OTTAWA – They have pretty much done it all over the last decade in establishing themselves as the East’s pre-eminent team, winning two Cups, coming within a victory of a third that would have confirmed their status as the NHL’s premier post-Edmonton dynasty. But for all of their success, simply reaching this Eastern final ranks among the franchise’s fine achievements. Winning it, beating a young, hungry, skilled, tough, complete Ottawa team, is another matter.
Honestly, they aren’t close to the biggest, aren’t close to the fastest, aren’t close to the most talented. They’re not. But they are as tough as anyone, in mind and body; as disciplined as anyone, too.”
It’s easy to diminish the Devils’ preliminary five-game victories over the Bruins and Lightning, given the relatively light status of their opponents; easy, but maybe not so smart. For while the Devils were defeating the East’s seventh and third seeds, the mighty Red Wings and mighty Stars were both losing to the seventh-seeded Mighty Ducks, and the mighty Avalanche was losing to the sixth-seeded Wild. The Devils beat both teams put in front of them, and they did it with minimum fuss.
It’s also easy to diminish this team by comparing it to the two previous New Jersey Cup winners. The 1995 team’s second checking line included Neal Broten and John MacLean; this team’s has Pascal Rheaume and Turner Stevenson. The 2000 team’s third line had Alexander Mogilny on right wing; this club has Grant Marshall in that spot.
But it doesn’t matter. These Devils don’t have to play those Devils in a best-of-seven. Problem is, they have to play Ottawa, a team largely built in New Jersey’s own image; industrious, understated, fast, strong, committed to generating offense by playing on the defensive side of the puck.
“Just look at the teams that are still alive,” Brodeur said. “They’re all well-structured, they’re all well-coached, they’re all committed to a system.
“The teams that are here are not one-player teams. It should be pretty obvious by now what works in this league.”
If it’s obvious what does and does not work in this NHL, it wasn’t so obvious that the Devils would be here again in the Eastern finals. Not after the trades of Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora, the free-agent defection of Bobby Holik, the hiring of yet another coach.
“There was definitely a different feel when we came to camp this year,” Brodeur said. “We downsized, added speed, we had a new coach, a lot of new players; there were a lot of questions.
“But as the year went on, we committed to the system Pat [Burns] wanted us to play the same way we did when Jacques [Lemaire] was here. So even if it would have been a surprise to me in September for us to be here now, it wasn’t by Christmas.
“I knew.”
Still, given that, it will be a surprise if the Devils can overcome Ottawa’s physical edges straight down the line. It will be a surprise if New Jersey can manufacture enough offense. It will be a surprise if the Devils are still standing when this is over. A surprise – and one of the franchise’s grandest achievements.
Ottawa in six.
