(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images/NHLI)
The other day I was watching the NHL Network (yeah, I'm the one) and I actually saw a commercial for a New York Islanders' 10 Greatest Games DVD. As interesting as that is, since they didn't have to review any footage after 1987, I got to wondering if they would ever put out a New Jersey Devils edition of that DVD.
The Devils always seem to have the stigma as the boring team that invented the trap. But if you look through their history, there have been many historical and exciting games. Here are the ten games I would put on that disc.
10. Devils at Penguins, 10/28/00
While seen as a defense-based team, the Devils can be prone to fits of offensive outburst. The roster is usually filled with players that appear to be satisfied playing for the Selke Trophy. On this night, two players showed they can play offense too.
The Devils ripped Pittsburgh for nine goals; John Madden and Randy McKay each exploded for four goals, while Turner Stevenson joined in with one. Sasha Goc finished with a plus-five rating, as some of the lesser offensively known talent on the team had fun for one night.
And while you might think the Devils ingnored their own blue line during a night of lamp lighting, they also managed to shut out the Pens, winning 9-0.
9. Devils at Canadiens, 4/18/06
On January 6th, 2006, the Devils were 19 points behind the first place Philadephia Flyers in the Atlantic Division. One of their star offensive players, Patrik Elias, missed most of the season after contracting hepatitis in Europe. The season did not appear to hold much promise.
Elias eventually did return, and by no coincidence, the Devils began a historic charge up the standings. They only needed to win their final regular season game in Montreal to cap their furious comeback and win the Atlantic.
Despite coming in on a tremendous roll, the Devils fell flat against the Habs, going down 3-0 at one point and still trailing 3-1 with ten minutes remaining in the third period. At that point the Devils staged yet another furious comeback.
Brian Gionta scored his second of two goals in the game, 47th and 48th, making him the all-time single season goal scorer in team history. He followed that by setting up Elias for the tying goal.
Finally, Jamie Langenbrunner scored to take the lead, which would hold up as the winner. The four goals came in a span of less than six minutes.
The win gave the Devils a division championship that seemed nearly impossible three months beforehand. Making up those 19 points made it the largest comeback to win a division in over 30 years.
8. Maple Leafs at Devils, 2000 Stanley Cup Playoffs, East Semifinals Game 6, 5/8/00
Okay. The Devils do play a defense first style of hockey, which technically can be boring and mind-numbing if you cannot enjoy hockey without tons of scoring. Or, if you were a Toronto Maple Leafs fan when this game went down.
Years from now, if someone ever wonders if the Devils were the preeminent defensive team of this generation, you can point them to this game. The Devils held the talented Leafs to six shots total, including just one in the third period. The six shots remain the lowest total allowed in the 1967-present expansion era.
It's always said, that in a seven game series, the hardest one to win is the last one. Well that may be true nine times out of ten, but the Devils dispatched the Leafs 3-0 in dominant fashion, moving on to the second round and continuing a push to the team's second Stanley Cup championship.
The win marked a total defensive effort from one end of the bench to the other that stands as a symbol of the pride the team takes in playing defense.
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