Time For A Little Sport

New Jersey Devils 2000 Stanley Cup Champions

last update February 23, 2001
Now with player perspective

We're back! Better than ever, and now that I've actually started playing the great game of hockey myself, I should be able to bring even more insights into the games. OK, maybe not, but hey, I just wanted to advertise the fact that I'm now a hockey player.

I'm cleaning up the page slowly, and updates will start coming more regularly, so stay tuned.

Now available from amazon.com

SECOND HEAVEN
The Official video of the 2000 Stanley Cup Championship

Devils News

Devils Comeback to Beat Florida 5-3

(2/27/01)John Madden scored the game winning goal shorthanded, as the Devils defeated the Panthers 5-3 at the Meadowlands. Patrik Elias scored two goals including the tying goal. Pavel Bure gave the Panthers two power play goals, but it wasn't enough for the hapless Panthers to overcome the still injury plagued Devils. Alexander Mogilny returned to the lineup and contributed two assists.

Injury Depleted Devils Can't Beat Hasek, Lose 1-0

(2/23/01)Dominik Hasek got his 8th shutout of the season as the Devils could not find a way to beat him while missing four of their top scoring forwards. After a scoreless first period, the Sabres took the lead on a Dave Andreychuk goal (at least it was an ex-Devil).

The Devils thought they finally tied the game up as time expired in the third, as Brian Rafalski's slapshot from the point found the back of the net as the horn sounded. Unfortunately replays clearly showed that the puck was still well outside of the net when time ran out.

The Devils played without Jason Arnott, Scott Gomez, Petr Sykora and Alexander Mogilny. The Devils have lost all 4 games against the Sabres this year.

The box score from Yahoo!

Mogilny scores 2 as Devils beat Minnesota 4-2

(1/21/01)Capping back to back matinee games, the Devils defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-2 this afternoon. Alexander Mogilny continued his torrid scoring streak with two goals, giving him 25 on the year and 10 in his last 8 games. Sergei Brylin put the Devils ahead on a pretty passing play from Arnott and Sykora in the first. Minnesota tied it at 1-1 on a power play goal by Sean O'Donnell. The Devils looked lackluster in the first period and needed luck and some good goaltending from Brodeur to escape the period tied at 1.

The Devils started to dominate in the second. Mogilny fired a shot from the slot past Manny Fernandez to put the Devils up 2-1. Then the Devils got a lucky goal when Bobby Holik's shot hit off Randy Mckay's rear end while McKay was sliding through the crease. McKay was credited with his 16th goal of the season. Mogilny got his second goal at 14:13 of the period breaking in down the right side and cutting to the middle and firing a wrist shot past Fernandez.

The Devils had a chance to extend their lead in the third period when Petr Sykora was hauled down on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot. Fernandez showed Sykora the 5 hole and closed it up when Sykora took the shot. The save seemed to give Minnesota a little life and they did close to 4-2 on a goal by Ladislav Benysek who beat Brodeur from the bottom of the circle over the shoulder into the top corner of the net. But the Devils hung on for the victory.

As always the box score from Yahoo!.

Holik lifts Devils over Atlanta 3-2

(1/20/01)Bobby Holik scored the game winning goal on the power play breaking a 2-2 tie midway through the third period. Petr Sykora had tied the game up earlier in the third with his second goal of the game. Sykora had scored on a breakaway in the first, beating Damien Rhodes to give the Devils an early lead. Atlanta tied the game at 1 on a goal by Steve Staios. The Thrashers took the lead in the third, when Yves Sarault who picked up a rebound and put it past Brodeur just 26 seconds into the period.

Hidden stat of the Day The Devils looked a little flat today, probably a combination of playing a weak team and a 1:00 P.M. start. So far this season, the Devils are 2-2-2 in day games, and 22-10-7 in night games.

The box score from Yahoo!.

Devils Destroy Flyers 7-1

(1/19/01)Scott Gomez had a goal and two assists, while Sergei Brylin contributed two goals as the Devils dominated Philadelphia at the First Union Center last night. Scott Stevens opened the scoring with a shot from the point just 1:44 into the game off a Gomez faceoff win. Alexander Mogilny got his 23rd two and a half minutes later making the game 2-0. Jason Arnott put the Devils up 3-0 midway through the first when he redirected a Scott Stevens pass into a virtually empty net.

