The Save that Saved New Jersey

Introduction:
The first time the Devils faced elimination in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs was on April 24, 2012, which was game six of the first round. At 17:29 in the third period, Mikael Samuelsson took a shot that could have given his team a 3-2 lead with only 3 minutes left, in a game that would have felt exactly like game 7 against Carolina. It began with Mark Fayne misplaying a puck that Samuelsson pounced on and proceeded down the ice with. With Clarkson and Fayne at his heels, Mikael rushed down the left side of the ice into the Devils' zone. Salvador went down on the ice when Samuelsson cut from Marty's right to left, and it was up to the goalie to save a shot that could have easily ended the season. Samuelsson's quick release seemed to catch Marty off guard, as he saved the puck awkwardly, in between his body and his arm.

Video of "The Save that Saved New Jersey

This save kept the devils at 2-2 going into overtime, where Travis Zajac would later score, forcing a game 7. The Devils would of course win game 7 in double overtime, and go on to eliminate Philadelphia and New York, becoming the Eastern Conference Champions yet again. However, somewhere in a parallel universe, (if you're in to that sort of thing) Marty didn't make that save in game 6. The Panthers won the series, and the playoffs turned out completely different. The following are documents gathered from this parallel universe, a world where a series of cataclysmic events transpired following yet another first round exit for New Jersey, that ruined the hockey world forever.

April 24, 2012
DEVILS GET RAT TRAPPED

After blowing a 2-0 lead to the Panthers and losing game six 4-2, the Devils were eliminated last night in shocking fashion. After being down 2-0, the Panthers rallied back to tie the game in the second period, and took the momentum away from New Jersey, at least for a while. The Devils came out strong in the third, and did everything they could to score, but Scott Clemmensen had other plans. Making unbelievable save after unbelievable save, Clemmensen held the Panthers in the game long enough for them to get the go-ahead goal at 17:29 of the third period courtesy of Mikael Samuelsson. Stephen Weiss went on to score an empty net goal with 37 seconds left in the period, leaving the Devils bobbing in the wake of a disastrous finish to yet another disappointing season. "It's disappointing when it's over. It sucks." said captain Zach Parise, who is now an unrestricted free agent. "I'm not talking about that" said Parise, after being asked a question regarding where he sees himself next year. "Well no question" said Brodeur, after one reporter asked "Is it disappointing losing in the first round despite having missed the playoffs last year?" Marty went on to say, "We had a good enough team to make a deeper run than this. Florida has a great team, but we could have definitely beat them." Pete Deboer was fired last year by Florida, and now, after being hired by New Jersey, has been eliminated by the same team. Lou Lamoriello said absolutely nothing about anything, as per club policy. The  Florida Panthers will go on to play the Flyers in round two, with the series starting in Florida on Sunday afternoon. 

May 6, 2012
FLYERS SWEEP PANTHERS

The Flyers completed their sweep of the Florida Panthers last night, and will move on to play the winner of the Rangers/Capitals series. Claude Giroux now has 22 points through the first two rounds of the playoffs, making him by far the best athlete alive. "He's definitely our leader, and has led by example with hard work all year, and all playoffs" said Peter Laviolette, who called Giroux the best player in the world after the Pittsburgh series. "He's a superstar that steps up in big games." Giroux now has 11 goals and 11 assists through 10 games in the playoffs. The Rangers host the Capitals tomorrow in a 2-2 series, the winner of which will play the red hot Flyers. Several panther fans were murdered after the game, police investigations are underway.



May 27, 2012
RANGERS ELIMINATE PHILADELPHIA, MOVE ON TO CUP FINALS

For the first time since they won the cup in 1994, the Rangers have advanced to the Stanley Cup final. After being up 3-1 in the series, the Rangers found themselves in a game 7, after dropping game 5 and 6, both in overtime. The Rangers came out soft in the first period, getting outshot 9-3. Henrik Lundqvist made the best saves ever made by a goalie, and was extremely happy about advancing to the finals for the first time in his incredible career. "I just try to stay focus." said the King when referring to the onslaught he faced from Philadelphia's offense. "The fans definitely kept us in the game, they've been unbelievable" continued Lundqvist, who now has one stanley cup final appearance in the last one seasons, making him the best goalie ever. The second period started poorly for the Flyers, who gave up a goal to Ryan Callahan just 43 seconds in. Later in the second period, Bryzgalov misplayed a puck behind the net that resulted in a Marian Gaborik takeaway, and goal at 12:14. Wayne Simmons scored with 4:03 left in the second period, and the period ended at 2-1 in favor of New York. The Flyers, who made coming back from 2-0 and 3-0 games a habit, were unable to beat Lundqvist in the third. The Rangers won the game 2-1 and the series 4-3. Lundqvist stayed sharp all game, and has been by far the best player on the Rangers this playoff run. "He kept us in there" said Ryan Callahan. "He's an incredible goalie, and the reason we are in the finals." When asked about how great it feels to beat the flyers, Callahan replied "It's great, I'm glad I don't have to hear about '97 anymore." The Rangers will host Los Angeles on Wednesday in the garden. The Kings have not lost any playoff games on the road this year, and take a 14-2 record into the finals.

