Your New Jersey Devils are going to the playoffs!!!

[PacificDevil]

Just to reflect what it took to get it: March road trip from hell - 4-2! Right after the road trip -  first game is back-back at home with Freaking Tampa after Pittsburgh - win! Running the table against the losers but still running the table in the NHL including overcoming 3rd period deficits - done!  Fully loaded Toronto using the game as playoff gauge - clincher!

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

On another note:  serious kudos to the Penguins, Blue Jackets, Flyers, Panthers...and the Devils.

Why?

Because ALL of these teams played some damned fine hockey down the stretch...there were some stumbles here and there, but overall, this was one hell of a race, and the more that I think about it, the more it feels like that these teams really pushed each other, and in some ways brought out the best in each other.  We've all seen our share of races where two or more teams competing for a playoff berth are limping to the finish line, and we start wondering if any of the teams involved really want it.  That was most definitely NOT the case with this race (which thanks to Florida now culling together three hard-fought wins (ok, one was kinda BS), is STILL not quite over yet).

And speaking of Florida, they went on a 23-8-2 run...and never actually held a WC spot, even for a day, despite having thrown a scare into the Devils and others for several weeks.  A 5-5-1 slow-up was enough to put them on life support...just shows how dialed in the rest of the teams really were.  

Everyone's record, from the time they all kicked it up multiple notches:

Devils:  10-2-1 (includes the 6-game trip from hell that some thought was certain to sink the team).  Go back a little further and they went 17-8-1 (with one game left to play), with wins against an awful lot of top teams.

Flyers:  17-7-5 (that actually includes an 1-6-1 skid, which they recovered nicely from...able to bank some key charity points too)

Blue Jackets:  13-1-2 (and amazingly they still might not finish in the Top 3 in the Metro, despite being damned near perfect lately)

Penguins:  10-4-2 (they had a three-game losing prior, but that bump in the road came after they went on a 16-3-1 burst, and by beating the Flyers twice and the Blue Jackets once down the stretch, were able to clinch second place in the Metro.  Went 27-10-3 to close out their year, after a very mediocre first half.) 

Makes me feel that much better about the Devils having earned a berth, because that's EXACTLY what they did...they fully EARNED this, against stiff competition, most of whom saved their very best for last.  What an incredible race, and what an exciting (and sometimes exhausting to watch) finish.  

Thank you again Devils.  Sincerely!

Edited April 7, 2018 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[aclc79]

8 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

On another note:  serious kudos to the Penguins, Blue Jackets, Flyers, Panthers...and the Devils.

Why?

Because ALL of these teams played some damned fine hockey down the stretch...there were some stumbles here and there, but overall, this was one hell of a race, and the more that I think about it, the more it feels like that these teams really pushed each other, and in some ways brought out the best in each other.  We've all seen our share of races where two or more teams competing for a playoff berth are limping to the finish line, and we start wondering if any of the teams involved really want it.  That was most definitely NOT the case with this race (which thanks to Florida now culling together three hard-fought wins (ok, one was kinda BS), is STILL not quite over yet).

And speaking of Florida, they went on a 23-8-2 run...and never actually held a WC spot, even for a day, despite having thrown a scare into the Devils and others for several weeks.  A 5-5-1 slow-up was enough to put them on life support...just shows how dialed in the rest of the teams really were.  

Everyone's record, from the time they all kicked it up multiple notches:

Devils:  10-2-1 (includes the 6-game trip from hell that some thought was certain to sink the team).  Go back a little further and they went 17-8-1 (with one game left to play), with wins against an awful lot of top teams.

Flyers:  17-7-5 (that actually includes an 1-6-1 skid, which they recovered nicely from...able to bank some key charity points too)

Blue Jackets:  13-1-2 (and amazingly they still might not finish in the Top 3 in the Metro, despite being damned near perfect lately)

Penguins:  10-4-2 (they had a three-game losing prior, but that bump in the road came after went on a 16-3-1 burst, and by beating the Flyers twice and the Blue Jackets once down the stretch, were able to clinch second place in the Metro.  Went 27-10-3 to close out their year, after a very mediocre first half.) 

Makes me feel that much better about the Devils having earned a berth, because that's EXACTLY what they did...they fully EARNED this, against stiff competition, most of whom saved their very best for last.  What an incredible race, and what an exciting (and sometimes exhausting to watch) finish.  

Thank you again Devils.  Sincerely!

Your post was really well thought out.  It puts into words what most of us are feeling right.now.  Kudos!  I am looking forward to a great postseason!  LGD!