After the Devils took a 5-0 lead in the second, on goals by Pandolfo and Brylin, Philadelphia pulled All-Star goalie Roman Cechmanek, bringing out Brian Boucher for the third period. Eric Desjardins scored a power play goal in the third to ruin Brodeur's shutout, but late goals by Brylin and Gomez completed the rout.

Notes: Gomez's goal was his first in 21 games. The Flyers were held to just 18 shots on goal for the game and didn't get their first shot till 7 minutes into the first.

The box score from Yahoo!.

Three Devils Going to All Star Game

(1/18/01)Martin Brodeur and Scott Stevens will be playing for the North American team, while Alexander Mogilny will play for the World Team at the NHL All-Star Game in Colorado. Surprisingly Patrik Elias was left off of the World Team this season, but since the game is two weeks off, perhaps he'll end up replacing an injured player.

Devils Lose To Bruins 5-4

(1/17/01)Former Devil Bill Guerin scored the game winning goal with just over a minute and a half left, ending the Devils unbeaten streak at 11. Chris Terreri got the start in net for the Devils and took the loss dropping his record to 2-4-1 on the season. Turner Stevenson scored two goals for the Devils, with Alexander Mogilny and Patrik Elias providing the other goals.

The box score from Yahoo!.

Lemaire to coach Expansion Wild

(6/18/00)Jacques Lemaire, who coached the Devils from 1993 through 1998 and brought our first Stanley Cup to NJ, will be named the first head coach of the expansion Minnesota Wild. Lemaire has a career coaching record of 247-159-69 in the regular season and is 49-34 in the playoffs. He was awarded the Adams Trophy as coach of the year in 1994, after leading the devils to a 106 point season and the the Eastern Conference finals. After winning the Stanley Cup in 1995, the Devils never had any playoff success under Jacques and he resigned at the end of the 97-98 season being replaced by Robbie Ftorek. Lemaire had been working as a consultant to the Montreal Canadiens prior to being named coach of the Wild. Jacques Lemaire's complete player and coaching record can be found here.

Gomez wins Calder; Daneyko wins Masterton

(6/17/00)A couple of Devils added some hardware to their trophy cases at the NHL awards ceremony the other night. As expected Scott Gomez was named the NHL's rookie of the year, winning the Calder Trophy over Brad Stuart of the Sharks and Michael York of the Rangers. Gomez led all rookies in points with 70, and assists with 51. Gomez is the second Devil to win the Calder. Martin Brodeur had won the award in 1994.

Ken Daneyko was the winner of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The trophy is awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. That sounds like Kenny to me.

I'm waiting to see if any of the pictures from the Devils celebration party actually came out. If they did, look for them here. Plenty of reasons to stop back during the off season. So keep coming back.

Devils Stanley Cup Victory Celebration Set For Wednesday

(6/14/00)Come celebrate the New Jersey Devils winning the cup at the Continental Airlines Arena today, Wednesday, June 14th. Ceremonies will get underway at 7:30 p.m. and will include video highlights, player introductions, presentation of the Stanley Cup a laser light show and fireworks display finale.

A Fan Fest, featuring games, activities, food and beverages will begin at 4:00 p.m. Admission for the celebration, as well as parking, will be available free of charge. I'll be there as an added bonus attraction!

In other news, the Devils traded away Krysztof Oliwa for a third round draft pick. This comes as a shock to no one. Also the Devils announced their protected list for the upcoming expansion draft. Players protected were Jason Arnott, Sergei Brylin, Patrik Elias, Bobby Holik, John Madden, Randy McKay, Alexander Mogilny, Jay Pandolfo, Petr Sykora, Josef Boumedienne, Ken Daneyko, Scott Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, Colin White, and Martin Brodeur. The big names left off of the list were Claude Lemieux, Vladimir Malakhov, and Sergei Nemchinov, none of whom are likely to be lost.

New Jersey Wins Cup in Double OT. Stevens wins Conn Smythe

(6/11/00) For a while game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals looked like a rerun of game 5. Both goalies seemingly unbeatable as the game went on. Each team had scored once in the 2nd period, Niedermeyer shorthanded for the Devils, Keane at even strength a minute later to tie it.

Then in the second overtime, Patrik Elias beat Derian Hatcher to the puck in the corner and threw a perfect cross ice pass to a breaking Jason Arnott coming down the left wing. Arnott took the pass on his forehand and lifted the puck over Belfour as he slid across and tried to stack the pads. The goal came at 8:20 of the 2nd OT

And just like that it was over. After almost 5 full periods of hockey, following almost 6 the previous night the Devils finally got to celebrate winning the Stanley Cup for the 2nd time.

