5 lucky situations that led to deep New Jersey Devils playoff runs

The New Jersey Devils have a very successful past. They have three Stanley Cups to their name, which doesn’t sound like a ton when considering they have a 40+ year history, but only two franchises have more since 1990: the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Devils have amazing runs in 1995, 2000, and 2003 to win the ultimate prize in sports. They also had fun, yet ultimately disappointing, runs in 1988, 1994, 2001, and 2012. 

The Devils always seemed to find a way to overachieve once they found their footing in the late 80s, and now we’re seeing a similar glimmer in the eye of the Devils. They are built on young talent, and we’ve seen what can happen when a team lets that young talent prospect. The Devils made all the right moves under the Lou Lamoriello regime (at least it appeared that way then), and it led to more rings since 1990 than every single team in the Philadelphia or New York markets combined. 

However, to get there, the Devils needed a little luck some years and a ton of luck in others. When were the Devils the luckiest?

We start with the Devils very first playoff run ever. We are only taking moments or opportunities that happened within the postseason, so the Devils win in overtime to beat the Chicago Blackhawks on the last game of the season, putting them ahead of the Penguins and Rangers to take the final playoff spot, doesn’t count. However, they went into the playoffs as a massive underdog.

It appeared the Devils built a ton of momentum from that final playoff race to get into the show. They ended up going from a franchise with no series wins or even playoff appearances to its name to taking the Boston Bruins to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. None of it happens if they don’t get past the New York Islanders in the first round.

The Devils ended up fending off the former dynasty, but it came down to the final seconds of the series. With 10 seconds left, the Devils took a faceoff in the offensive zone, thinking the series was all but done. Then, Islanders star Pat LaFontaine tried to do the impossible. 

After already scoring an overtime game-winner in the series, he went coast to coast, beating all five Devils skaters trying to hold onto a one-goal lead, but it was Sean Burke who ultimately stopped LaFontaine as the buzzer sounded. If he scores, the Devils likely can’t recover with a young team in Game 7, and who knows what the future holds.