NEWARK, NJ – Every contending team reaches a stage leading up to the post-season when something begins to click, the players are challenged to demand more from each other and then one ends up achieving something special.
It was around the middle of March with ten games left in the regular season when Devils coach Peter DeBoer realized he might just have a team that could go far into the playoffs.
“With about 10 games left we had been spinning our wheels, hadn’t been playing well, and we challenged the team to really get on a roll heading into the playoffs. History had shown that it was important that teams were playing well heading into the playoffs.”
The Devils ended the regular season with six consecutive victories.
“That was the first signal to me that the team was engaged and wanted to do something special,” DeBoer said.
New Jersey stayed on that roll as game 83 arrived. The Devils traveled to South Florida to play the upstart Panthers to open the playoffs. New Jersey stole the first game 1-0 and home ice advantage, but then hit a buzzsaw and quickly relinquished the series lead as the Panthers took series advantages of 2-1 and 3-2.
An overtime win in Game Six after a Travis Zajac goal saved the Devils season knotted the series at three. Then the double-overtime thriller in Florida set the stage for rookie Adam Henrique as he tickled twine to put the Devils into the next round. The young team had taken an important step to being a contender having overcome adversity.
“We got tested as far as our character and everything (against Florida), and that’s where we saw our systems are working and we’re doing a lot of good things,” goalie Martin Brodeur said. “Not that we didn’t believe it, but when you work at it and see some results, you start feeling better about yourselves. That’s maybe when we started believing we could play well against anybody.”
The second round would put the Devils directly in the firing line of the Philadelphia Flyers. Having come from a confidence-building series which saw the bruising Flyers dominate the cross-state rival Penguins, Philadelphia took Game One with an overtime victory. It looked as though the Flyers would handle New Jersey in similar fashion as they handled Pittsburgh.
The Devils turned the tables on Philadelphia, though, winning the next four games and the series by outscoring the Flyers 15-7. New Jersey was on another roll and the momentum seemed similar to how the regular season ended, only now it meant much more in May than in March.
The Devils reached a new level, one they had not experienced in ten years. The team was maturing and was achieving things that even surprised themselves.
“We considered the Flyers to be one of the best teams in the League and we played some great hockey against them,” Patrik Elias said. “We played five great games and that builds up the confidence. We feel like if we stick with the game plan that we have, play simple hockey and aggressive hockey, and everybody is on the same page, then we can be successful. That gives you the feeling and quiet confidence that you can win those hockey games.”
During a few extra days of rest, New Jersey watched the Rangers defeat the Capitals in seven games and knew a grinding style awaited them. In a series which saw New York have series leads of 1-0 and 2-1, New Jersey reached a turning point in Game Five.
With the series tied at two games each after a nasty Game Four battle which ended with a 4-1 victory tying the series, the Devils came out of the gate quick and in the first nine minutes, held a 3-0 lead.
The middle thirty minutes found the Rangers back in the game after scoring three consecutive goals to bring tie the score. It never fazed New Jersey. When Ryan Carter scored with 4:24 remaining to take the lead and Zack Parise followed up with an empty net goal, the Devils knew they had done something special.
The momentum carried New Jersey into a home game and opportunity to clinch the series. After a tight 1-1 deadlock went to overtime, it took just a minute for Adam Henrique to net his second series-clinching goal and victory in Game Six. The Devils took another step to greatness and challenging themselves.
Now New Jersey awaits the Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Kings, a large and fast team they must find ways to contain. With only two losses in their fourteen games, the Kings will provide the Devils with all they can handle.
But the Devils have not arrived at this point without the confidence they gained at the end of the regular season and the belief they added after gutting out a tougher-than-expected seven-game series win against Florida, rolling past the Flyers in just five games and then dispatching the Eastern Conference’s top seed in six games.
“We were fortunate to go through (the Panthers),” Brodeur said. “It took guts and character. We’re better as a team because of that.”
DeBoer knew they were a better team at the end of the regular season because of how they responded to his challenge. Now they face a similar challenge, only this time, it’s for hockey’s top prize.
Contact: dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com
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