MantaRay Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 How do you figure that? The 88-89 they were 27-41-12. That isn't competitive. After that they hovered around .500 until Lemaire came. Bringing in Lemaire is what made this a competitive organization. It isn't like they stayed in NJ because of that. The history of the Johnny Mac's goal: The 1987–88 Devils garnered the first winning record in the franchise's 14-year history. On the final day of the regular season, they were tied with their nemesis, the Rangers, for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. After New York defeated the Quebec Nordiques 3–0, all eyes were on the Devils, who were playing the Blackhawks in Chicago. The Devils were trailing 3–2 midway through the third period when John MacLean tied the game, and with two minutes left in overtime, he added the winning goal. Although the Rangers and Devils both finished with 82 points, the Devils had one more win, sending them to the playoffs. The team made it all the way to the conference finals, but lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games. We were 1 game away from the Stanley Cup Finals and for a laughing stock organization it was the first significant step forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteyNice Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) The history of the Johnny Mac's goal: The 1987–88 Devils garnered the first winning record in the franchise's 14-year history. On the final day of the regular season, they were tied with their nemesis, the Rangers, for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. After New York defeated the Quebec Nordiques 3–0, all eyes were on the Devils, who were playing the Blackhawks in Chicago. The Devils were trailing 3–2 midway through the third period when John MacLean tied the game, and with two minutes left in overtime, he added the winning goal. Although the Rangers and Devils both finished with 82 points, the Devils had one more win, sending them to the playoffs. The team made it all the way to the conference finals, but lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games. We were 1 game away from the Stanley Cup Finals and for a laughing stock organization it was the first significant step forward. It had no bearing on what came afterwards. There is no Butterfly Effect here. The next year they were mediocre and after that were average until Lemaire came along. Any impact MacLean's goal may have had was long gone by then. Remember, Stevens couldn't wait to get out of here. BTW, you sig is a joke as 27-41-12 hardly qualifies as winning. Edited June 1, 2011 by PeteyNice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) It had no bearing on what came afterwards. There is no Butterfly Effect here. The next year they were mediocre and after that were average until Lemaire came along. Any impact MacLean's goal may have had was long gone by then. Remember, Stevens couldn't wait to get out of here. BTW, you sig is a joke as 27-41-12 hardly qualifies as winning. It had everything to do with it. It the Devils were still considered a Mickey Mouse organization, Lemaire doesn't come here in all probability. Actually, Stevens didn't want to come here because of its history. BTW: No, it doesn't but 1987 was the birth of winning in NJ Devils hockey. Consider 27-41-12 as a small slip in the baby steps of success. Edited June 1, 2011 by MantaRay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Watch and learn. (j/k) Awesome! I remember watching that game on Sportschannel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddog Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 There have been a lot of big Goals scored in franchise history. Jason Arnott's overtime cup clincher, Jeff Friesen in game 7 ECF vs Ottawa, Elias against the Flyers in game 7 ECF in 2000, Claude Lemieux with 45 seconds left in game 5 ECF 1995. But the moment that got the wheels in motion to separate ourselves from the Mickey Mouse days was that overtime win in Chicago and the Cinderella run to follow. I for one will remember MacLean for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 There have been a lot of big Goals scored in franchise history. Jason Arnott's overtime cup clincher, Jeff Friesen in game 7 ECF vs Ottawa, Elias against the Flyers in game 7 ECF in 2000, Claude Lemieux with 45 seconds left in game 5 ECF 1995. But the moment that got the wheels in motion to separate ourselves from the Mickey Mouse days was that overtime win in Chicago and the Cinderella run to follow. I for one will remember MacLean for that. This is what I have been trying to get across. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) Manta and Petey...in ways you're both right. The Scouts/Rockies/Devils' historical cupboard, in terms of ANYTHING that could be considered positive, was pretty much barren before that big playoff run. Though it's been largely ignored, the franchise did make a playoff appearance once before (as the Rockies in 1978), but that team's 19-40-21 record and two-game playoff outster at the hands of the Flyers made that feat pretty insignificant. Let's face it, the Devils moved into a very crowded hockey house, with the Rangers, Islanders, and Flyers nearby, and even worse, the Islanders were in the midst of their four-cup run when the Devils came here. If they had been any good, they might have gotten some respect, but as we all know, the new strangers wearing red and green were a mess on the ice...had been for years in Colorado and KC, so respect and relevance were going to be very hard to come by. As someone who was a teenaged Devils fan back in 1983, I can tell you that the locals almost didn't even acknowledge the Devils' existence. If anything they thought the Devils were some cute oddity that presented no threat at all...it was almost funny to them when, on occasion, the Devils beat their teams, like "How did that happen?". MacLean's goal forced the local hockey world to at least take notice of the franchise in the swamp. Even better was the fact that they went on a sustained run, as opposed to getting in and getting bounced out in four or five games. The following season was tough, in that they looked and played like the same ol' Devils, and Rangers, Islanders, and Flyers fans definitely took note, calling the Devils a one-year wonder, a fluke, etc. And there was hatred behind the jabs, but the fact that there WAS hatred at all was a big step. Just like that, the Devils were actually on local fans' radar screens, and worth hating. As Petey points out, the Devils didn't really build on '88 from a success standpoint, in that the team hovered around mediocrity until '93, but even that was a major step forward...at least the team was making the playoffs and wasn't a perrenial no-factor, as they had been from 1974-87. Edited June 1, 2011 by Colorado Rockies 1976 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarDew Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) Awesome! I remember watching that game on Sportschannel. Me too! I was watching with friends and when that goal was scored, the entire bar was yelling. lol Sportschannel, a blast from the past. Thnx for the video 95Crash It was great to see some of the players from back then. Edited June 1, 2011 by StarDew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) Manta and Petey...in ways you're both right. The Scouts/Rockies/Devils' historical cupboard, in terms of ANYTHING that could be considered positive, was pretty much barren before that big playoff run. Though it's been largely ignored, the franchise did make a playoff appearance once before (as the Rockies in 1978), but that team's 19-40-21 record and two-game playoff outster at the hands of the Flyers made that feat pretty insignificant. Let's face it, the Devils moved into a very crowded hockey house, with the Rangers, Islanders, and Flyers nearby, and even worse, the Islanders were in the midst of their four-cup run when the Devils came here. If they had been any good, they might have gotten some respect, but as we all know, the new strangers wearing red and green were a mess on the ice...had been for years in Colorado and KC, so respect and relevance were going to be very hard to come by. As someone who was a teenaged Devils fan back in 1983, I can tell you that the locals almost didn't even acknowledge the Devils' existence. If anything they thought the Devils were some cute oddity that presented no threat at all...it was almost funny to them when, on occasion, the Devils beat their teams, like "How did that happen?". MacLean's goal forced the local hockey world to at least take notice of the franchise in the swamp. Even better was the fact that they went on a sustained run, as opposed to getting in and getting bounced out in four or five games. The following season was tough, in that they looked and played like the same ol' Devils, and Rangers, Islanders, and Flyers fans definitely took note, calling the Devils a one-year wonder, a fluke, etc. And there was hatred behind the jabs, but the fact that there WAS hatred at all was a big step. Just like that, the Devils were actually on local fans' radar screens, and worth hating. As Petey points out, the Devils didn't really build on '88 from a success standpoint, in that the team hovered around mediocrity until '93, but even that was a major step forward...at least the team was making the playoffs and wasn't a perrenial no-factor, as they had been from 1974-87. Always the voice of reason my friend. I think what gets lost from my original post was that I described the goal as "perhaps" the biggest goal. Edited June 2, 2011 by MantaRay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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