Top 10 Devils Goals

For the 1st time in 6 years, the New Jersey Devils are in the Playoffs. They open tonight in Game 1 of the NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, away to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

This is as good a time as any to do this post.

Top 10 New Jersey Devils Goals

Honorable Mention. December 23, 1992, Stéphane Richer, Madison Square Garden, New York. Despite being already 23 years old, this was my 1st live hockey game. Although I loved the Devils, it had only been a year or so, since the publicity blitz the NHL put on for its 75th Anniversary season (1991-92), that I got into the game at the kind of level where I just had to go to games.

The Rangers led 4-1 in the 3rd period, and their 18,000 maniacs were giving me a hard time. (I'm assuming my fellow Devils fans numbered about 200 that night.) But Richer scored, and suddenly it was on. The Devils tied it up in the last 2 minutes. In English soccer parlance, "Four-one, and you fucked it up!"

In overtime, Richer struck again, firing a laser beam that John Vanbiesbrouck still hasn't seen. I got out of The Garden real fast. But happy. This game may have been forgotten by just about everybody except me – and Richer, and the Beezer – but I'll cherish it forever. After all, unlike the Yankees and Rutgers football (but like East Brunswick football and, strangely, the usually woeful Nets), the Devils won the first live game in which I saw them.

Honorable Mention. May 11, 1995, Stéphane Richer, Madison Square Garden, New York. Sort of. Richer hated the Rangers so much, he even scored against them on Seinfeld. If you listen to the radio broadcast in the car on George and Siena's date, you can hear the announcer mention the scorer. Although he pronounces it "STEFF-in Rih-SHAY," instead of the correct "Ste-FAHN Ree-SHAY."

10. May 16, 2012, David Clarkson, Madison Square Garden. The Rangers shut the Devils out in Game 1, but Clarkson scored early in Game 2 to give the Devils a win. But the Rangers would take Game 3 in Newark, before the Devils took Game 4 at home and Game 5 at The Garden, setting up Game 6.

9. May 3, 2012, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Prudential Center, Newark. It was Game 3 of the NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals, against that other team we Devils fans are known to hate: The Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers had won Game 1 in overtime, but the Devils took Game 2 to get a split in Philly.

Game 3 went nearly an entire OT period, before Poni scored at 17:21. The Flyers never recovered, and the Devils took the next 2 to set up a Conference Final against the Ranger Scum.

8. April 17, 1997, Martin Brodeur, Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey. Sure, it was an empty-netter, and the Devils already had a 2-goal lead. But it was only the 5th goal ever scored by a goaltender (his 2nd), and only the 2nd ever in the Playoffs. It was in Game 1 of a series against his boyhood team, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Devils won the series.

7. April 26, 2012, Adam Henrique, BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, Florida. The Devils needed to win Game 6 at home and Game 7 on the road to get out of the 1st round against the Florida Panthers. Travis Zajac scored in overtime to win Game 6.

In Game 7, Adam Henrique scored in regulation, then again at 3:47 of double overtime to win, 3-2. It was the biggest goal of his life. It would not remain so for long.

6. June 20, 1995, Jim Dowd, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit. This one would be ranked higher if the Devils hadn't already won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Detroit. Vyacheslav Kozlov scored to give the Red Wings an early lead, but John MacLean, perhaps still the greatest clutch player in Devils history, tied it up, and then Scott Stevens leveled Kozlov.

The teams traded goals, Sergei Fedorov for Detroit and Scott Niedermayer for New Jersey. Late in regulation, Dowd backhanded a rebounded Shawn Chambers shot past Mike Vernon, and the Devils had a 2-0 lead to take back to the Meadowlands.

Dowd remains the only New Jerseyan ever to play for the Devils, and the only New Jerseyan ever to get his name on the Stanley Cup.

5. April 3, 1988, John MacLean, Chicago Stadium. The Devils needed to win, away to the Chicago Blackhawks, a decent team in a loud, intimidating old arena, on the last day of the regular season, in order to make the Playoffs for the 1st time in their 6-season history -- and also, as a nice bonus, to keep the Rangers out of the Playoffs. A tie wouldn't have helped.

MacLean scored on Darren Pang (like Chico Resch and John Davidson, a goalie who became a broadcaster) 2:21 into the overtime -- and, given the rules of the NHL at the time, 2:39 before it would have been too late -- to give the Devils the 4-3 win.

I wish I could rank this one higher. Maybe if the Devils had made the Finals (they fell 1 game short), or if they'd been able to follow it up with another long Playoff run (which took another 7 years).

4. June 9, 2003, Mike Rupp, Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford. Now, we tend to remember Rupp for the annoyance he gave us later, as a Ranger. But he scored what turned out to be the only goal we needed in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, past Jean-Sebastien Giguere -- and it was an absolute crime that he, rather than Marty, got the Conn Smythe Trophy -- to start the Devils off to a 3-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

3. June 10, 2000, Jason Arnott, Reunion Arena, Dallas. After losing Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Dallas Stars, in triple overtime at home, the Devils did not want to lose Game 6 and force a Game 7. But this one went to double overtime, as Brodeur and the Stars' Ed Belfour wouldn't crack.

Finally, Patrik Elias sent a beautiful backhanded pass to Arnott. who shoveled it past Eddie the Eagle to end it.

It was the 15th time (there have now been 17) that a Stanley Cup Finals was ended with an overtime goal, the 6th time that it had been in Game 6 or later, and the 4th time by a player on a New York Tri-State Area team (after Bill Cook of the Rangers in Game 4 in 1933, Bryan Hextall of the Rangers in Game 6 in 1940, and Bobby Nystrom of the Islanders in Game 6 in 1980).