June 11, 2012
TRUE BLUE GETS IT DONE


For the fifth time in their history, the New York Rangers have won the Stanley Cup. Henrik Lundqvist won the conn smythe award for the playoff MVP, and now has one cup, one gold metal, one conn smythe, and one restaurant. He also plays guitar, and is a vezina finalist this season. The King, as he is rightfully called, was interviewed after the game. "It feels incredible. It's a great honor, it's the trophy every hockey player dreams of wining, it feels great when you finally get it done." Lundqvist got 2 shutouts in the series, including one in game 6 in Los Angeles. John Tortorella, for the first time in recorded history, was extremely cooperative in the post-game press conference. "We had a great season, and it's great to end it by winning the cup. I love our balls. We had swag. I love balls."



July 1, 2012
PARISE WILL WEAR A NEW JERSEY


Zach Parise, after playing 7 seasons with the devils, has signed a 8 year, 57 million dollar contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. As tough as this will be for devils fans to digest, it wasn't that surprising. In the last 5 seasons with the Devils, Zach has had four coaches and zero playoff series wins. Zach will be 28 at the beginning of next season, and just like every professional athlete, he wants to win a championship. "I'm excited to play for the Penguins. I enjoyed my time in New Jersey, and had some great teammates, but I'm looking forward to a new opportunity." Parise wants nothing more than to win a Stanley Cup, and with yet another first round exit for New Jersey, and the backbone of the team just turning 40, it seems that the Devils aren't making it to the finals anytime soon. The thought of Parise playing on a line with Crosby and Neal, or Malkin and Crosby is a terrifying thought for every other team in the league. The powerplay unit, which is likely to consist of Crosby, Malkin, Parise, Neal, and Kunitz will pose a huge threat to any team who dare take a penalty against them. Losing Parise could turn out to be catastrophic for the Devils, and the fact that Martin Brodeur is now 40 years old isn't exactly comforting for the team. The team has always found ways to win despite losing players over the years, but losing their captain and having such an old goalie could change that. This could turn out to be catastrophic for the Devils.

Due to time constrains, we now move forward to the end of next season.

April 13, 2013
DEVILS COME UP SHORT


The New Jersey Devils will start golfing early this year, after losing 4-2 to the Islanders in a game in which winning would have landed them the 8 seed. The Devils were 1 point behind Tampa, and would have needed them to lose and also beat the Islanders today, which was the last day of the 2012-2013 season. Tampa bay was defeated by the Capitals, leaving it up to the Islanders to keep the Devils out of the playoffs. The 13th seed Islanders had already found themselves out of playoff contention weeks ago, and have lost the last 4 games in a row going in to tonight's game, but managed to win their last game of the season against a team that needed to win. The Devils found themselves in 12th place halfway through the season, and slowly started climbing back in the hunt during the second half, but came up just one point short of making the playoffs. "It's so frustrating," said captain Ilya Kovalchuk. "We had chance to make it and didn't score enough goal." The Bolts will play the first seeded Penguins on Monday, and will start the series in Pittsburgh. Martin Brodeur allowed 4 goals on just 15 shots in tonight's game vs the Islanders, and has one year left on the contract he signed last summer. He is expected to play next year, and has played well for the most part over the past few months, despite a rough game tonight.

July 17, 2014
BRODEUR ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT AFTER PERSONAL WORST SEASON

Martin Brodeur announced today that he will not be returning to the NHL next season. After finishing 13th in the Eastern Conference, and following Brodeur's worst season as a goaltender, this announcement wasn't surprising to anyone. Considering Marty is 42, it's no wonder he can't play anymore. The Devils also fired coach Pete Deboer after an awful performance by the entire team all year long. The team has also had major financial issues and they have only gotten worse over the last couple of seasons. The Devils have missed the playoffs 3 of the last 4 seasons, and their Captain Ilya Kovalchuk is not playing the way he should be. Kovalchuk had just 22 goals this season, and ended with a minus 36. The Devils face tough competition in their division, considering Eastern conference champions have been in the Atlantic Division 6 of the last 8 seasons. The Rangers won the cup in 2012, the Penguins in 2013, and the Flyers lost to the Coyotes in the finals this season. The Devils were once the best team in the division and conference for a number of years, but now find themselves on life support. Considering they didn't even have a first round pick this year, it seems the devils have no bright future in sight.

May 13, 2015
QUEBEC BACK IN THE NHL

The New Jersey Devils will no longer be an NHL franchise. The team was sold this week following a season in which they finished dead last in the league. It seemed the Phoenix Coyotes were going to be the ones that moved to Quebec for a few years, but after winning the cup last year, the team is no longer hurting financially, and actually finished 7th in attendance this year. The devils finished 30th both in attendance and in points, and have completely fallen apart.

The 3 cups the devils won seem very far away now, as they have not won a playoff series in 8 seasons. Speculation is that Lou Lamoriello won't remain with the team, although nothing is decided yet. For now, Devils fans will mourn the loss of their team, and will have no choice but to root for the Islanders.