Throwback Thursday: What If Patrik Wasn’t Precise
My favorite moment in New Jersey Devils history was the culmination of an incredible 1999-2000 season in the winning of the Stanley Cup. I’ve been fortunate enough to witness some incredible players spend most of their careers in New Jersey, one of which has been Patrik Elias. Even as a 37-year-old, Elias played at a pace this year that would have earned him 61 points had it been a full season. No point of his has been as meaningful to me as the last pass he made in the 1999-2000 season: a blind pass towards the net right onto the stick of his line-mate, Jason Arnott, ending Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals and bringing the cup to New Jersey for the second time in franchise history. I had yet to begin my appreciation for hockey in 1995, so this play was the most exciting thing I had witnessed in sports in my entire life.
The 1999 team was arguably the most well rounded team in Devils history. The Devils had an incredible offense, featuring the “A-line” of Jason Arnott, Patrik Elias, and Petr Sykora. This was filled out by the likes of Bobby Holik, Randy Mckay, Claude Lemieux, Alexander Mogilny (acquired via trade), and Calder Trophy winner Scott Gomez. Their defense featured the most famous names in Devils history including captain Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Brian Rafalski, and Ken Daneyko. Last, but certainly not least, the Devils had Martin Brodeur at the top of his game. The most astounding part of this team and the final play of the Stanley Cup Finals was the chemistry. The infamous “A-line” accounted for three of the top four offensive players that season, and their final act proved just how well they knew each other; it was as if they always knew where the others were on the ice without having to look.
I will always remember my heart skipping a beat as I watched the puck float across the ice from Elias to Arnott, hoping that it would finally end the double overtime marathon and that I could see Scott Stevens hoist the cup high over his head. Even now, I am reminded by the “History Will Be Made” Stanley Cup Playoffs ads. “What if Patrik wasn’t precise?”…well, he was.
Q&A with Bruce Driver
In case you missed it, the Devils aired a great question and answer session on Spreecast with Bruce Driver! This was the first in a series featuring our alumni, hosted by Seth Everett.
If you’ve been wanting to learn more about our team history and interact with our alumni, then you won’t be disappointed if you can log on for one of these sessions. Read the rest of this entry
Game 48: New Jersey Devils at New York Rangers
Start Time: 3:00 PM
TV: NBC
Radio: Bloomberg 1130 AM
Matchup:
Your New Jersey Devils (19-18-10) will take the ice for the final time this season on Saturday afternoon, as they take on their cross-town rivals, the New York Rangers (25-18-4) for the fourth time this season. The Devils are 1-2-0 against the Rangers this season, taking the first meeting by a score of 3-1, then losing the next two 3-2 and 4-1. The Rangers will look to move as high as 6th in the Eastern Conference standings, depending on the results of the last two games for the Ottawa Senators.
Player Appreciation Night – Thursday, April 25th
One of the things I have always loved is hearing players say in their post game interviews how much they appreciate the support of their fans. Whenever one of the guys comes out and says they hear us cheering, it makes me feel like all the time spent at the arena, all the days I lost my voice, or clapped until my arms were sore was worth it.
So, even though Thursday, April 25th against the Penguins is “Fan Appreciation Night”, I thought it would be fun for us fans to make it a “Player Appreciation Night.” I know our fans are dedicated. I know that we will stand by these guys win or lose. For one night, I thought it would be amazing to show everyone on the ice, everyone watching on TV, everyone everywhere that we mean it.
How?
A few weeks back I made a simple sign.
A fellow fan and friend of mine really enjoyed it, and made the same exact sign to take with her to a road game. Which got me thinking how fun it would be to see that simple statement repeated throughout the entire stadium. What kind of impression would THAT give our players?
So, I invite everyone who wants to participate to copy this design and bring it to the game on Thursday, April 25. Let’s show, not just our team, but ALL of the NHL why the New Jersey Devils have the BEST fans in all of hockey!
Game 43: New Jersey Devils at Philadelphia Flyers
Game Time: 7:30 PM
TV: TSN, NBCSN, MSG+
Radio: 1130 AM
Thursday night, your New Jersey Devils (15-17-10) will look to finally snap a 10-game losing streak as they travel to Philly to take on the Flyers (19-21-3) for the fifth and final time this season. The Devils have gone 0-6-4 in their past ten, virtually knocking them out of the 2013 playoff race. The Flyers, on the other hand, have gone 6-4-0 in their past 10, moving one point ahead of the Devils in the standings as they try to piece together a season that got off to a rocky start for the Philadelphia team.
Game 40: Boston Bruins at New Jersey Devils
Game Time: 7:30 PM
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 970 AM
Match-Up
The New Jersey Devils (15-14-10) will play host to the Boston Bruins (25-9-4) tonight for third and final meeting of the season. This is the second game between these teams in the last week. Last Thursday, the Devils shipped up to Boston in a game that saw the Devils throw everything but the kitchen sink at Tuukka Rask, but he stopped all 40 shots. Jaromir Jagr would score in his debut as a Bruin, and the Devils would fall 1-0. These are two teams headed in different directions, as Boston is fighting to win the Northeast Division, and New Jersey is fighting to keep its playoffs hopes alive.
The Devils in the Details: March 31 – April 6
Click the Image Above for High-Res Version
The Devils in the Details will be a weekly post, looking back on the stats from your New Jersey Devils in their past week of play. Games between Sunday and Saturday from every week will be highlighted, with stats like Goals, Assists, PIM, Shots, etc. being the main focus. This week, we take a look at the Devils between March 31 and April 6, a week where the Devils offensive troubles worsened, and the team went 0-3-0 in their games against the Islanders, Bruins, and Maple Leafs. The losses put the Devils 3 points out of a playoff spot with 10 games remaining in the season, so the Devils will have their work cut out for them in the coming weeks.
Game 37: New Jersey Devils at Boston Bruins
Game Time: 7:00 PM
TV: MSG, NHLN-US
Radio: WFAN 660 AM, 101.9 FM
Match-Up
The New Jersey Devils (15-12-9) will travel to Boston to face-off against the Bruins (23-8-4) on Thursday night for the second time this season, with the teams set to meet once more next Wednesday at the Prudential Center. The first meeting between the teams came when the Devils were 3-0-1 and the Bruins were 4-0-1, and resulted in a 2-1 shootout loss for the Devils. The Devils will be looking to get out of a recent slump that has plagued their play lately, while the Bruins will look to catch up to Montreal for first place in the Northeast Division.
The Devils in the Details: March 24 – March 30
Click the Image Above for High-Res Version
The Devils in the Details will be a weekly post, looking back on the stats from your New Jersey Devils in their past week of play. Games between Sunday and Saturday from every week will be highlighted, with stats like Goals, Assists, PIM, Shots, etc. being the main focus. This week, we take a look at the Devils between March 24 and March 30, a week that saw the Devils walked away with 3 points (0-0-3), but could have done much better. The Devils surrendered a two-goal lead twice against the Lightning on Friday night (with Tampa Bay tying the game with 15 seconds left) and a 1-goal lead twice to the Panthers (with Florida tying the game with 27 seconds left). While the Devils are happy to take the points, it would have been nice to get a bigger gap between themselves and 8th place. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about…let’s look at some stats!