2. June 11, 1995, Claude Lemieux, The Spectrum, Philadelphia. The Eastern Conference Finals with the Philadelphia Flyers was tied 2-2, and so was Game 5. With 44 seconds left in regulation, Claudie, already putting together one of the greatest postseason performances in any sport, fired a wobbly 65-foot shot at Flyer goalie Ron Hextall. The red light went on.

I saw this on TV at Ruby Tuesday at the Brunswick Square Mall in East Brunswick, and I think I hit the roof. I know I yelled, "Yessss!" And nobody looked at me like we Devils fans weren't worthy of being around Ranger or Flyer fans. This was a special moment. It was the moment that the Devils franchise grew up. That it was against the Broad Street Bozos made it all the better.

Now, had Johnny Mac not scored that goal in Chicago, the Devils would have made the Playoffs eventually. But had Claudie not scored that goal at The Spectrum, that 1st Cup doesn't happen, and might not have happened to this day. It's arguably more important than any goal the Devils scored in those Finals.

1. May 25, 2012, Adam Henrique, Prudential Center. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, against The Scum. Win, and we go to the Stanley Cup Finals. Lose, and we have to play a Game 7 at The Garden, and no one wanted that. Except the Rangers, of course.

The fact that this was the anniversary of the Game 6 that Mark Messier, ol' Lex Luthor himself, had guaranteed at the Meadowlands in 1994, put an added touch on the proceedings: This was another Game 6 in which we could have eliminated The Scum without having to go back to The Garden, and we did not want a repeat performance.

We almost got it. Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist played like a pair of Hall of Fame goalies, and it was 2-2 at the end of regulation. One minute and three seconds into overtime, Mike "Doc" Emrick had the call on NBC: "They score! Henrique! It's over!"

Since the Devils have 3 Stanley Cup seasons -- and this goal would not lead to one of them -- it was not the most important goal in Devils history. But it remains the most satisfying. And since the Rangers didn't make this year's Playoffs, it won't be topped this season. Maybe not ever.

Top 10 Devils Wins

The New Jersey Devils begin their 35th season tonight. Well, their 34th: 2004-05 was canceled, because the NHL team owners decided it would be more profitable in the long run to lose an entire season's worth of revenue in order to break the players' union than to pay the contracts to which they'd already agreed.

Of course, the two biggest "wins" in Devils history came on June 30, 1982, when, following Dr. John McMullen buying the team on May 27, officially approved the Rockies' move to New Jersey; and on October 6, 2004, when the Newark City Council approved the building of what became known as the Prudential Center, so the team could finally get out of their uncomfortable crib at Exit 16W.

The Meadowlands Arena, under whatever name you called it then or call it now, was a "childhood home": We loved it, but it was not a suitable place for us as adults, and we had to get out. Besides, in this case, "father," meaning the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, did not know best.

With that in mind, here are, in my opinion, which isn't the only one that matters, only the one that matters the most in this space...

Top 10 New Jersey Devils Wins, 1982 to 2016

Honorable Mention. December 23, 1992, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York: Devils 5, New York Rangers 4.

Despite being already 23 years old, this was my 1st live hockey game. Although I loved the Devils, it had only been a year or so, since the publicity blitz the NHL put on for its 75th Anniversary season (1991-92), that I got into the game at the kind of level where I just had to go to games. Don't ask me how I got a ticket for this one, because I don't remember.

The Garden was loud. I couldn't even hear John Amirante sing the National Anthem. I never realized that 18,200 people in an enclosed building could sound louder than 55,000 fans in an outdoor stadium -- the noise couldn't get out. The Rangers led 4-1 in the 3rd period, and their 18,000 maniacs were giving me a hard time. (I'm assuming my fellow Devils fans numbered about 200 that night.)

But Stephane Richer scored, and suddenly it was on. The Devils tied it up in the last 2 minutes. In English soccer parlance, "Four-one, and you fucked it up!" In overtime, Richer struck again, firing a laser beam that John Vanbiesbrouck still hasn't seen, and the Devils were victorious.

I got out of the Garden real fast. But happy. This game may have been forgotten by just about everybody except me – and Richer, and the Beezer – but I'll cherish it forever. After all, unlike the Yankees and Rutgers football (but like East Brunswick football and, strangely, the usually woeful Nets), the Devils won the first live game in which I saw them.

Honorable Mention. October 8, 1982, Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey: Devils 3, Rangers 2.

Three days after debuting at home with a 3-3 tie against the then-equally woeful Pittsburgh Penguins, the Devils played a nearby team for the first time. Then, it was hard for anyone but Islander fans to say, "RANGERS SUCK!" Still, at the time, this was a franchise that was technically 3 days old, and officially 3 months old, against one that was 56 years old. For crying out loud, they were founded in the Coolidge Administration.

Beat the Rangers in a game that really matters? At the time, we were glad simply to beat anybody. To get our 1st win against the guys 8 miles down Route 3 (which flows into the Lincoln Tunnel Approachway)? It was sweet. But there would be sweeter ones to come.

10. February 3, 2006, Byrne (by now Continental Airlines) Arena: Devils 3, Carolina Hurricanes 0.

A February game? Sure, it's yet another shutout for Martin Brodeur, but what's the big deal? Especially since the 'Canes ended up beating us in the Playoffs a few weeks later, and won the Cup?

