https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACzBjg4g0-k

For Halloween, the Devils gave the fans both a treat and a trick…the treat of a late-game comeback on a pretty Michael Ryder goal that salvaged an otherwise drab game, and the trick of ending THE CURSE.  Of course I speak of the shootout curse, where the Devils were 0-for their last 18 dating back to March 2013.  Ironically enough they beat the Jets and Ondrej Pavelec in their last shootout win.  Who were they facing last night?  The Jets and Ondrej Pavelec.  Perhaps it was fitting the Devils finally ended their shootout cycle of doom against the opponent they last beat in the skills competition so long ago I forgot what it looked or felt like to actually not lose a shootout.  To a degree I still don’t know, for this time I made an unprecedented decision.

After the final buzzer of OT I walked out of the arena and did not check Twitter or anywhere else for an update.

I figured my friend and fellow section 120 sth (who wasn’t at the game) would text me after it was over either way regardless.  So to a degree I still don’t remember what it’s like not to watch a losing shootout though I did see the replay later on.  Never have done anything like that before.  One former sth in 209 I used to know made a practice of it, since he hated the shootout on principle so I texted the guy kiddingly last night that I was now pulling a him and walking out before the shootout.  Granted I couldn’t entirely avoid knowing what was going on the first two shots when I heard Damien Brunner announced as a shooter then quietness when he missed.  The last thing I heard going out was the cheers when Cory Schneider made a save – in itself a stunning development.  Still I resisted the temptation to go back, unlike the Buffalo road game last year where I also resolved to avoid watching the shootout but after five minutes checked assuming it was over and it wasn’t so I got sucked back in…of course we eventually lost that one too.

True to form, my friend did text me when it was over saying simply, ‘THANK THE HOLY LORD’.  I saw it when I was practically at my car and realized to my disbelief we actually won this time.  I wasn’t even annoyed to miss the most compelling part of the game as it turned out or that they finally won a shootout after I cried uncle, I’m just relieved our neverending nightmare was over.  Doubly so since for 56 minutes this looked like it was going to be yet another drab loss to a horrendous Jets team that continually burns us with its speed.  Coming off the heels of the Devils’ humiliation in Pittsburgh (thankfully I missed most of that game too), a fourth straight loss at home to the Jets of all teams would have been unfathomable.

Admittedly in the early part of the game I was more preoccupied with a big trade in one of my fantasy football leagues, and really the game itself wasn’t doing much to divert my attention.  Didn’t help that there was only a modest gathering of family and friends (actually just over 12000) at the arena.  When I finally did get my attention back on the game I wished I hadn’t, as Marek Zidlicky went for broke on a delayed penalty trying to get possession of the puck, and missing – springing Blake Wheeler for a breakaway.  Wheeler’s easy goal on Schneider got me even more cranky…and less confident we would break the curse tonight, though after hearing our last shootout win had come against the Jets and Pavelec before the game a small part of me wanted to try our luck at the shootout roulette.

We would have to get there first though, and with save after save by Pavelec it looked increasingly less likely we would get even one point out of this game.  Thankfully the good version of Schneider showed up last night, even managing to go an entire game without being beaten shortside for a goal, how about that?!  He needed to show up too, cause most of the game was comedy of mental mistakes and bad passing.  One such pass even got captain Bryce Salvador benched early in the third period when Schnieder was forced to stop Wheeler on another point-blank chance (though coach Pete DeBoer publicly declined to call it a benching, what else do you call it when the captain doesn’t play another shift the rest of the game even after it got tied and into OT?).

Ironically other than rookie cyborg Damon Severson, two of our best players last night were the ugly duckling Swedes, both of whom were former first-rounders that started the season in the scratch box.  Adam Larsson got in just his second game last night and did much better in this game than against the Rangers, even avoiding the Pete guillotine this time and playing over 15 minutes including some shorthanded time.  Fellow Swede Jacob Josefson continued his career resurgence in the last week plus, even getting a promotion above the fourth late in the third period with some terrific all-around play (including 80% on faceoffs, amazingly enough).  Though he only played a hair under ten minutes and didn’t factor in a goal – during the game portion of last night – he did provide a spark and would still make his presence known before the night was over.

In fact, Josefson was on the ice (but didn’t factor in the scoring) when the Devils finally tied the game late in the third period with the help of two slumping players.  Defenseman Jon Merrill – who was not benched or scratched despite a ghastly -5 in Pittsburgh, which led to public sarcasm by Pete about how we don’t make decisions off a stat sheet, would factor in the tying goal, springing Ryder who got free in the offensive zone.  On a delayed penalty Ryder made an unusually spry move deking around Mark Stuart and beating Pavelec while falling down to tie the game.  New Jersey nearly won the game in regulation when Jagr’s sharp wrister was saved by Pavelec through traffic and despite a couple of good chances by both teams, the game eventually dragged into a shootout.  Which I did finally hear both radio and TV calls on, Matt Loughlin dating himself with a ‘our long national nightmare is over’ while Steve Cangialosi made a less gimmicky but still understandably excited call.

Of course we only got one goal in the shootout, so who scored?  Josefson, after apparently both Schneider and Patrik Elias had to prod DeBoer into using the nifty Swede during the skills competition.  Ironically enough Josefson was one of the few to score a goal last year during our cycle of doom.  Perhaps even more surprising than actually scoring a goal was the fact Schneider made all the stops, after looking helpless in his first shootout of the season and on Wheeler’s goal earlier in the game.  When I saw the highlights before I realized why.  On the Wheeler attempt Cory shocked the world by trying a pokecheck, though it wasn’t particularly effective it still did the trick messing up Wheeler’s timing.  On the other two shots, Cory was more aggressive than usual, leading to a blocker save on Andrew Ladd and finally Bryan Little missing the net to ding, doing the witch is dead our curse once and for all.