Favorite & Worst Moments as a Devils Fan

[Wingman77]

The Eric Boulton hat trick was a huge kick in the balls

Worst part about that is he hasn't even scored 3 goals since

Also, this sends chills through my body every single time I watch it

 

[JK3]

Good to see some old timers on here, interesting to see the age compared to the memories. For me pretty much everything was mentioned already. Here's few that were special to me.

Being at the game in 88 when Patrik Sundstrom set a playoff record with 8 points, that was nuts. First time I member that building shake, plus throwing my hat onto the ice for the first hatty I saw in person.
Johnny Mac scoring the OT winner against the Hawks to make the playoffs. After following them from the beginning this was truly an amazing accomplishment.
I was working the Nets game the day after the Devils won the cup in 03. The Devils came to the arena with the cup to cheer on the Nets. I had great access with my credential so I got to meet the players and hold the cup, that was cool as hell. The best memory of my career with NBA haha.

Worst was being at game 6 in 2001 SCF, ugh that really sucked.

 

[apice3*]

Today I learned that most of the people I talk to on a daily basis are old as ****

 

[manilaNJ]

Kind of the opposite for me.
I'm at a weird crossroads where I read through threads like these and half of you make me feel old as dirt and the rest of you make me feel I've only been a fan for 2 minutes.

 

[JK3]

Today I learned that most of the people I talk to on a daily basis are old as ****

 

[njdss4]

You must buy the Rival ticket packages...

Lmao I'm kidding. But if what you say about every game you attend is a lose, that must be the WORST... Stop going this season so we can make the playoffs

lol well I live in the Anaheim area now so I don't even have the opportunity to go to many Devils games, and I kinda gave up on attending games a few years ago. After something like the 10th or 12th consecutive loss, I just accepted my curse and stopped going.

I went to games 4 and 6 in Anaheim. That Paul Kariya goal seemed like it might be one of those immortal moments in NHL history. But then the Devils won game 7 and Kariya signed with Colorado three weeks later.

The games in LA were on weekdays last year and I would have had a tough time getting time off work. Since I already had gone to the Anaheim games, I didn't have as big an urge to go last year.

Oof, going to games 4 AND 6? That's pretty rough. Although, if you've ever been to a Devils win you're still ahead of me.

 

[JimEIV]

I would love to know what the average age is of posters who post on here, but I would have to agree that the 1988 playoff run was incredible. Making the playoffs for the 1st time and knocking out the Rangers to boot was awesome. The Devils went 7-0-1 down the stretch to qualify and had to beat the Blackhawks in Chicago on the final night to make the playoffs. They were down 3-2 in the 3rd and tied the game up to send it to overtime. Right before John Maclean scored to send the Devils to the playoffs I was prepared for the Devils to have the pull the goalie in overtime in order to win. Realize that if the Devils had lost 1 game in those final 8 games or lost that overtime tie game in Buffalo the Devils would have failed to qualify and the Rangers would have made the playoffs.

Throw in the fact that Devils came within 1 game of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in a loss to the Bruins in Boston in game 7.

I still see Craig Janney beating Daneyko in my nightmares...To this day I contend that the Devils would have put up a much better fight than Boston did against Edmonton.

And how poetic would it have been for Mickey Mouse to have met Gretzky face to face.

 

[Saugus]

For me, the worst is literally every single time we lose to the former Whalers. Losing to the Rangers also sucks, so 2007 and 2009 stand out.

I've only been a Devils fan since around 1998-1999, so 2000 is a big positive memory for me. I remember watching most of the second period of Game 6 in the waiting room of the local emergency room, because my brother had carved open his forehead on a bookshelf running around recklessly in a Borders store. We got home in time for the end of the third, and then I watched the overtimes breathlessly. Everyone else went to bed, and I woke everyone up shouting when Arnott scored.

Marty breaking the shutout record against the Penguins was pretty special too. As a former goalie I know how we all savour the shutouts, and racking up as many as Marty has in the NHL is incredible. Even the two clowns they have calling games in Pittsburgh had nothing negative to say for once.

 

[Bleedred]

Marty breaking the shutout record against the Penguins was pretty special too. As a former goalie I know how we all savour the shutouts, and racking up as many as Marty has in the NHL is incredible. Even the two clowns they have calling games in Pittsburgh had nothing negative to say for once.

Except for the Hobey Baker plane crash joke. I have a hard time putting a laughing icon for that.

 

[Chessarmy]

The 08/09 team scored 40 more goals than the 07/08 team. .

There wasn't a huge turnover in personnel between the two seasons, so its sort of odd that one year they were so much better offensively than the other

 

[Bleedred]

There wasn't a huge turnover in personnel between the two seasons, so its sort of odd that one year they were so much better offensively than the other

One more year of Sutter's system. We had Rolston but he was injured for a bit and didn't score much anyway. We had a pretty good 4th line with Clarkson, Shanahan, Holik, and others playing on it at different times. Parise also had like 95 points that year. Zajac also underperformed the season before, but had a career year the year. Langenbrunner as well or at least in his time with the Devils.