The big deal is that it was Scott Stevens Night, and his Number 4 was retired. By raising our 1st retired number banner, along with the 3 Stanley Cup banners, 4 Conference Title banners and 7 (now 10) Division Title banners, it was a confirmation that our little franchise had finally grown up. Just as were our 1st Playoff berth in '88, our first Playoff Series win the same year, our 1st Conference Finals berth the same year, our driving of The Scum to the limit in '94, our 1st Cup Finals and our 1st Cup win in '95, our 1st former player elected to the Hall of Fame (Peter Stastny) in '98, our 2nd Cup win in 2000, and our 3rd Cup win in '03.

But this was the 1st time we were able to mark a great Devils career as complete. After all, who remembers Stastny as a Devil instead of as a Quebec Nordique? And Viacheslav Fetisov is remembered mainly as a Soviet, then a Detroit Red Wing.

It was our chance not only to announce that, yes, we have some history now, but also to say, "Thank you" to the most important player in the history of the franchise. Marty is the greatest player in team history, but Scottso, because of how he lifted us up and turned us from pretenders into champions from 1991 to '95, is the most important, and will never be toppled from that perch.

9. April 14, 1988, Byrne Arena: Devils 6, New York Islanders 5.

This was Game 6 of the Patrick Division Semifinals, and it was the 1st time the Devils ever won a Playoff Series. And against the team that had cast a very long shadow over New York hockey since their own such victory in 1975, a shocker over the Rangers (who, as Isles fans taught us, suck).

It was really all over for them: This was Captain Denis Potvin's last game, Mike Bossy had already retired due to a nasty back injury, Billy Smith was fast becoming a backup and would retire in another year, Bryan Trottier was mainly a reserve (though would play long enough to help Pittsburgh win 2 Cups), Clark Gillies had been traded 2 years earlier and had just retired, Butch Goring had been retired for a year and Bobby Nystrom for 2.

The era of Big Island Hockey was over. (And except for a nice Cup run in '93, it has never returned.) And the Devils had delivered the eulogy. The Rangers couldn't do it. You know why? Because the RANGERS SUCK!

8. April 3, 1988, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois: Devils 4, Chicago Blackhawks 3.

Last game of the regular season, and the Devils could clinch a Playoff berth for the 1st time ever (unless you count the 1978 Colorado Rockies), but a tie wouldn't do the trick: They had to win.

And they were losing late, but John MacLean scored to send it to overtime. Since this was the regular season, OT was only 5 minutes, another goal had to come fast. Johnny Mac did it again, scoring the most important of his 347 goals in a Devils uniform (long, but no longer, a team record), past Hawk goalie Darren Pang (now a broadcaster), getting tripped up and copying the famed 1970 Bobby Orr pose.

Except, as thrilling as that must have been for Boston fans, they were up 3 games to 0 in the Finals. They were going to win that series sooner or later. MacLean's goal was far more important to his team. It may be the most important goal in the history of any franchise, except maybe for the one that sent the Isles on their way in 1975, by Jean-Paul Parise. (Of course, father of Zach.)

7. May 26, 2000, First Union Center (currently Wells Fargo Center), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Devils 2, Philadelphia Flyers 1.

Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Fly Guys took a 3 games to 1 lead, and had Game 5 and possibly Game 7 at home. But these were not the fearsome 1970s Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, Dave Schultz Flyers. These were the Eric Lindros Flyers. Even Kate Smith and her mighty pipes couldn't have saved them.

This was a Philly choke on the level of the '64 and '77 Phillies, the '77 and '81 76ers, the '02 Eagles, the '04 St. Joseph's basketball team, and Smarty Jones. And the Flyers' tough-guy, "Broad Street Bullies" image was shattered forever when Scott Stevens introduced Lindros to his associate, Mr. Shoulder. It wasn't quite, to use Bruce Springsteen's line, "Well, they blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night, and they blew up his house, too," mainly because 1980-81 Philly Mob boss Philip Testa got his nickname because of his "cover," a poultry business, while Lindros could have been called "the Chicken Man" for other reasons, if ya know what I mean.

But it was as effective a hit as either the Jersey or Philly Mob has ever pulled off, and Lindros was never the same. Already feuding with the former Captain turned general manager (as a "grownup," he now preferred to be called "Bob" Clarke), he never played for the Flyers again. And, except for the 76ers' run into the 2001 NBA Finals, no Philly indoor team has gotten this close to a World Championship since.

I do want to say this in Flyer fans' favor, though: Just about everybody who roots for the Black & Orange admits that this was a clean hit. (The refs thought so, too: Stevens was not penalized.) Contrast that with the moronic troglodytes who befoul Madison Square Garden, who still insist, 30 years later, that Potvin's hit on Ulf Nilsson was dirty. (That one wasn't penalized, either, and Nilsson himself has said many times that it was a clean hit.) Flyer fans may be sadistic brutes, but they understand the game. Ranger fans are just alcoholic, illiterate, barely linguistic Neanderthals.

6. June 9, 2003, Byrne (Continental Airlines) Arena: Devils 3, Anaheim (then "Mighty") Ducks 0.

Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and after a rough 1st 6 games (including Paul Kariya's Game 6 goal after coming back from yet another Mr. Shoulder from Scottso – now that's tough), this one was never really a contest. Coach Pat Burns put Ken Daneyko in after not putting him in for any of the preceding Playoff games, and Dano's veteran presence fired up the crowd, since it was pretty much sure to be his last game, and the crowd fired up the team.

The writers gave the Conn Smythe Trophy for Playoff MVP to Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Mighty Schmucks. Now, really, Martin Brodeur has 3 shutouts in the Finals, including Game 7, a feat last accomplished in 1945 – before V-E Day! – and they give it to the goalie of the losing team? Giguere posed for a photo with Commissioner Gary Bettman and then skated off real fast. He knew he didn't deserve it.

