2008-2009 New Jersey Devils Hockey Season at a Glance

The 2008-2009 NHL season officially started for the New Jersey Devils on Friday October 10, 2008. Every die-hard Devils fan was either at the game or glued to their television set to see how the team looked in the home-opener. They were hosting the Islanders, which seemed like an easy win. Unfortunately, the game was not as easy as everyone thought. The final score was 2-1, with a Devils win. Although it wasn't an easy win, it was a win in the Prudential Center, which excited fans. The season was rolling until the New Jersey Devils faced a heart-breaking loss that nobody knew how to deal with.

Hosting the Atlanta Thrashers on November 1st, the Devils already had a 5-2-2 record on the season. The game was going great, and the Devils were up 3-0. At 6:38 into the second period, Martin Brodeur, arguably the best goalie to ever play the game, the backbone of the Devils, made what seemed like a routine glove save. Unfortunately, though, he was slow to get up, clutching his left arm. At this point, every Devils fan everywhere around the world stopped. The announcers were also confused, as Martin Brodeur is such an important factor to the team. Shortly after the game, Brent Sutter made a comment saying that it seemed like a routine glove save, and he did not know what the extent of the injury was. The Devils and their fans were all just hoping for the best.

An announcement was made that Brodeur would need surgery to repair the bicep tendon in his left arm, and that he could miss 50 games. So many thoughts were going through Brodeur fans' heads, thinking about the potential of the current season. He was within reach of Patrick Roy's all-time record for wins and shutouts.

At this point, the Devils seemed to hit an all-time low with injuries, already missing veterans Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik. Kevin Weekes was the backup goalie, and Scott Clemensen was called up from Lowell (AHL). The next game, the Devils lost 2-0 to the Buffalo Sabres and lost five of their first six games without Brodeur. They were hitting a slump that they had to get over. Throughout the next couple of games on a losing skid, there were a couple of players that emerged to make their team get back on track, including Captain Jamie Langenbrunner and Zack Parise.

On Friday Nov 14, 2008, the Devils came up short once again to the Capitals in Washington. The next day, the Devils hosted the Capitals for a rematch in the Prudential Center. The game was very exciting, and the Devils were playing desperate hockey. The game was tied five times, with two lead changes. The result was great for the Devils and their fans; a 6-5 win in a shootout. This was a much needed win, as the Devils were slipping in the Atlantic Division standings. They put together a little winning streak, and confidence was being built game by game while the Devils did not lose more than two in a row for the next four months.

From here on out, Devils fans were seeing what seemed like a Stanley Cup Champions team. Towards the end of January, the Devils put together an eight-game winning streak. On February 26, 2009, the Devils hosted the Colorado Avalanche. This was the game everyone was waiting for. Martin Brodeur coming back into the line-up from injury, getting a standing ovation as his name was announced at Prudential Center. From his first save, the crowd went wild. Everyone wanted to know how he would respond to being out for so long, but it seemed that he somehow became even better. The Devils had four straight wins, two of which Brodeur recorded shutouts.

On Tuesday March 17, 2009, Martin Brodeur had one more thing to prove: breaking the all-time record for wins by a single goaltender. Patrick Roy was at the game where Marty tied his record 551 wins, watching as the Devils ousted the Canadiens of Montreal. The game was close the entire time, but the Devils got out to an early lead. The game ended as a 3-2 victory for the Devils, and Brodeur breaking the record for most wins by a goaltender in NHL history.

Towards the end of the season, Devils fans were refreshed as the Devils continued to climb in the standings of the Eastern Conference. The Devils once again were the Atlantic Division Champions, and would play the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The first round of the playoffs started well for the Devils, as they had home-ice advantage and won game one 4-1. From here on out, the series was back and forth, with the Hurricanes forcing a decisive game 7 with a win in game 6 4-0.

Game 7 had all the excitement any fan would like to see, unless they were fans of the Devils or Hurricanes. It was purely nerve-wrecking for each team. The game seemed to be going the Devils' way, while they played a solid game and seemed to be close to advancing to the next round. At the start of the third period, they were up 3-2. They started to play a little defensively, which seemed like it could work for the win. With about two minutes left in the third period, Devils fans were estatic, thinking that they were going to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, with 1:20 left in the third, the crowd fell silent. Jussi Jokinen scored a goal that really took the life out of the Devils. With 31.7 seconds left to play in regulation, Eric Staal buried the Devils with a shot from the right circle that just got by Brodeur. This loss was stunning. All Devils fans were upset, as they also lost game 4 with 0.2 seconds left to play.

Such a promising Devils season all came crashing down with late goals by the opposing team. After hitting a rough patch in the beginning of the season and rising from that, fans just think, "How can the Devils regain confidence and be a Stanley Cup contender next year?"