[NJDevs4978]

2 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

On another note:  serious kudos to the Penguins, Blue Jackets, Flyers, Panthers...and the Devils.

Why?

Because ALL of these teams played some damned fine hockey down the stretch...there were some stumbles here and there, but overall, this was one hell of a race, and the more that I think about it, the more it feels like that these teams really pushed each other, and in some ways brought out the best in each other.  We've all seen our share of races where two or more teams competing for a playoff berth are limping to the finish line, and we start wondering if any of the teams involved really want it.  That was most definitely NOT the case with this race (which thanks to Florida now culling together three hard-fought wins (ok, one was kinda BS), is STILL not quite over yet).

And speaking of Florida, they went on a 23-8-2 run...and never actually held a WC spot, even for a day, despite having thrown a scare into the Devils and others for several weeks.  A 5-5-1 slow-up was enough to put them on life support...just shows how dialed in the rest of the teams really were.  

Everyone's record, from the time they all kicked it up multiple notches:

Devils:  10-2-1 (includes the 6-game trip from hell that some thought was certain to sink the team).  Go back a little further and they went 17-8-1 (with one game left to play), with wins against an awful lot of top teams.

Flyers:  17-7-5 (that actually includes an 1-6-1 skid, which they recovered nicely from...able to bank some key charity points too)

Blue Jackets:  13-1-2 (and amazingly they still might not finish in the Top 3 in the Metro, despite being damned near perfect lately)

Penguins:  10-4-2 (they had a three-game losing prior, but that bump in the road came after went on a 16-3-1 burst, and by beating the Flyers twice and the Blue Jackets once down the stretch, were able to clinch second place in the Metro.  Went 27-10-3 to close out their year, after a very mediocre first half.) 

Makes me feel that much better about the Devils having earned a berth, because that's EXACTLY what they did...they fully EARNED this, against stiff competition, most of whom saved their very best for last.  What an incredible race, and what an exciting (and sometimes exhausting to watch) finish.  

Thank you again Devils.  Sincerely!

Agreed but man it would have felt criminal if the Devils had lost just one or two more games and been out with 95 points still playing that well down the stretch after being in a spot the whole year.  I was already starting to think in the first period on Thursday how it would be a knife to the heart just to lose two lousy games to good teams and be out after doing all those great things down the stretch.  Florida's big what if to me (I know most will say losing those two games to Ottawa) was before the season - if they didn't make that stupid money-driven trade of Marscheault and Reilly Smith to Vegas for magic beans they probably have a much easier time making the playoffs.

Edited April 7, 2018 by NJDevs4978

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

40 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

Agreed but man it would have felt criminal if the Devils had lost just one or two more games and been out with 95 points still playing that well down the stretch after being in a spot the whole year.  I was already starting to think in the first period on Thursday how it would be a knife to the heart just to lose two lousy games to good teams and be out after doing all those great things down the stretch.  Florida's big what if to me (I know most will say losing those two games to Ottawa) was before the season - if they didn't make that stupid money-driven trade of Marscheault and Reilly Smith to Vegas for magic beans they probably have a much easier time making the playoffs.

Yeah, would've been a very empty feeling for sure if the Devils were the team to get squeezed out.  Just glad that didn't happen.

re:  Fla, what it really goes to show is that when you're under a 50.0 point% past the halfway point of the season, making the playoffs is really friggin' hard.  You need to tear it up over a huge amount of games, and you need a lot of help...preferably one or two teams in the hunt to fall apart down the stretch.  Florida held up their end by going 23-8-2 (hard to go much better than that, really), but as we saw, no one fell off...everyone survived relatively minor valleys, compared to their hot streaks.  Hell, though Pitt clinched second place, they needed a big second half to get in due to their meh 20-19-3 start, and didn't clinch until pretty late in their year.  

As we know, Florida is still alive and kickin', but need a dead-man-walking AHL Ranger team to come up big, and then have to win twice on their own.  Because they've put together an impressive extended stretch and have been knocking on the door for several weeks, their bad start has been semi-forgotten, but it's that bad start that really sunk them...just too much for most teams to overcome.

[aclc79]

CS, among other reserves, start tonight against WAS.  The starters getting the rest certainly earned it!!

[EdgeControl]

Speaking of cringe worthy, who were those strange cory schnieder haters, husband & Wife? Team.. WTF who would have thought they were dead right on.. lmao.  

[aclc79]

We will see what we will see tonight.

[lazer]

not that it was too close but wondering when the last time all three metro teams missed the playoffs...my guess sometime in the 80's

[CHIP72]

17 hours ago, lazer said:

not that it was too close but wondering when the last time all three metro teams missed the playoffs...my guess sometime in the 80's

I think the answer is "never", at least since the Devils moved to north Jersey in the fall of 1982.