But the Devils deserved that 3rd Cup. Now they had won more Cups than the Flyers, and only one less than the Rangers (in a lot less time) and the Islanders (in a bit less time). The fools could still make jokes about our attendance (and they still do), but they know we have the better recent history.

Hold on a second, you must be thinking. If the Devils have won 3 Stanley Cups, why is one of them only the 5th biggest win in team history? What could be bigger than a Stanley Cup? How about a win without which none of those Cups would have happened:

5. June 11, 1995, The Spectrum, Philadelphia: Devils 3, Flyers 2.

Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Why not Game 6, when we clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time? Because of the emotional effect of this Game 5.

With 44 seconds left in regulation in a tie game, Claude Lemieux, already putting together one of the greatest postseason performances in any sport, fired a wobbly 65-foot shot at Flyer goalie Ron Hextall. The red light went on.

I saw this on TV at Ruby Tuesday at the Brunswick Square Mall in East Brunswick, and I think I hit the roof. I know I yelled, "Yessss!" And nobody looked at me like we Devils fans weren't worthy of being around Ranger or Flyer fans. This was a special moment. That it was against the Broad Street Bozos made it all the better.

4. June 10, 2000, Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas: Devils 2, Dallas Stars 1.

Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. It was actually 12:30 AM on June 11, Eastern Time, when those of us in New Jersey saw it. Some of us, barely, because Game 5 went to 3 overtimes and this Game 6 was in a 2nd OT. For the first time in years, I was tired of hockey. It was the 26th period of hockey in the Finals. Keep in mind, a Finals going to Game 7 with no overtimes would be 21 periods. I kept thinking, "Please, somebody, put an end to this." Finally, the Devils did, as Patrick Elias sent one of the best passes in hockey history to Jason Arnott, who shoveled the winner past Ed Belfour.

Gary Thorne had the call on ABC: "Back to the point, Stevens stepped up to hold it in, Hull stole it, Stevens holds it in again, shot it right through the top of the crease. Elias centered, shot, score! The New Jersey Devils have won the Stanley Cup! Jason Arnott with the game-winning overtime goal!" And Bill Clement, the 1974-75 Flyer, followed Thorne and expressed the feelings of all of us: "Ho ho ho ho ho! Ohhhh... Finally! The ending of the movie!"

Okay, that's 2 Cups – 1 Cup to go, and there's still 3 wins left to cover. So what's are the wins that could possibly be bigger than 2 Cup wins? How about 2 eliminations of The Scum?

3. April 29, 2006, Madison Square Garden: Devils 4, Rangers 2.

Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Three times, the Devils had faced The Scum in the Playoffs. Three times, The Scum beat us. This fourth time, we beat The Scum. Swept them. Clinched in their house. Humiliated them.

True, they have since beaten us in another Playoff series, the first ever played at the Prudential Center. But they've never swept us. And they can never again say we’ve never beaten them when it counts. Four straight! We beat The Scum four straight!

And they've still only got 1 Cup since Pearl Harbor, while we've got 3 Cups since Oklahoma City. I’d say "Do the math," but if they could do the math, they wouldn’t be Ranger fans. (I know, I know, a lot of them are also Yankee Fans. They're smart from May to October.)

2. May 25, 2012, Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey: Devils 3, Rangers 2.

Adam Henrique had already scored 2 goals, including the double-overtime winner, in Game 7 of the Conference Quarterfinal to eliminate the Florida Panthers, after already going to overtime in Game 6. Then the Devils beat the Flyers in 5 games, although it was by no means easy, losing in overtime in Game 1 before winning in overtime on Alexi Ponikarovsky's goal in Game 3.

In the Conference Finals, the Devils had taken Game 2 at The Garden, but gave home-ice advantage right back by losing Game 3 at The Rock, then took it back again by winning Game 5 at The Garden. Game 6 at home was as tense a game as the Devils had ever played -- and most Devils fans remembered losing Game 6 of the Conference Finals to the Rangers at the Meadowlands after Mark Messier's guarantee. The date on that one? May 25, 1994.

May 25, 2012 would be different: Just 1 minute and 3 seconds into overtime, Henrique, then a 24-year-old rookie center, a Portuguese-Canadian on his father's side (endearing him to the Portuguese-Americans of Newark's Ironbound) and a Polish-Canadian on his mother's (endearing him to me, even if he hadn't scored this goal), from Brantford, Ontario (hometown of Wayne Gretzky and comedian Phil Hartman), pushed the puck past Henrik Lundqvist. Mike "Doc" Emrick had the call on NBC: "They score! Henrique! It's over!"

But, as they said on Highlander, "In the end, there can be only one." And this one is obvious:

1. June 24, 1995, Byrne Arena: Devils 5, Detroit Red Wings 2. Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and the first World Championship for a true New Jersey team. (Remember, those three Super Bowls were won by a team proudly calling themselves the “New York Giants,” the last of them with the “ny” on their helmets.)

Even if the Devils end up becoming to the Stanley Cup's 2nd 100 years what the Montreal Canadiens were to the Cup's 1rst 100 years, there will never be a more special moment for the team than 11:09 PM on June 24, 1995, when Mike Emrick said these words on Fox: "The championship to New Jersey! The Devils have won the Stanley Cup!"

A year earlier, a Ranger fan had hung a banner at the Garden that said, "NOW I CAN DIE IN PEACE." On this night, a Devils fans held up a sign that said, "NOW I CAN LIVE IN PEACE."