Patty underperformed in 07/08 too after being stripped of the captaincy. He was way better in 08/09 than either of the two seasons before. The only players who dropped off in production from the year before were Madden and Pandolfo.

 

[Brodeur]

Today I learned that most of the people I talk to on a daily basis are old as ****

Sometimes I have to remind myself of the possibility that I'm arguing with teenagers on the prospects board.

Oof, going to games 4 AND 6? That's pretty rough. Although, if you've ever been to a Devils win you're still ahead of me.

No regrets (probably due to the end result). The Anaheim fans were/are generally pretty easy going, so I might have had a more negative experience otherwise. The closest 'altercation' I had was with some grandma; After game 6, she started talking crap to me as I was standing around minding my own business. I didn't even know how to react. Yelling back at her seemed like a no win scenario.

 

[StvBroDan]

Worst part about that is he hasn't even scored 3 goals since

Also, this sends chills through my body every single time I watch it

(Wipes Eyes) And remembers the good old days.

 

[RandoDoomer]

I'm just a hair too young to fully appreciate '88 (10 years old). I was following along in the papers and highlights (such as they were), but my parents wouldn't spring for the SportsChannel subscription (a whopping $12/mo. at the time) until '91-92 season.

I remember that '92 series against the Rangers where we gave them quite a scare as the 4th seed in the Patrick. Took them to 7, but the last game wasn't close. Brodeur had his playoff debut in relief of Tererri in Game 5 of that series.

Another "worst", at least my my impressionable young (at-the-time) mind was MacLean's knee injury in preseason versus the Isles in Oct., 1991. He was my favorite player, scored 45 the year before, and was poised for a 50-goal season. Out for the year, and was never quite the same.

Found this article about it. Mentions Richer's and Steven's home preseason debuts with NJ. Amazing what you can find on the interwebs.
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/02/sports/hockey-maclean-to-get-therapy-not-surgery.html?n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fM%2fMacLean%2c%20John

 

[Bleedred]

Maclean was my favorite too. Too bad some guy with the same name became a coach for us, and well you know the rest. Hated him as an assistant also, and was hoping Lou would pass him over as head coach.

I think with Maclean we might win that 92 series against the Rangers. 7 games without him in the lineup? Yeah we win if he was healthy and in the games.

 

[I Hate Tie DOMI]

Best:

- Henrique....It's over!
- Friesen goal against Lalime
- Stevens laying out Lindros
- Being at the game Marty tied the record for the most shutouts in Buffalo and then being at the game he broke the record in Pittsburgh
- Colin White buyout day

Worst:

- Anytime the play Carolina in the playoffs and I get to see an Eric Staal fist pump
- Messier guarantee
- 2001 Stanley Cup Finals...Ray Bourque and Patrick Roy
- Doug Gilmour trade (I hate Doug Gilmour)

 

[Holtz My Bahls]

For best I'll mention one I'm pretty sure hasn't been mentioned yet: Marty 552. In the top 3 for games attended for me for sure.

Worst: Game 2 '06 against the Canes. The ending to that game still pisses me off to this day.[/QUOTE]

Still have a scar on my knuckles after that one, that was some bull **** and a half...

 

[Bleedred]

Another to the worst list.

Claude Lemieux trade for Steve Thomas. Steve Thomas was ****in garbage. Hated that guy, and couldn't believe we couldn't have gotten a nice young stud for Lemieux. All we could for the reining Conn Smythe Trophy winner was Steve ****in Thomas? **** that trade hard man. I think I woulda taken Wendel Clark over him, but he went to the Isles in the 3 team trade.

Of course Claude won another Cup and you know what happened to us.

 

[Status Quo*]

Another to the worst list.

Claude Lemieux trade for Steve Thomas. Steve Thomas was ****in garbage. Hated that guy, and couldn't believe we couldn't have gotten a nice young stud for Lemieux. All we could for the reining Conn Smythe Trophy winner was Steve ****in Thomas? **** that trade hard man. I think I woulda taken Wendel Clark over him, but he went to the Isles in the 3 team trade.

Of course Claude won another Cup and you know what happened to us.

Yeah Claude came back and won another Cup with the Devils in 2000

 

[Brodeur]

Claude Lemieux trade for Steve Thomas. Steve Thomas was ****in garbage. Hated that guy, and couldn't believe we couldn't have gotten a nice young stud for Lemieux. All we could for the reining Conn Smythe Trophy winner was Steve ****in Thomas? **** that trade hard man. I think I woulda taken Wendel Clark over him, but he went to the Isles in the 3 team trade.

I met Steve Thomas after the 2010 NHL Draft. His son was taking photos with family/friends and Steve was standing there by himself. He was nice enough to have a quick conversation with me.

Unfortunately I couldn't come up with anything to talk about that didn't necessarily bring up a bad memory.

".......Remember when you were on those Devils teams that missed the playoffs or got bounced in the 1st round as a #1 seed?"

".......Remember when you were on Toronto and got bounced by the Devils after you left?"

".......Remember when you almost won a Cup with Anaheim but lost to the Devils?"

