The Devils Most Memorable Games | 40 YEARS WITH STAN

The following is my list which starts at ten and works its way to my -- absolutely, positively -- most memorable one of them all.

#

8. THE LONGEST GAME; TOUGHEST LOSS

This could have been titled "The Ultimate Goalkeepers' Battle" and I was honored to be a broadcast part of it. The chief protagonists on April 27, 1994, at Buffalo's ancient Auditorium were Dominik Hasek in goal for the home team, and Marty Brodeur for New Jersey. It was Game Six of the series with the Devils needing only a win to move on to the third round. Quite often, a 0-0 game will be described as "Typical playoff hockey" but this time it was uttered in a most positive way. The checking was tight and the goaltending was excellent. As a matter of fact, after the three regulation periods ended without a score, it was clear that coach Jacques Lemaire's skaters had the better of the play. But it was equally clear that Hasek had been nicknamed "Dominator" for a reason. "He was at his very best," said Devils forward Bill Guerin.
Then again, for three overtime periods so was Brodeur. Then, for a split second, it appeared that Bobby Carpenter had Hasek beaten but, somehow, Dom made the save and the game continued into the fourth sudden-death period. The winning goal was -- what else? -- a killer. Buffalo invaded the New Jersey zone and tested Brodeur. Marty made the save but was out of position when Dave Hannan fired the puck over Brodeur's body. I was standing at the glass no more than five yards from the net. (I tried getting Marty back into position, but it was too late.) Poof! Just like that one of the finest games ever played had ended. While it was a harsh finish for the better team, justice triumphed in Game Seven at the Meadowlands. The Devils won and marched into the third round.

7. HEARTBREAK OVER THE NEVER-CALLED PENALTY

Jacques Lemaire's Devils were playing the genius coach's system to perfection during the 1994 playoffs, reeling off victories in the first and second postseason rounds. Now they had become the talk of the town, matching win for win with the favored Rangers in Round Three, the gateway to the Stanley Cup Final. The decisive Game Seven finale was at Madison Square Garden and morphed into the perfect trans-Hudson rivalry match-up. Back and forth they battled deep into the third period with New York goalie Mike Richter nursing a 1-0 lead. For all intents and purposes, the Devils looked dead when what appeared to be the final face-off took place deep in the home team's zone. But somehow, the never-say-die Visitors managed to get the rubber to the front of the net where Valery Zelepukin pushed the rubber past Richter with 7.7 seconds left in regulation. Incensed, Richter charged at referee Bill McCreary bumping the arbiter along the end boards. By any standard of officiating Richter should have been punished with -- at the very least a two-minute minor -- anything up to a game misconduct. Remarkably, McCreary let the Rangers netminder off with no penalty at all. The game extended into one overtime -- Bill Guerin almost won it for the Devs -- before Stephane Matteau beat Brodeur with a wraparound in the second OT period. (Had McCreary done due justice and penalized Richter -- who knows?)

6. CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR

Imagine, Devils fans; your team is just one win away from capturing the club's second (2000) Stanley Cup; this time against Dallas, Better still, with New Jersey in the catbird seat with a 3-2 series lead, Game Six was in the comfortable confines of East Rutherford's arena. So close; so tempting; and what a game! Similar to the classic Buffalo marathon, once again the Devils were tied 0-0 after regulation only this time the Garden Staters were being foiled by Dallas Star goalie Ed Belfour. But Marty Brodeur was every bit as stingy as the game extended through the pulsating first overtime without a goal. Into the second extra session, they skated with Belfour and Brodeur at their very best. Still no score. Rarely have the Devils Faithful been so close to seeing a Cup-winning goal being scored in overtime at home. I was working the MSG Networks' studio during the third OT, bobbing and weaving in front of the tv monitor, somehow trying to generate the winner with my body language. But Dallas' future Hall of Famer Mike Modano got in the way of my hopes -- not to mention 19,000 fans in attendance -- deflecting the puck past Brodeur. The fans exited, as then News 12 Emmy Award-winner George Falkowski noted, "tired and unhappy, but set up for more OT drama in Game Six two nights later."

5. HAPPINESS IS DOUBLE HERO HENRIQUE

April 26, 2012, has gone down in Devils chronicles as the date of one of those golden games for a lot of reasons but mostly because a new glamor boy took center stage. Enjoying his first full NHL season, Adam Henrique was approaching rock star status in the 2011-12 campaign and reached it as the playoffs began. New Jersey's first foes would be the Florida Panthers in a series that extended to the full seven games. The decisive contest at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise opened With Henrique scoring in the first period followed by a Stephen Gionta goal in the second frame doubling the lead. But Florida got the home crowd going nuts by tying the game late in the third period. Now it was touch and go. In Matthew Blittner's fine oral history, "Unforgettable Devils," he quotes MSG broadcaster Steve Cangialosi: "In the first overtime Marty Brodeur was extraordinary, making 12 saves. He was just really strong." Then came the second OT and here's how Cangy described it: "The deke by Ponikorovsky...taken...shot...SCORE! ADAM HENRIQUE HAS WON IT FOR NEW JERSEY IN DOUBLE OVERTIME!"
But Adam, the rookie, wasn't through with his postseason heroics. When the Devils advanced to the third playoff round, they faced the hated Rangers. The series featured a running, battlin' sidebar between yelling coach John Tortorella and calm Peter DeBoer. The Devils forged ahead three games to two with the potential series-clincher in Newark. Once again the Devils were involved in a double-OT game and here's how MSG Networks' Deb Placey recalled the start of the second overtime to author Matthew Blittner: "It was quick. Henrik Lundqvist was on the ice having managed to keep the puck out of the net during a scramble. And then Henrique -- already known for clutch play -- who was positioned next to Lundqvist, scored. It was my favorite game because of how exciting it was and because Henrique was one of my favorite people on the whole planet."