Well, maybe not in peace, but as long as the Rangers remain stuck on 1994, we can say to their stupid fans, "What have they done for you lately?"

Top 10 Greatest New Jersey Devils

I really wanted to get this top-10-players-for-all-area-teams project done in February. Good thing this is a leap year.

Last night, the Devils lost to The Scum. Martin Brodeur stopped 14 shots, but one went in, before he was pulled for an extra attacker in the last minute and the Broadway Boozehounds got an empty-netter.

The Devils have been around for 30 years now. They have history. They have great moments. They have Hall-of-Famers. They have retired numbers. They have banners. They have 3 Stanley Cups in the last 17 years -- as many as the Rangers have in the last 82 years, and more than the Flyers have in their entire 45-year history.

So here's the 10 greatest, in the opinion of this fan of the Mulberry Street Marauders (made up a Facebook page with that title).

Honorable Mention to members of the Hockey Hall of Fame who played for the Devils, but didn't get elected on the basis of their Devils' service: Peter Šťastný, Viacheslav Fetisov, Doug Gilmour, Joe Nieuwendyk and Igor Larionov. And to Jamie Langenbrunner and Brian Rafalski, not yet eligible for the Hall, but will probably fit into this category.

Also to coaches Jacques Lemaire and Larry Robinson (both elected as Montreal Canadiens players before becoming Devils coaches), to general manager Lou Lamoriello (who does still piss me off with his cheapness-inspired transactions), and to broadcaster Mike "Doc" Emrick.

(UPDATE: Lamoriello was subsequently elected to the Hall of Fame. Also elected, but not for what they did in New Jersey: Brendan Shanahan, Phil Housley, Dave Andreychuk and Alexander Mogilny. But, through the election of 2026, Langenbrunner and Rafalski have not.)

Also to Brian Gionta, whose 48 goals in the 2006 season are a team record, and who, despite being just 5-foot-7 (if that), got picked on by the 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara (then of the Ottawa Senators), and held his own for a full minute before the referee separated them. (I was there, I saw it.) And to Sean Burke, whose 1988 heroics helped give us our first Playoff run.

And to Jim Dowd, of Brick, the only New Jerseyan to play for the Devils and the only New Jerseyan to play for a Stanley Cup winner. And to Stephane Richer, who always seemed to score against the Rangers, including the overtime winner in the first NHL game I ever saw live (December 23, 1992 at the Garden) and on Seinfeld (the episode where David Puddy wears a BRODEUR 30 jersey and paints his face).

And to the 3 men who scored what amounted to the Cup-winning goals: Neal Broten (also a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that won the Gold Medal, and whose brothers Aaron and Paul also played for the Devils), Jason Arnott, and Mike Rupp (who didn't do much else in a Devil uniform). And to Sergei Brylin, the only player to play on all 3 Devil Stanley Cup teams who does not otherwise make the Top 10.

And to Ken Daneyko, who, though his Number 3 is retired and was a Devil for 20 years and a member of all 3 Cup teams, was never really a great player. Also to Glenn Resch, a.k.a. Chico and Gomez Addams, awful goalie but fun broadcaster – the Joe Garagiola of hockey, if you will.

And to Dr. John McMullen and Governor Brendan Byrne, who got the team here, and to Jeff Vanderbeek and Newark Mayors Sharpe James and Cory Booker, who got the Prudential Center built and made the Devils a grown-up team in a way even the 3 Cups never really did.

And to all those fans who recognize that, if you live in New Jersey, and are too young to remember the Rangers' Sasson jeans commercial, you are supposed to be a Devils fan, not a Ranger fan. Especially all those Crazies in Section 233.

Dishonorable Mention to Scott Gomez: Great player, but a traitor who crossed over to the Dark Side.

10. Bruce Driver, Number 23, defenseman, 1984-95. He was the Captain for one season, before Scott Stevens arrived, but willingly gave up the C the next season. He, Danno and Johnny Mac were in the organization, if not at the major league level, at the beginning, and were still around for the 1995 Cup, whose clincher was his last game for the club.

He then signed as a free agent for the Rangers, but I forgive him, as he was, up to that point, the best defenseman in Devils history. He now coaches the girls' hockey team at the Morristown-Beard Academy, and won the State Championship and Coach of the Year in 2007.

9. Bobby Holik, Number 16, center, 1992-2002 & 2008-09. He was big: 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds. He was mean: He centered the Crash Line with Randy McKay and Mike Peluso. And he was good: 326 goals, 202 of them for the Devils. He helped us win 2 Cups, and didn't take any crap from anyone.

8. Kirk Muller, Number 9, left wing, 1984-91. Oh, how it infuriated us when "Captain Kirk" was traded to the Canadiens! He and goalie Sean Burke were the face of the franchise in that 1988 run to the Conference Finals.

The trade looked even worse when Muller became a key part of the Habs' 1993 Cup win. But we got Richer and Tom Chorske in that deal, and we wouldn't have won the '95 Cup without them. It also didn't help that, with 1 more loss and 1 more Pittsburgh Penguin win, the Devils would have had the 1st pick in the 1984 Draft, and gotten Mario Lemieux.

But let's be honest here: If we'd had Lemieux, we probably never would have had Brendan Shanahan; if we'd never had Shanahan, that "trade" with the St. Louis Blues wouldn't have happened, and we wouldn't have gotten Scott Stevens. Sure, we might've won the Cup in 1988, but would we have won in 1995? 2000? 2003? I don't think so.

As for what Muller did for the Devils, he was really good on offense and defense, providing toughness and 185 goals in 7 years. He's now the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes.

