This Cup finalist looking back in retrospect was a bit of a surprise- and as the years go on, it seems a bit fascinating.
It was a #6 seed, but they aren't remembered in the same way other low seeds that have made the Cup Finals are (i.e. 1994 Canucks/2003 Mighty Ducks/2004 Flames/2006 Oilers).
And it was also a bit of an interesting/surprising run considering:
1. They never had home-ice in the East, but had it in the Cup Finals
2. It's still the only time they actually got past the first round since leaving the Meadowlands. They had lost 3 straight first round series from 2008-2010 despite having home-ice.
It's an interesting mish-mash of guys (Kovalchuk, Parise, David Clarkson, Volchenkov, and of course Marty). They did it for once without a big-time blueliner a contrast to their dynamic duo of Scotts from their glory days), it was Marty's last real hurrah.
They had an interesting playoff run (Of course, let's not forget that two of the East's big guns- Boston and Pittsburgh- fell in round 1)
Drew a Florida team that won their division but racked up the loser point in the shootout (this was a far cry from last year's division winning FLA team). Save for a game 4 shutout, they didn't exactly dominate that series (almost blew a 3-0 lead in game 1, needed to win two overtime games to pull out that series).
In round 2 against Philly, they lost game 1 in OT. They were down going into the third of game 2, but stormed back to win. They survived an OT power play in game 3 before Ponikarovsky scored, then came the Giroux suspension in game 4. The series was capped off in game 5 on a hilarious Bryzgalov blunder.
The East Finals against NY started off a bit shakily, falling behind 2-1 and getting shutout in both losses. Then AGAIN got off the mat- dominated game 4, almost blew a lead in game 5 before pulling it out late, then Henrique's game 6 OT goal.
In the Stanley Cup Finals, they had an interesting time of it against that LA Kings juggernaut on that ridiculous run- lost twice in overtime, killed in game 3, but avoided a sweep with a late goal in game 4, gutty game 5 win.
But just when it looked like they might conjure up the spirit of the 1942 Maple Leafs, Steve Bernier was involved in a controversial penalty that was disputed as to whether it should have been a 5 minute major. As it was, LA scored 3 times and basically it was curtains.
I'm not saying this was a fluke run, but it's kinda surprising looking back in retrospect given New Jersey had been flaming out early in the playoffs before that and haven't come close to sniffing the playoffs in the last five years.
It's kind of crazy to think that this specific Devils team got to a Cup Final and we're still waiting for Ovy's Caps to do so.
But in 2012, they came together on the fly and had one heck of a playoff run.
What do you remember about this specific Devils team?
How much of a surprise was it that this team made it all the way to June considering higher seeded NJD squads had fallen early in recent years (2006-2010)?
Was their inability to follow things up in ensuing years as simple as Kovalchuk departing and Parise signing with Minnesota?
It was a #6 seed, but they aren't remembered in the same way other low seeds that have made the Cup Finals are (i.e. 1994 Canucks/2003 Mighty Ducks/2004 Flames/2006 Oilers).
And it was also a bit of an interesting/surprising run considering:
1. They never had home-ice in the East, but had it in the Cup Finals
2. It's still the only time they actually got past the first round since leaving the Meadowlands. They had lost 3 straight first round series from 2008-2010 despite having home-ice.
It's an interesting mish-mash of guys (Kovalchuk, Parise, David Clarkson, Volchenkov, and of course Marty). They did it for once without a big-time blueliner a contrast to their dynamic duo of Scotts from their glory days), it was Marty's last real hurrah.
They had an interesting playoff run (Of course, let's not forget that two of the East's big guns- Boston and Pittsburgh- fell in round 1)
Drew a Florida team that won their division but racked up the loser point in the shootout (this was a far cry from last year's division winning FLA team). Save for a game 4 shutout, they didn't exactly dominate that series (almost blew a 3-0 lead in game 1, needed to win two overtime games to pull out that series).
In round 2 against Philly, they lost game 1 in OT. They were down going into the third of game 2, but stormed back to win. They survived an OT power play in game 3 before Ponikarovsky scored, then came the Giroux suspension in game 4. The series was capped off in game 5 on a hilarious Bryzgalov blunder.
The East Finals against NY started off a bit shakily, falling behind 2-1 and getting shutout in both losses. Then AGAIN got off the mat- dominated game 4, almost blew a lead in game 5 before pulling it out late, then Henrique's game 6 OT goal.
In the Stanley Cup Finals, they had an interesting time of it against that LA Kings juggernaut on that ridiculous run- lost twice in overtime, killed in game 3, but avoided a sweep with a late goal in game 4, gutty game 5 win.
But just when it looked like they might conjure up the spirit of the 1942 Maple Leafs, Steve Bernier was involved in a controversial penalty that was disputed as to whether it should have been a 5 minute major. As it was, LA scored 3 times and basically it was curtains.
I'm not saying this was a fluke run, but it's kinda surprising looking back in retrospect given New Jersey had been flaming out early in the playoffs before that and haven't come close to sniffing the playoffs in the last five years.
It's kind of crazy to think that this specific Devils team got to a Cup Final and we're still waiting for Ovy's Caps to do so.
But in 2012, they came together on the fly and had one heck of a playoff run.
What do you remember about this specific Devils team?
How much of a surprise was it that this team made it all the way to June considering higher seeded NJD squads had fallen early in recent years (2006-2010)?
Was their inability to follow things up in ensuing years as simple as Kovalchuk departing and Parise signing with Minnesota?
Last edited:
