Give the Devils Their Due - New Jersey Devils hockey team

Hockey Digest, May, 2001 by John Kreiser

Defending champ New Jersey is the favorite to make it back to the Finals, but if the past is any indication, that means the Devils will have a hell of a time getting there

THIS TIME, THE NEW JERSEY Devils remembered the opening step in defending their Stanley Cup championship: Make the playoffs first!

Five years ago, New Jersey was looking forward to defending its first NHL title. There was only one problem--they forgot to qualify for postseason play, falling apart down the stretch and ultimately being eliminated from contention at home by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

There's no danger of that situation this time. Though the Devils went through an early slide, they entered the homestretch battling the Ottawa Senators for the lead in the Eastern Conference standings.

But maybe finishing first isn't such a good idea for the Devils. Remember, the last two times they finished first in the East? They didn't make it out of the first round. New Jersey won it all in 1995 as the fifth seed and last year as the fourth, knocking off the first-place Philadelphia Flyers on the way to the Cup both times.

The Devils won't find the road to the Cup a smooth one. The Senators have left their ineptitude of the early '90s far behind and have matured into a top-level team that has the speed to score and the defensive skills to shut down rivals. Philadelphia, which led the Devils 3-1 in the East finals last spring before New Jersey rallied, has pushed the Devils all season in the Atlantic Division race despite the absence of Eric Lindros and John LeClair.

Then there's hockey's only player/ owner. The return of Mario Lemieux has made the Pittsburgh Penguins the NHL's centerpiece team. It's also made them offensive terrors. The question now is whether the Pens' defense and goaltending will hold up at a time when those areas come to the forefront.

As the defending champs, the Devils have to be rated the favorite to get back to the title round. But a second straight berth in the conference finals, much less another Cup, is no sure thing.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

On the ice: Remember the trap-happy Devils? Those days are long gone. The Devils can still shut down opponents, but they've been among the league leaders in goals for the past couple of seasons. The trio of Patrik Elias, Jason Arnott (who scored the Cup-winner last spring), and Petr Sykora can be unstoppable at times. Alexander Mogilny is playing his best hockey since the mid-'90s and has teamed with Scott Gomez to form a formidable second scoring combo. Veterans like Bobby Holik and Randy McKay provide scoring and a physical presence. Scott Stevens is still a rock on defense and leads one of the NHL's best-balanced blue lines.

In the net: At the age of 28, Martin Brodeur already has more shutouts than Hall-of-Famer Ken Dryden and owns a pair of Stanley Cup rings. Brodeur is the perfect goaltender for this team: durable, reliable, and unflappable. His puck-handling skills make it hard for opponents to get a forecheck going after they dump the puck into the Devils' zone, and he has an uncanny ability to shake off the rare bad goal. He's so good that he's often taken for granted.

Behind the bench: Larry Robinson stepped in late last season and took the Devils to the Stanley Cup. The Devils have had their ups and downs during his first full season, but he seems to be the perfect roach for a team that expects to win. Unlike his predecessor, Robbie Ftorek, Robinson tends to keep things on an even keel, so when he erupts, the words carry more weight--his blowup during the Eastern Conference finals last spring turned the team around.

Player on the spot: Scott Niedermayer. For all the Devils' abilities, Niedermayer is the one real puck-carrying defenseman on the roster. It was no coincidence that the Devils struggled early in the season before he resigned with the team, and that the Devils struggled in mid-February when he missed time with a knee problem. He's the one New Jersey defenseman with the speed and skills to join the rush.

Why they may win it all: Experience, talent, and the aura of a champion are a tough combination to overcome. The only problem may be meeting heightened expectations--in their two championship years, the Devils weren't the favorite. If the Devils don't win the Cup again, it doesn't figure to be because they lost it; it will be because someone took it from them. Too many Devils remember the first-round upsets in 1998 and 1999 for this team to take things for granted.

OTTAWA SENATORS

On the ice: When you play the Senators, it often seems like there are seven or eight guys in black, red, and white out there--that's how fast and persistent they are. Radek Bonk provided an offensive boost in the first half and Alexei Yashin stepped up his game in the second half (after not making the All-Star game). Marian Hossa is a blossoming star, Daniel Alfredsson is an elite talent who plays both ends of the ice, and Shawn McEachern adds speed, scoring, and checking. Give the Senators a lead and they'll trap you to death--they may be the best team in the NHL at using speed as a defensive weapon. Wade Redden leads a young and talented group of defensemen that hopes the return of injured Sami Salo will provide the only missing ingredient: a power-play quarterback