7. Claude Lemieux, Number 22, right wing, 1990-95, with a brief return in 2000. There's a difference between a "goon" and a "pest." A pest is a fighter who actually does have the talent to play in the NHL beyond simply fighting. Claudie, along with Theo Fleury, was the embodiment of pestiness.

In spite of his cheap shots (and, often, his subsequent "turtling"), he's my favorite hockey player of all time. Why? Because he scored goals, because he didn't take any crap, and because he seemed to save his best games for the Rangers and Flyers. His goal with 44 seconds left in Game 5 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals, a 65-foot knuckleball that Ron Hextall still hasn't seen, pretty much won that series for the Devils and remains my favorite goal ever, even ahead of Jason Arnott's 2000 Game 6 overtime Cup-winner.

Claudie is one of only 10 players to win Cups with 3 different teams (1986 Canadiens, 1995 & 2000 Devils, 1996 Colorado Avalanche). He scored 379 NHL goals, and that's not counting the 13 he scored in the 1995 Playoffs that made him the first Devil to receive the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP.

So if you're a Detroit Red Wings fan reading this, and you still hate Claudie for what he did to Kris Draper while with Colorado in 1996, I understand, and I won't tell you to get over it. But I still love the guy. Interestingly, when Budd Lynch introduced Claudie before Game 1 of the 1995 Finals, nearly a year before the unwarranted hit on Draper, Claudie still got the hell booed out of him, since he was already known as a dirty player.

6. Zach Parise, Number 9, left wing, 2005-present. The son of Jean-Paul Parise, who scored one of the biggest goals in Islander history (ask a Ranger fan about that at your peril), the current Devils Captain will probably end up as the team's all-time leading scorer. In spite of missing nearly the entire 2010-11 season, he already has 186 career goals and 207 assists. Although the Devils got beat by the Senators in the Conference Semifinals, Zach scored 7 goals in the 2007 Playoffs.

And his goal with 24 seconds left in regulation sent the 2010 Olympic Gold Medal game to overtime, before Sidney Crosby scored to give Canada the win over the U.S. (While J.P. Parise was born in Ontario, he was an assistant coach with the Minnesota North Stars while Zach was born in Minnesota and thus plays for the U.S.) If he helps the Devils win a Cup, and helps the U.S. win a Gold Medal in 2014 or '18, Zach could become one of the biggest heroes in American hockey history -- and move well up this list.

(UPDATE: Lou Lam didn't try to sign Zach to a new contract, and he signed with his home-State team, the Minnesota Wild.)

5. John MacLean, Number 15, right wing, 1983-97. He came with the team out of the bad old days, and his goal in overtime on the last day of the 1988 season clinched the team's 1st Playoff berth. He then came up with big goals in the series wins over the Islanders and the Washington Capitals.

An injury turned him from a sniper into a defensive forward who could still score a little, much like Steve Yzerman. He was still a big contributor at the time of the 1995 Cup win, and when Scott Stevens took the Cup as Captain, the 1st man he handed it to was MacLean, who then handed it to the other two guys who'd been there almost since the beginning, Driver and Daneyko.

Until recently, he was the team's all-time leading scorer, with 347 of his 413 goals and 354 of his 429 assists coming with the Devils, for 701 of his 842 career points. After coaching through the Devils system as minor league head coach and major league assistant, his tenure as major league head coach, early last season, was a disaster, though hardly all his fault.

He now assists Kirk Muller, his former linemate in East Rutherford and Dallas (with Guy Carbonneau, they were "the Grumpy Old Men Line"), with the Hurricanes.

4. Scott Niedermayer, Number 27, defenseman, 1991-2004. He recently became the 3rd Devil, after Stevens and Daneyko, to have his number retired. (All defensemen, perhaps typical of our "trap" team.) He will be eligible for the Hall of Fame next year, and why not? A member of 4 Stanley Cup winners -- 3 with us, 1 as Captain of the Anaheim Ducks (alongside his brother Rob, who later came to us).

He scored 172 goals and had 568 assists -- pretty good for a defenseman. He helped Canada win Olympic Gold Medals in 1992 and 2010.  He was named to 6 NHL All-Star Games (3 with the Devils). Named Captain after Scott Stevens' concussion that led him to retire. (UPDATE: He was, indeed, elected to the Hall in 2013.)

3. Patrik Eliáš, Number 26, left wing, 1996-present. He has now surpassed MacLean's team records for points (has 874 at this writing), goals (354) and assists (520). He was a member of the 2000 and '03 Cup winners. The former Devils Captain turns 36 in April, but has missed only 1 game this season and only 1 last season, and is averaging a career-most 20 minutes and 20 seconds per game this season (he's never topped 19 minutes before), so it looks like he's going to remain productive for a while.

(UPDATE: Injuries meant that he played his last game for the Devils in 2015, and he officially retired in 2017. His Number 26 was retired. Through the 2025-26 season, he holds the team career records for goals, 408; assists, 617; points, 1,025; overtime goals, 16; overtime points, 37; game-winning goals, 80; hat tricks, 8; Playoff goals, 45; Playoff assists, 80; and Playoff points, 125.)

2. Scott Stevens, Number 4, defenseman, 1991-2004. He's not quite the greatest player in Devils history, but, beyond any question, he is the most important. Before his arrival, the Devils were pretenders. He made us contenders, then Champions, 3 times over.

Once a brawler, and a pain in the ass to the Devils, for the Washington Capitals, he became a pain in the ass for the Devils. Ever heard of "the cold shoulder"? Scottso was Mr. Cold Shoulder. Vyacheslav Kozlov in the 1995 Finals. Paul Kariya in the 2003 Finals. And, most notably, Eric Lindros in the 2000 Conference Finals. Even Flyer fans, who love great hits whether they're clean or not, admit that it was a great, and clean, hit.

