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In the back of their minds... New Jersey must face ghosts of past playoff failures
Posted: Monday April 10, 2000 10:40 PM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Looking for the big unknown in the Stanley Cup playoffs? Just watch the New Jersey Devils. Recent history says ignore them. It's been one disappointment after another the past three years with the team never making it past the second round despite posting the best record in the Eastern Conference. On the other hand, the Devils were the best team in the NHL until a late season slump (9-14-2) allowed Philadelphia to win both the Atlantic Division and the conference regular-season title. New Jersey, which fired Robbie Ftorek and replaced him with Larry Robinson on March 23, even needed to beat Florida on Saturday just to salvage home-ice advantage for its first round of the playoffs against the Florida Panthers. The obvious question is which Devils team will show up to face 58-goal scorer Pavel Bure and the Panthers when their best-of-7 first-round series opens Thursday. Even the Devils aren't sure. "The lack of success in the last few years, it always seems to come back and be there for you when the playoff comes," goalie Martin Brodeur said Monday after a nearly two-hour practice at the Continental Airlines Arena. "It's something we have to live with, and something we have to work through," he added. "Hopefully this year, with the end of the season we had, we won't feel the pressure of being one of the contenders." Brodeur had that thought reinforced Sunday night watching a preview of the playoffs on television. The Devils weren't even mentioned, he said. Ken Daneyko, who has played in every playoff series for the Devils since they moved to New Jersey for the 1982-83 season, insists he isn't even thinking about the past. "In a lot of the series, we just didn't play well and we just didn't get the job done," Daneyko said. "I'm not worried about that. I'm just worried about what we can do now. Obviously, we haven't played well going in, but none of that matters. I'm excited. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. We went through some turmoil, maybe now we can fall into synch and play our best hockey." The Devils actually played one of their better games down the stretch in beating the Panthers 2-1 in overtime Saturday. They skated, checked and finally showed some intensity. Something else that might work in the Devils' favor is their roster this year. Of the 20 players who will dress on Thursday, seven had no ties to the team's past playoffs problems, including last year's first round loss to Pittsburgh in seven games. New Jersey lost the final two games of that series. Defensemen Colin White, Brian Rafalski and Vladimir Malakhov and forwards Scott Gomez, John Madden, Alexander Mogilny and Claude Lemieux were either in the minor leagues or playing on other professional teams. "What's in the past is in the past," said Gomez, whose 71 points make him the leading candidate for the NHL's rookie of the year award. "There is no way to look back now. You have to look forward. What are you going to do now? Talk about what happened. It's over with." If the Devils can get over the past and the Panthers, Daneyko thinks they can win another Cup, like they did in 1995 in overcoming a poor finish in the lockout-shortened season. "We're as talented as any team in the playoffs," Daneyko said. "If we apply ourselves, we have a chance to go all the way. If we don't, we'll be out early again."
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