Jagr, Gelinas, Greene, Zidlicky and Henrique celebrate the Devils’ unlikely comeback (TSN.ca)

Between most of last season, a drama-filled offseason and the beginning of this season there’s been a lot of misery for Devil fans as the team’s continually found ways to lose.  Going into tonight the Devils had one win in their first ten games overall this season, and only one win in our last twelve games against Boston over the last few seasons (and that win was a completely meaningless game for both teams on the last day of the ’10-11 season).  Our last win in Boston was nearly four years ago, in a game more memorable for Bruins captain Zdeno Chara breaking David Clarkson‘s leg with one of his patented 100-MPH slapshots than it was for our actual win.  The Bruins came into tonight’s game on a five-game winning streak and stood at 7-3 overall with a talented group looking to make a third run to the Finals in the last four seasons.  If the task of beating the Bruins tonight wasn’t daunting enough on paper, the outlook got even bleaker as the Devils gave up two goals in the first 9:19 followed by what could have been a backbreaking goal with just fifty-six seconds remaining in the first period, putting New Jersey down two again. Down two goals against the Eastern Conference champions and early Vezina favorite Tuukka Rask, this one was all but over.

Or was it?  As beloved ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso would say…’Not so fast, my friend!’

An inspired effort over the last thirty-three minutes got the Devils back in the game, but they still trailed by one with just under two minutes remaining when a double-minor high sticking penalty on Torrey Krug and a delay-of-game penalty on Patrice Bergeron set up a rare five-on-three for Devils in the final 1:49 of regulation.  Not long after the 5-on-3 started, coach Pete DeBoer pulled Martin Brodeur for a sixth attacker, setting up an even rarer 6-on-3 situation.  After the Bruins made one clear we continued to pass the puck around for several anxious seconds – minutes it seemed to me – before finally Marek Zidlicky used sheer power to score the tying goal at 18:52.  Even with the game tied, there was more excitement to come as the Devils still had a 5-on-4 power play.  Amazingly, the embattled Devils scored the lead goal twenty-three seconds later when Damien Brunner fanned on a one-timer of a deflection and it bounced right onto Andy Greene‘s stick, and he put it in an open net to give New Jersey a stunning 4-3 lead.  Even more astonishingly, it was our fourth power play goal of the game.  Last year it would have taken us weeks, if not months to get that many.  With momentum on their side, the Devils held on through those last anxious forty-five seconds for what could well be a season-changing win.  As former broadcaster Doc Emrick would say – ‘Had ’em…all the way’.

I don’t want to put the cart before the horse here…we do still have two wins in eleven games, and this game will mean very little if we don’t follow it up with a solid performance and another two points at home against the Lightning on Tuesday.  However, winning tonight the way we did against who we did – well let’s just say if this doesn’t get the Devils going in the right direction, nothing will.  Not only could it have been a season-saving win, it could well have been a job-saving win for coach Pete DeBoer, who was certainly feeling the pressure over the team’s horrendous record since late February last year.  After an uninspired, sloppy start where the Devils gave up a power play goal to Krug and a deflection goal by Jarome Iginla, DeBoer used his timeout.  For a time, the team’s play improved and Adam Henrique scored the team’s first goal of the game at 11:24 on a rebound from an Eric Gelinas shot.  Once again big Gelinas made an impact tonight with nearly twenty minutes played (19:58), including almost four on a power play that suddenly looks dynamic.  Even before Gelinas got here, I thought the power play was improving under coach Dave Barr with quick, decisive passing that was reminscent of former assistant Adam Oates‘ power play here.  However, Gelinas has taken it to another level in his two games with his skating ability and powerful shot, something which the Devils haven’t had from the point since forever (don’t give me Ilya Kovalchuk, he rarely if ever used his booming slapshot on the point).

That first period goal did not lift the team up for very long however, and yet another breakdown cost us in the final minute of the period when Milan Lucic used the turbo button on NHL14 to zoom past Zidlicky, and beat Brodeur with a weak shot through the legs to put Boston up 3-1.  That goal may have been the final straw for an increasingly on-edge DeBoer, seeing as Henrique was supposed to be the MSG2 post-period interview but it was abruptly canceled…presumably because the coach was about to lay into his team. I can’t even attribute the Devils’ revival to what was said since the first several minutes of the period it looked as if the ship was about ready to keel over and sink.  Only a horrendous three-on-one where the Bruins didn’t even put a shot on net kept us in the game.  However, the Devils did right the ship over the final thirteen minutes of the period outshooting the Bruins 13-3 (after being outshot 8-2 in the first seven).  Still, it looked like as has been the case through much of these last few months the Devils would have nothing to show for their hard work.  Until the last half-minute of the period when on another power play, they finally caught a break at 19:32 when a Steve Bernier shot rebounded to Brunner, and his shot was stopped by Rask but the goaltender’s momentum carried his arm and the puck over the goalline.  After review, Brunner’s fourth goal of the season stood, pulling the Devils within one.

Having gone to sleep during the second and let us back in the game, the Bruins were determined to clamp down during the third – and for the first fifteen minutes or so they did, giving us few real chances.  Until the Devils caught another break (in a manner of speaking) when Krug high-sticked Brunner, causing a lost tooth and blood which put us on the power play for the rest of regulation.  Though Boston killed off the front end of that penalty, Bergeron’s delay of game and the resulting six-on-three was enough to finally turn the tide, with Greene’s shock winner saving us from the always problematic OT/shootout specter.  Even Chico Resch was making jokes about our shootout prowess, remarking at one point when Rask wound up losing his goalie stick and having to use a defenseman’s stick (unfortunately we couldn’t get the puck to the net during that sequence), that maybe Rask should have to play with that stick during the shootout should we get there to give us a chance.

Fortunately, no such handicap was required to finally get two points out of a game.  The fact that it came against this team made it all the sweeter.  Usually, the Devils are the ones who have found ways to lose against the Bruins over these last few years when they’d beaten us eleven out of twelve.  Most of the games were actually close, but something would always happen where we’d be tied or have the lead late and then bite the dust, or get behind and fall short in a futile comeback.  That wasn’t the case tonight though.

Tonight for the first time in a long while, Devil fans were reminded anew why they love hockey and sports in general.  After all the negativity of the last several months, it feels good to have hope again for the next couple of days at least.