But Scottso was not just a thug. He was a great player, a defenseman with over 900 career points (196 goals, 712 assists). He was awarded the 2000 Conn Smythe Trophy. His career plus/minus rating is 393, including a whopping 53 in 1993-94. And he Captained 3 Stanley Cup winners, something that is true for only 6 other living humans (George Armstrong, last with the '67 Leafs; Jean Beliveau, '71 Habs; Yvan Cournoyer, '78 Habs; Denis Potvin, '83 Isles; Wayne Gretzky, '88 Oilers; and Steve Yzerman, '02 Wings).

It should be no surprise that he was the 1st Devil to get his number retired, and the 1st Hall-of-Famer to be identified primarily with the club.

1. Martin Brodeur, Number 30, goaltender, 1992-present. Is there another NHL team whose greatest player ever is a goalie? Along with his idol Patrick Roy and Terry Sawchuk, Marty is on the short list for the title of Greatest Goalie Ever. (In this sport, anyway.)

Sawchuk's records of 447 wins and 103 shutouts were once thought of as unbreakable. Marty now has 647 wins (although Roy got to that record first) and 117 shutouts -- plus another 99 wins and 23 shutouts in the Playoffs. Seven times, he played the most minutes in goal in the NHL, and 9 times has had the most wins, including a League record 48 in 2006-07. As of last night's game, he's played 69,056 minutes in goal -- that's 1,151 hours, or 48 days, or nearly 7 weeks.

The last remaining player who won all 3 Cups with the Devils, he should have won the Conn Smythe Trophy in both 2000 and 2003. Seriously, in 2003 he had 3 shutouts in the Finals, something that had only been done once before and never since, and they give it to the goalie of the losing team (Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Ducks)?

He turns 40 on May 6, but he's still averaging just 2.5 goals per game. He's no longer the best goalie in the league, maybe not even one of the top 5, but he's still got it. Ranger fans call him "Fatty," but Devils fans still say, truthfully, "Mar-ty's bet-ter!"

(UPDATE: He left in 2014. He was elected to the Hall of Fame. His Number 30 was retired. A statue of him was dedicated outside the Prudential Center. He, Stevens, Niedermayer, Šťastný, Shanahan and Nieuwendyk were named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.)

Devils Going to Hell In a Handbasket; Enzo Bearzot, 1927-2010

Let me get my thoughts on the blizzard out of the way: We got 17 inches where I live, and other areas got more. Elizabeth, New Jersey was the "winner" in the New York Tri-State Area with 31 inches -- which tops the 30 inches that set a record for me on January 6-8, 1996 -- and Toms River topped the Philadelphia metro area (even though it, sort of, belongs to both areas) with 28 inches. Cape May got 26.

It was nice to see Mayor Mike shoveling a citizen's driveway on the news. But it was Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York doesn't even seem to be aware that there are FIVE Boroughs. Mayor Moneybags can't be bothered to attend to an actual emergency, while Mayor Nutter -- not aptly named -- literally too matters into his own hands!

As for my own town, a lot of side streets, including mine, remain inadequately plowed. I swear, what's the point in voting for Democrats if they're going to care as little as the Republicans do?

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Tonight, the New Jersey Devils host The Scum, a.k.a. the Manhattan Muggers, a.k.a. the Broadway Boozehounds, a.k.a. the New York Rangers, at the Prudential Center in Newark.

I don't know if you're aware of this, but I hate the fucking Rangers.

Right now, the Devils rank 30th out of the NHL's 30 teams with just 20 points. Dead last. The pathetic New York Islanders are 29th, so they're not quite as pathetic. The Rangers rank 10th.

The Devils have lost 9 of their last 10. They are just 5-12 at home. (I'm counting an overtime or shootout loss as a loss, even though you still get 1 team point for it.)

The Devils can be summed up in 2 letters: P.U.! This is the worst Devils team since 1987, when Alain Chevrier was the main goalie, and the top 3 scorers were Aaron Broten, "Captain Kirk" Muller and... John MacLean. To borrow a line from a movie about another sport, "What are these boys thinkin' about? 'Cause it sho' ain't hockey!"

Last Thursday, John MacLean was fired as Devils head coach. After waiting for years to get this chance, including winning a minor-league title and serving as a Devils assistant, he lasted just 33 games.

As The Who would say, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." Jacques Lemaire, who coached the Devils from 1993 to 1997, including the 1995 Stanley Cup, and coached them last season as well before "retiring" (that may have been his intention at the time), has been installed for the rest of this season.

One of the greatest players of his era, scorer of 366 goals in the regular season and another 61 in the Playoffs (including an overtime winner that clinched the 1977 Stanley Cup, though it was a sweep), winner of 8 Stanley Cups from 1968 to 1979 with the Montreal Canadiens, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame before his 40th birthday, the man who turned the Devils from pretenders to contenders to champions, and the man who turned the Minnesota Wild from an expansion franchise to a Western Conference Finalist in just 3 seasons, Lemaire is now 65 years old, and he looks it.

Brought in as his assistant is Larry Robinson, his former Canadiens teammate, one of the best defensemen who ever lived. Robinson was his assistant on the 1995 Cup, coached the Devils to the 2000 Cup, and assisted him again last season. (Sadly, with the recent death of Pat Burns, a reunion of all 3 Devils Cup-winning coaches is no longer possible.)