4. DEVILS-DUCKS: A CUP HAT TRICK CELEBRATED AT HOME

The 2003 Stanley Cup Final was -- by New Jersey standards -- unusual in the sense that the Devils were favored over the Ducks of Anaheim. For starters, the core from the two previous New Jersey Cups was there; including Marty Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, and Ken Daneyko along with a well-balanced offense led by Patrik Elias. New Jersey's superiority was evident in the opening pair of games at home -- each a 3-0 shutout. Looking backward, it's difficult to discern whether coach Pat Burns' skaters became overconfident or that their foes were underestimated. In any event, what some believed would be a four-game Devils sweep turned into anything but. Anaheim captured the next two games at home -- 3-2 and 1-0 -- and, all of a sudden, we had a real series. It came down to a Game Seven at home, on June 9, 2003. Personally, I was nervous about our skaters losing this one; especially since Anaheim had proven so resilient thus far. But, say this for the Devils, they were confident and Brodeur was so relaxed pre-game that an hour before the opening face-off he gave an interview to a Canadian network and smiled through it. Marty then went out and duplicated his two opening game efforts with another 3-0 decision. Rarely used rookie Mike Rupp, remarkably, got two goals and eager Jeff Friesen iced it with the third. The Garden State celebrated its third Stanley Cup victory.

3. THE GREATEST DOUBLE-PLAY COMBO -- ELIAS TO ARNOTT

Over the years, New Jersey hockey fans have been treated to some of the most dynamic forward lines in NHL history. Arguably the best of them all was forged before the start of the new century when GM Lou Lamoriello obtained center Jason Arnott in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers. Eventually, the big center would be placed between right-wing Petr Sykora and portsider Patrik Elias. They would aptly be named "The A Line" and become renowned for uniting like perfectly meshed gears. Pat, Pete, and Jay would lead their mates against a formidable foe in the 2000 Cup Final. The Dallas Stars proved strong at every position starting with Ed Belfour in goal and Brett Hull firing grenades up front. Nevertheless, the Devils arrived in Texas on June 10, 2000, leading the Final round 3-2 in games and in position to capture their second Stanley. Game Six was as pulsating as those before it and the 1-1 tie after regulation was an accurate barometer of the even play. Newcomers such as center John Madden and defenseman Brian Rafalski added new zest to the lineup which managed to survive an early injury to Sykora in the decisive match. Finally, the second Cup was won in the second OT when Elias drifted into the Stars' right corner, seized the rubber and -- Holy Moly -- dispatched a perfect pass to Arnott who flung it past Befour for the Cup-winner.

2. FROM HUMPTIES TO HEROES, APRIL 3, 1988

I can think of ten good reasons why this memorable game should be numero uno. After all, the Johnny MacLean OT-scored goal against the Black Hawks lofted coach Jim Schoenfeld's team into a playoff berth for the first time in franchise history, I mean, how great was that? "It was the game that really turned the franchise around," said Ken Daneyko who was skating for New Jersey that fateful night at Chicago Stadium. "You could see the excitement of our young group. For us that season, it was all about making the playoffs for the first time. Living a dream meant making it to the postseason. And when we did make the playoffs it was more like we had won The Stanley Cup."
Ironically, Dano, the guy who rarely lit the red light, scored the opening goal of that inimitable contest. Not only that but Kenny was paired with Joe Cirella on the play that led to Johnny Mac's playoff-making goal. "Joe had it inside the blue line, took a quick, little snapshot and the puck caromed out to Johnny in the high slot," Dano recalled. "I was five or six feet behind him." It went past goalie Darren Pang and the Devils were in! Like I said, this could have been number one on the list and others feel the same way. "Had New Jersey lost," concluded historian Falkowski, "it's possible that all the good things -- like the three Cups -- might never have come about. That's why this game is first on my list."

1. THE FIRST CUP WIN IS ALWAYS THE BEST. JUNE 24, 1995

So many factors contributed to New Jersey's first championship that it's almost impossible to list them all. For those of us who covered the 1995 Final for the Devils (then) broadcast partner, SportsChannel, the melodrama began in Detroit a day before Game One. It was then that the media unanimously picked the Red Wings to demolish Jacques Lemaire's stick handlers.
It wasn't even close.
In fact, one press wag snarled "Could be Detroit winning it in three."The pro-Red Wing braggadocio ended after New Jersey's stunning 2-1 victory in the opening game. Despite the fact fans in Joe Louis Arena bombarded Marty Brodeur's crease area with octopi, it hardly intimidated the young stopper. Any thoughts that the opening win was a fluke evaporated after big goals by Scott Niedermayer and Jim Dowd helped scuttle Detroit, 4-2, in the second test. The skeptics -- there still were many -- believed it impossible for a Scotty Bowman-coached Goliath to be so mauled by those skating Davids. Yet, Game Three turned out to be another nightmare for Detroit as the Devs tightened the stranglehold with a 5-2 rout. "It was unfathomable," said New Jersey sports historian Falkowski, who was covering the games for SportsChannel. By now the Detroit media was ready to agree. Confirmation would come in Game Four after the Visitors took an early lead only to have the Devils counterattack and win the game going away, 5-2. Really, in the end, it seemed that easy.
Postscript:The magazine Sports Illustrated -- like the rest of the hockey world --figured that Detroit would win the Cup. With that in mind -- and before the series started -- SI had a special edition of the magazine prepared for a Motor City championship. The Devils sure spoiled their plans. And that's just another reason why Game Four and the Cup presentation by Commissioner Gary Bettman gets first place in my memory department. To me, the first Cup is always the best!