1. 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Hurricanes win series 4-3
You knew this was going to be number one. The final two minutes of game seven will live in Devils infamy. Jussi Jokinen scored the game-tying goal. Eric Staal came down the left-hand side of Martin Brodeur and ripped a shot past to put the Hurricanes ahead while the Jokinen goal was still being announced by PA announcer Kevin Clark. From one minute and twenty seconds away from the second round to heartbreak in less than a minute. But what got the Devils there is even a little bit more frustrating if you’re a Devils fan. This series is known in Devils lore not just for the ending of game seven, but for the ending of game four as well. We’ll get to that.
The Devils had one more chance to get the core that had to make a run. John Madden, Jay Pandolfo, and Colin White were starting to get up there. Bobby Holik, Brendan Shanahan, and Brian Rolston came back for another go in the red and black while all being older than 35. The following season was sure to have massive roster turnover with a few key players in contract years, including Brian Gionta. The team dominated the regular season finishing first in the Atlantic Division under head coach Brent Sutter. Zach Parise had a career season with 94 points. All this even with Brodeur missing most of the season with an injury. Scott Clemmensen and Kevin Weeks carried the load while Brodeur took time to heal.
They were met by the 6th seeded Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes had the Devils’ number in the regular season winning three of the four games the teams played against each other. Something that always seems to plague the Devils with teams they are clearly better than. The first three games were close, the Devils taking a 2-1 series lead into game four, and then it happened. Jokinen came across the crease late, bumped Brodeur, and a shot from the point by Dennis Seidenberg was tipped in by Jokinen to beat the buzzer. Brodeur, irate, skated over to the officials. The referees tried to explain why that was not goaltender interference. Instead of taking a 3-1 series lead home to finish it in five, the Devils were tied up at two games apiece. Brodeur and the Devils shut out the Hurricanes in game five, one to nothing. Cam Ward followed up with a shutout of his own in Game 6 in Carolina and the rest is history.
The following season the massive roster turnover did happen. Shanahan, Holik, and Weekes retired. Gionta signed with Montreal in the offseason. Madden signed with Chicago. Clemmensen cashed in on his stellar year in Florida. Even Mike Rupp signed with the Penguins. Sutter controversially resigned as head coach. Lamoriello brought back Jacques Lemaire and also traded for Kovalchuk. If the Devils had won that series against the Hurricanes, they would have faced the Washington Capitals. The other side of the coin would have been the Penguins playing the Bruins. If the Devils had beaten the Hurricanes, Brodeur stood on his head against the Capitals we could have had one of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history against the best player in the NHL at the time in Sidney Crosby. The playoffs that year were a lot more open than people remember.
But the point remains. The Jokinen and Staal goals tore the hearts out of Devils fans everywhere. Also made a few writers here punch holes in walls, question the existence of a higher power, and slowly start to lose faith in Lou Lamoriello. It was the final crack in the armor that broke the shield Devils fans were so accustomed to seeing. The mighty black and red fell to a different team wearing black and red. It also happened at the Prudential Center, a site most fans thought to be cursed after the back to back heartbreaks. The Devils would not win their first playoff round in Newark until the 2012 ECF against the Rangers. That remains their only playoff series win at the Prudential Center. Hopefully, soon, fans can celebrate in Newark again.