To be totally fair, I'm sorry for Johnny Mac, who finally got his chance to be an NHL head coach and deserved better than to run into an absolute buzzsaw.

There's the injuries. Martin Brodeur had an elbow injury, although he's back. And Zach Parise, who has a chance to become the greatest offensive player in team's history -- assuming he doesn't get hurt again, and he doesn't get let go in yet another salary dump, he should surpass MacLean's team record of 374 career goals in 2017 or so -- has been hurt all year, and may not come back at all this season. MacLean has already dressed 33 different players, 9 of whom made their NHL debuts this season.

And speaking of salary dumps, there's also the matter of general manager Lou Lamoriello, who seems to be following the Charlie Finley model: Bald and cheap. You could make a pretty good starting lineup out of players the Devils let go just since the 2004-05 lockout: Center, Scott Gomez or John Madden; right wing, Brian Gionta; left wing, Sergei Brylin (still playing in the Russian league); defensemen, Brian Rafalski and Brad Lukowich; goaltender, Scott Clemmensen. Then there's the cheapies that Lou Lam has NOT gotten rid of, the Colin Whites, the Sheldon Brookbanks, the Dainius Zubruses.

Ilya Kovalchuk got a lot of money? Doesn't mean there's nothing left to spend on anybody else. You know, Jeff Vanderbeek is not crying poverty.

Of course, there is the matter of the salary cap, the result of which is that Kovalchuk's contract had to be seriously restructured so he could get all that money and not have all of it counted against the cap.

Still, Lamoriello has let too many good players go, and not gotten players good enough to replace them.

For a few years, the Devils were resembling the Atlanta Braves. Well, guess what: Division Titles are not enough.

The Devils are starting to more closely resemble Arsenal. Same red shirts, same weak passing, same fear to get off a good shot, same laziness. Same willingness to go just so far (Playoffs for the Devils, 4th place or higher and thus guaranteeing UEFA Champions League play for the following season for Arsenal), and not willing to take a risk to go for it all.

Except I can't say THAT anymore, either: On Monday, Arsenal beat Chelsea! They go into tonight's game against Wigan on a tremendous high. They will go into the New Year no worse than 3rd in the Premier League, and still alive in all 3 cup competitions (FA Cup, Carling Cup, Champions League).

Besides, Arsene Wenger still has all his hair. It's all white, but it's still all there. Lamoriello? I don't know what's going on in that geodesic dome of his.

UPDATE: Devils blew a 1-0 lead and lost to The Scum, 2-1.

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However, as long as we're being totally fair, John MacLean he took the hand he was dealt and played it very poorly. So, in spite of MacLean facing the old line, "Be careful what you wish for, you may get it," I say... Thank you, Santa!

Maybe we can make it up to him by trading Jamie Langenbrunner, assigning the Captaincy to someone more deserving, and retire Number 15 for MacLean.

Come on, Jacques Lemaire, get this team going again. Remember the pride you and your teammates felt in Montreal. Remember the pride you built in this team in the Meadowlands era. Bring it back in Newark.

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Enzo Bearzot died last week. A native of Aiello del Friuli near Udine, Italy, he became a star soccer defender, playing for several teams from 1946 to 1964, including Internazionale of Milan and Torino of Turin. He played 1 game for the Italian national team, in 1955.

He went into management, and in 1975 was named manager of the national team. He got them to 4th place in both the 1978 World Cup and Euro 1980. After poor performances in their 1st 3 matches of the 1982 World Cup in Spain, he ordered Silenzio Stampa -- media silence, not talking to the press.

It worked, as a team led by Juventus (the main team in Turin) stars Dino Zoff, Gateano Scirea, Claudio Gentile, Antonio Cabrini, Marco Tardelli, and the hero of heroes, Paolo Rossi, knocked out defending Champion Argentina, a much-hyped Brazil squad, Poland in the Semifinal, and West Germany in the Final.

Italy didn't qualify for Euro 1984, and crashed out of the 1986 World Cup in the Round of 16. Bearzot faced criticism for relying on the older players (not the first time an Italy manager would be so criticized, nor the last), and he resigned in disgust. Still, his 104 matches are the most of any Italy manager. He died last week at age 83.

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Hours until the Devils play another local rival: 9, tonight, against the Rangers at the Prudential Center. Next game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Saturday, January 8 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly. Next game against the Islanders, Monday, January 17, at the Nassau Coliseum.

Days until the next North London Derby: 59, Saturday, February 26, at White Hart Lane. Under 2 months.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 100, Friday, April 8, 2011, at Fenway Park.

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 178. Under 6 months. (estimated: June 14, 2011)

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 246, on Saturday, September 3, although nothing else is known. Apparently the Big East Conference hasn’t set its conference schedule for 2011, meaning only 4 nonconference games are yet set: At North Carolina on September 10, home to Ohio University (thank God it’s not Ohio State) on September 24, home to Navy on October 15, and against Army at the new Yankee Stadium on November 12. In fact, aside from the Yankee Stadium date, every date is in flux, due to the whims of the TV networks: September 3, 10, 17 and 24; October 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29; November 5, 19 and 26; and December 3.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 252, on Friday night, September 9, 2011, and the opponent and location are TBD.

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 319.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 330.

Days until the last Nets game in New Jersey: 481 (estimated).

Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 537.

Days until Alex Rodriguez collects his 3,000th career hit: 885 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 700th career home run: 1,007 (estimated).

Days until Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands: 1,132.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 756th career home run to surpass all-time leader Hank Aaron: 1,627 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 763rd career home run to become as close to a "real" all-time leader as we are likely to have: 1,741 (estimated).