Actually, we can even exclude the Islanders; I looked it up and there has never been a season in which both the Devils and Rangers have missed the playoffs.

[lazer]

3 hours ago, CHIP72 said:

I think the answer is "never", at least since the Devils moved to north Jersey in the fall of 1982.

Actually, we can even exclude the Islanders; I looked it up and there has never been a season in which both the Devils and Rangers have missed the playoffs.

and if you include islanders its never happened...going back to 65' for a team going to playoffs in metro  area*rags

 

anyway lgd!

Edited April 8, 2018 by lazer

[LittleBallofHate]

Here is the schedule, depending on the outcome tonight - thanks to Mike Morreale: 

[NJDevils1214]

40 minutes ago, Kinkyisth3b3st said:

This probably isn’t the right thread for this, but I just want to take a minute to congratulate one of the “good guys” of the sport, Ilya Kovalchuk, for failing to reach the championship series of his bullsh!t second-rate league in the ugliest country god put on earth. Brava, Ilya. Brava.

It just wasn't his year...to have it rigged for him to win.

[mikepeluso8]

20 minutes ago, LittleBallofHate said:

Here is the schedule, depending on the outcome tonight - thanks to Mike Morreale: 

who do we prefer?

[NJDevils1214]

38 minutes ago, mikepeluso8 said:

who do we prefer?

No one wants to be the guy that answers this...lol.

[aclc79]

The matchup does not matter.  It's a whole new season!

[NJDevils1214]

Tampa is the more skilled team but Boston has NJ's number and I hate the idea of playing against dirty rat Marchand in a playoff setting. Any physical team scares me a bit, actually. I've had the finals as Tampa Vs Nashville all year though and would much prefer Tampa go on to beat Pittsburgh and prevent Sid from winning another cup.

[Devils Pride 26]

Boston has the horses to shadow Hall and take away our big gun, which is a concern. I think we are faster than them, however. The back end of their D is suspect (as is any teams). Chara isn’t Chara anymore. McAvoy is a stud. If we can be patient I think we’ll have opportunities against them. Grabner, Wood, Coleman, Gibbons will be the difference makers against them. Grabner will get breakaway looks and he’s got to fvcking bury them. I see Bergeron line all over Hischier line all series and Boston daring us to beat them with anyone else. 

Tampa, on the other hand, would be electric city. Firewagon hockey. I HOPE they would be foolish enough to try and linematch against Hischier line because that takes their studs right off the ice. 

Edited April 8, 2018 by Devils Pride 26

[MadDog2020]

http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/article/the-odds-favorites-and-long-shots-for-the-stanley-cup-and-nhl-awards


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Devs3cups]

3 hours ago, mikepeluso8 said:

who do we prefer?

Imprefer Tampa but I don’t think Boston would be dramatic.

Edited April 8, 2018 by Devs3cups

[Devs3cups]

3 hours ago, LittleBallofHate said:

Here is the schedule, depending on the outcome tonight - thanks to Mike Morreale: 

Of course I’m working Thursday and Saturday. fvck my life

[EdgeControl]

1 hour ago, Devs3cups said:

Of course I’m working Thursday and Saturday. fvck my life

My kid said he got tickets for Monday, is that possible.. said his friends dad bought 3 

[CHIP72]

5 hours ago, mikepeluso8 said:

who do we prefer?

FWIW, the Devils and Bruins have played each other in the playoffs 3 times previously (1988, 1995, 2003).  The winner of each series later went on to the Stanley Cup Finals that season, and both times the Devils beat Boston, both of which occurred in the 1st round, they eventually won the Stanley Cup.  (The Bruins won the only series after the first round between the two teams, in the 1988 Wales Conference Finals.)

[lucifer91]

3 hours ago, MadDog2020 said:

http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/article/the-odds-favorites-and-long-shots-for-the-stanley-cup-and-nhl-awards


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Bulletin board material.  Hope team sees it.  Devils vs. Everybody 

[mfitz804]

8 minutes ago, CHIP72 said:

FWIW, the Devils and Bruins have played each other in the playoffs 3 times previously (1988, 1995, 2003).  The winner of each series later went on to the Stanley Cup Finals that season, and both times the Devils beat Boston, both of which occurred in the 1st round, they eventually won the Stanley Cup.  (The Bruins won the only series after the first round between the two teams, in the 1988 Wales Conference Finals.)

Well then we definitely need to play Boston. I would like to win the Cup.