For the first time in three seasons, Hextall was not traded during the off-season, and remained with the Flyers for the 1995–96 season. During the regular season, Hextall improved on his figures from the previous year, passing 30 wins for the first time since 1988–89. His GAA of 2.17 was both the best in the NHL that year, and the best of Hextall's career. In the playoffs, Hextall played in all twelve of the Flyers' games, a 4–2 first round victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning followed by a 4–2 defeat to the Florida Panthers. His GAA of 2.13 was his lowest recorded in any postseason. He continued to perform well over the next two seasons, passing 30 wins again in 1996–97, and adding another nine shutouts to the four he had made in 1995–96. Over his first five seasons in the NHL, Hextall only made one shutout, while in his final six seasons, he achieved the feat on nineteen occasions. The Flyers progressed to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, though Hextall only appeared in eight playoff games, finishing seven of them. Throughout the season and the playoffs, the uncertainty in goal resulted in Hextall and Garth Snow swapping places regularly. Snow started nine of the ten games during the first two rounds, but Hextall replaced him in game two of the Conference Final, and remained the starting goaltender for the remainder of the series. A loss against the Detroit Red Wings in the first game of the Stanley Cup finals resulted in coach Murray switching back to Snow for the second game. Hextall returned for games three and four, but the Flyers were swept 4–0 by the Red Wings.