954-55 Final is recorded as round two. No MVP or composite rating is computed. The Conn Smythe is a published award and is not in this feed.

Goal labels are relative to the team that scored. A goal that closes a two-goal gap to one is the scorer's own cut, not the leader's insurance. The winning goal is the champion's goal that put it one clear of the finalist's final total, which is the league's own definition.

Previous Final1995-96 · COLNext Final1997-98 · DET
Sources: api-web.nhle.com/v1/club-schedule-season/{team}/{season} · api-web.nhle.com/v1/gamecenter/{game}/boxscore · api-web.nhle.com/v1/gamecenter/{game}/landing · data/stanley_cup_champions.json (the site's 107-Final ledger; it drives the season list) · data/franchise_history.json (alias_chain, for season-correct tricodes). Fetched 2026-08-17. The season list is driven by the site's own Stanley Cup ledger, and tricodes are resolved season by season through the franchise alias chain, so a Final is requested with the code its clubs actually used that year.