Instead, I just made some generic "You must be proud of your son. Naturally I can't cheer for him now that he's Ranger property" joke.

When I got home later, I remembered a random anecdote that might have been amusing to bring up. Growing up in SoCal, I didn't see many Devils games unless they were on ESPN or playing LA/Anaheim.

There was one game where the Ducks slaughtered us but there was an interesting sequence. Thomas scored a goal but it went through the netting, so play continued. A minute later, Ken Daneyko scored. The officials went to check the replay and awarded Thomas' goal which negated Daneyko's goal.

I could have made a joke about how Thomas should have told the refs to let Daneyko keep his goal. Heck, I even happened to be wearing a Daneyko jersey that day.

Article from that game: http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/06/sports/hockey-nhl-s-new-game-beating-the-devils.html

Daneyko managed a rueful smile when asked about a goal he scored that was disallowed. It came on a strange sequence that proved ominous.

It began at 8:40 of the first period, when Thomas fired a slap shot that beat goalie Guy Hebert on the glove side. After the twine billowed and the puck ended up behind the net, it seemed as if the puck must have hit the side of the net.

Play continued for more than a minute, with the Devils scoring at 9:59. Daneyko put the puck over the line with a backhanded shot that was partially stopped but not controlled by the goalie.

The play was a thing of beauty, a skating and passing weave fashioned by Esa Tikkanen and Stephane Richer. But after the goal stopped the clock, the video-review judge looked at the tape of Thomas's shot and decided it had gone in.

That meant that the clock was rolled back and the Daneyko goal nullified. It would have been his second of the season and the 30th of a National Hockey League career that began in 1983-84.

"Story of my life," Daneyko said of the unfortunate ruling.

 

[njdevsfn95]

The second half of 2011 reinvigorated this fan base more than the SCF run did.

That is a ballsy statement and I will stick by it because of this simple fact: going to games to cheer on and support your club with the insanely slim chance of a playoff berth reminded so many fans what being a fan is all about.

"Lose for Larsson" will forever be a part of my fandom.

The second half of the 10-11 season was great time in my life too, so it ranks up there with the most fun ive ever had as a fan. It was a better regular season than 11-12 in that sense.

But on to the topic.

Worst: 1994. Ive never cried over a Devils loss since.

Dishonorable mentions: 1996 - Gm 82; 2001 - Gm 6; 2006 - Gm 2; 2008 - Gm 1, 2, 5; 2009 - Gm 7; 2010 - Gm 5; Sept - January 2010-11.

Best Regular Season
1) 552
2) Kovy's first game
3) 2011 run especially wins over NYR and PIT.

Best playoffs [Lets play a game and try to identify what event I am referring to!]
1) Randy McKay
2) Neal Broten
3) Claude Lemieux
4) Sergei Brylin
5) 6 shots against
6) 3-1 come back especially Game 6 (my first playoff win in person)
7) Petr Sykora
8) Grant Marshall
9) Jeff Friesen
10) Jeff Friesen
11) John Madden
12) Brian Gionta
13) 84 total shots, David Clarkson
14) Dianius Zubrus...or was it really Parise?
15) Travis Zajac
16) Adam Henrqiue
17) Adam Larsson
18) David Clarkson
19) Ilya Kovalchuk
20) Alexei Ponikarovsky
21) David Clarkson
22) David Clarkson
23) Ryan Carter
24) Ryan Carter
25) Ilya Kovalchuk
26) Adam Henrique

 

[RandoDoomer]

Too bad some guy with the same name became a coach for us, and well you know the rest.

Too bad that debacle will forever taint his legacy as a player. That's one reason I never want Stevens as head coach.

 

[Bleedred]

Yeah Claude came back and won another Cup with the Devils in 2000

I wanted him the years in between too!

I also wanted him back in 00/01 but him walking was another ''We've decided to give some otha playas in ou awganization a chance at that role'' decision from Lou. A few players from that team said if Claude was kept in 00/01 they think we could have that series against the Avalanche.

The first time he left in 95 was some contract dispute so Lou traded him. Typical RFA contract disputes back then. We had a bunch, Guerin, Rolston, Niedermayer (3 times) Patty, who could forget the year we started without Arnott and Niedermayer? Even Marty held out in 95.

 

[Bleedred]

Too bad that debacle will forever taint his legacy as a player. That's one reason I never want Stevens as head coach.

Agreed on never wanting Stevens as a head coach. When Maclean left in 97 Lou said he would be considered as the first Devil to have his number retired. By the time he came back to join Burns coaching staff, Langs had his number 15. The fact we won 2 more Cups after that (Stevens getting the Conn Smythe once) he was the first to be retired.

I don't want Stevens as head coach, nor Marty, nor Patty. If Marty wants to be goaltending coach one day fine. I don't even know if I'd want him as a GM.

 

[RandoDoomer]

Best playoffs [Lets play a game and try to identify what event I am referring to!]
1) Randy McKay

I'll say his OT winner versus Boston during the '95 playoffs. Banged it in off a misplay at point blank to win it 1-0. (I was at the game.)