The Devils played most of the night without Petr Sykora who was sent to the hospital after taking a hit to the head from Derian Hatcher. The refs seemed to think it was a clean hit, though after watching the replays Hatcher might have gotten Sykora with an elbow. Patrik Elias brought Sykora's jersey out on the ice for the celebration and Larry Robinson put it on later in the ceremony.

Note to whining Ranger fans (which is all of you): Now it's 1 and a half cups. Remember, it's easier to win the cup if you actually make the playoffs. Oh yeah, and Stephane who? Keep living in the past... another 50 years or so and you might get another one.

The box score from Yahoo!.

Devils Clinch Series 4-2 with 3-0 shutout

(5/9/00) Six shots on goal was all that the Devils allowed the Leafs, dominating the sixth game of the series. Martin Brodeur got his second shutout of the series, but was never seriously tested as the Devils smothered the Leafs all over the ice. The Leafs got 3 shots in the first, 2 in the second and only one in the third period.

The Devils scored the only goal they'd need just 18 seconds into the first period. Patrik Elias out worked Alyn Mcauley behind the Toronto net and threw the puck in front where it was picked up by Petr Sykora and fired home.

The Devils got a quick start to the second period as well, needing an entire 25 seconds to score this time. This time it was Sykora behind the net who found Jason Arnott alone in front who snapped a shot between Cujo's legs. Madden added an empty netter with six (there's that number again) seconds left in the third period, but this game was never close.

Devils rout Leafs 5-1; Lead Series 2-1

(5/2/00) Two power play goals, two at even strength, and a shorthander along with another strong goaltending performance from Martin Brodeur enabled the Devils to defeat the Leafs by the score of 5-1 last night.

After a wide open scoreless first period, where both Brodeur and Joseph were called on to make save after save, the Devils finally broke through in the second on a power play goal by Jason Arnott. Arnott tipped home a shot by Holik for his first goal of the playoffs. Scott Gomez made it 2-0 on his first second (thanks John for catching that mistake) goal of the playoffs, picking up a loose puck and catching Joseph leaning toward Alexandr Mogilny open at the far post, fired a wrist shot that beat Joseph just inside the near post.

The killer was Patrik Elias's shorthanded goal just over two minutes later. Elias forced a turnover at the Leafs blue line, beat Igor Korolev along the boards and skated toward the net. His backhand attempt hit the side of the net, but Elias picked it up and carried around for the wrap around into the empty side. A terrific individual effort by Elias to make it 3-0.

The Devils weren't done. At 4:27 of the third, Arnott, Elias and Sykora forechecked the Leafs into turning the puck over in their own zone. Two quick passes from Arnott to Elias, to Sykora and Sykora redirected it home to make it 4-0. Just over a minute and a half later, Alexander Mogilny got to a big juicy rebound in the slot from a Claude Lemieux slapshot and put into a virtually empty net to give the Devils a 5-0 lead. Brodeur came within 5 minutes of getting the shutout, but lost it on a shorthanded goal by Kevyn Adams. The only thing that goal changed was a few personal statistics. The Devils dominated this game and have all the momentum going into game 4 Wednesday night.

Devils shutout Leafs 1-0; Tie Series at 1

(4/29/00) Martin Brodeur recorded his 7th career playoff shutout and Colin White scored his first career playoff goal as New Jersey defeated Toronto by a score of 1-0. The Devils now head home with the series tied at 1 game a piece.

Brodeur faced only 20 shots in getting the shutout, but came up big when needed. The Devils fired 33 shots at Curtis Joseph, and only White's slapshot through a screen at 6:41 of the first managed to find it's way thru to the net.

This was old time Devils hockey at it's finest. The Devils held on tenaciously to the lead, frustrating Toronto, limiting their scoring chances and relying on Brodeur to stop whatever shots got through. The Devils looked terrific midway through the third killing off a Jason Arnott double minor and keeping the Leafs from getting a shot.

Notes: Is Cujo that good or is he just lucky? He always seems to be out of position. He makes the easy saves look hard. The contrast in styles between Cujo and Brodeur is astonishing. Brodeur when he's on his game relies on his positioning and makes even the difficult saves look easy.

Older Articles can be found in the Archives.

Current Record
29-16-12-3 73 Pts 2nd Place Atlantic