The Devils are about to lose the Stanley Cup Finals. They have a good chance of getting swept (which is nothing new to me, after the Astros in 2005 lost the closest sweep ever). The weird thing, I guess, is that I'm not to upset about it. I've lived through awful playoff losses in every sport where I truly have a favorite team. From the 'Tuck Rule' to Bettis's fumble, to the onside kick that Mr. Playboy Bunny decided to field with his face, to so many more (The Devils losing in 2001 after blowing Game 6 at home to Colorado, the Devils losing a series in 7 games where they led 3-2 with 2:00 left in Game 7). It might be because of this that I don't see this loss, to a Kings team that is really on a roll that I have never seen from a team in the playoffs since Anaheim in 2007 (who lost more games, but played better teams). Or maybe it is because I have grown up and been able to appreciate the run, even if the final result doesn't match what I truly want. If nothing else, the Devils, in what will inevitably be a 2nd failed trip to the Stanley Cup Finals, have further taught me that. Sports still means too much to me, and I have ways to go to correct that, but at least winning it all isn't the sole purpose of my sports addiction.
What makes me nonchalance to the Devils predicament they find themselves in is that they could have easily been up 2-1 right now. Mark Fayne and Zach Parise both pushed pucks wide of wide-open nets in Game 1 late in the 3rd period (not to mention Clarkson's multiple chances and Parise batting in the puck). Kovalchuk beat Jonathan Quick but couldn't beat the pipe late in Game 2. It is not as if the Devils haven't had chances (in Game 3 they had loads also, but Quick was absolutely brilliant). The Devils lost both in OT, a situation where I would have been catatonic in the past. Both times I was able to just turn off the TV and move in. Maybe it was defiance that the Devils still had a chance, or maybe it was just being able to accept that the Kings, as currently playing, are just better at every level.
The one thing I know is unlike the Colts failed runs in 2008 (still my favorite regular season Colts team), 2005 (still the best Colts team) and most importantly 2009 (my most invested season), even when the Kings lift the Cup, I can look back at the Devils of 2011-12 with happiness and pride. This wasn't the most talented Devils team, and although they were better on offense than any Devils team since their offensive-heyday (did you know the Devils led the Eastern Conference in scoring in their 1999-2000 Cup season, and led the NHL in goals in 2000-01?), they were the worst Devils team defensively I have ever season. But that didn't spoil their character, which was as strong as any Devils team apart from the 2003 squad. They let leads slip away on multiple occasions. They needed three OTs in Game 6 and 7 combined to beat what many considered to be the worst team in the NHL playoffs. Funny thing happened after that series win over Florida, though. They started playing joyful hockey.
Seeing the Devils dominate the Flyers (who could not have been more overhyped after beating a swiss-cheese of a team in Pittsburgh) and then grind out a series over the Rangers, and exorcise the demons of both 1994 and 2008 was all I needed from this Devils team. I probably would have felt a little worse about the Devils being down 0-3 right now had they gone through, say, the Bruins and Capitals to get to the Finals. Going through the rivals helps. It made this final gravy, a cherry on a sundae that was the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Just like in real life where I hate cherries, I didn't need a cherry on this sundae to make it delicious.
The last reason why I really don't mind the Devils 2011-12 season ending in relative infamy (a sweep), is that when this is the one team that has given me more joy than any other team I have followed other than the Colts (and when you think about postseason success, more than the Colts) I give them a lot of slack. I wasn't there for 1995, but I was there, at just the young age of 9, watching Game 6 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals end in Dallas, with a beautiful pass from Patrik Elias (my favorite non-Marty-Neidermayer-or-Stevens Devils) to Jason Arnott to kill off the defending champs past midnight. I was there throughout the '03 Playoffs, seeing the Devils play toe-to-toe with a loaded Senators team and win Game 7 in Ottawa in a classic game. I then saw Marty Brodeur outplay Jean Sebastian Giguere posting three shutouts in the Stanley Cup Final (the most ever in one Cup Final) and cement his place in the pantheon of great goalies. With that history, with that personal trophy case as a fan, I'm a little more accepting, more giving. I can accept that this Devils team did more than I could have imagined, and that the Kings deserve this.
Before the Finals started, I compared this to the 2001 Finals, but with the Devils playing the role of the Aves, with the old goalie in his swan-song, and the Kings as the 2001 Devils, with the young hot goalie (the one difference being either of those teams would have taken out either the '12 Devils or even Kings in 5). I picked the wrong Devils team. This is almost a carbon copy of the 1995 Finals. The one difference is those Red Wings were historically dominant, and the Kings aren't playing the trap, but there are tons of similarities. In that series, the Devils went to Detroit in Games 1&2 and won both in close games (Game 1 was also 2-1), with Marty playing great. Game 2 featured an end-to-end goal by Scott Niedermayer that was reminiscent of Drew Doughty's goal in Game 2 . Yup, it was all the same, but this time the other way around. Those Devils blew the Wings out 5-2 in Game 3 and did it again in Game 4, but the story of the series was the Devils in all. They stifled the Great Red Wings. The didn't allow them to breath. They didn't allow them to get anything going. They were the dominant team against what had been a truly dominant team. I guess this is payback for the Devils, getting dominated in a similar fashion. Thankfully, the payback is coming 17 years later, when I am old and mature enough to realize that the Devils have given me Cups already. Now they need to give me memories and my God have they done that. Winning the Cup isn't everything. It is for Kings fans right now, but not for most Devils fans. Call it maturity, whether it be age or just relative success of your team. It is good for the heart either way.
What makes me nonchalance to the Devils predicament they find themselves in is that they could have easily been up 2-1 right now. Mark Fayne and Zach Parise both pushed pucks wide of wide-open nets in Game 1 late in the 3rd period (not to mention Clarkson's multiple chances and Parise batting in the puck). Kovalchuk beat Jonathan Quick but couldn't beat the pipe late in Game 2. It is not as if the Devils haven't had chances (in Game 3 they had loads also, but Quick was absolutely brilliant). The Devils lost both in OT, a situation where I would have been catatonic in the past. Both times I was able to just turn off the TV and move in. Maybe it was defiance that the Devils still had a chance, or maybe it was just being able to accept that the Kings, as currently playing, are just better at every level.
The one thing I know is unlike the Colts failed runs in 2008 (still my favorite regular season Colts team), 2005 (still the best Colts team) and most importantly 2009 (my most invested season), even when the Kings lift the Cup, I can look back at the Devils of 2011-12 with happiness and pride. This wasn't the most talented Devils team, and although they were better on offense than any Devils team since their offensive-heyday (did you know the Devils led the Eastern Conference in scoring in their 1999-2000 Cup season, and led the NHL in goals in 2000-01?), they were the worst Devils team defensively I have ever season. But that didn't spoil their character, which was as strong as any Devils team apart from the 2003 squad. They let leads slip away on multiple occasions. They needed three OTs in Game 6 and 7 combined to beat what many considered to be the worst team in the NHL playoffs. Funny thing happened after that series win over Florida, though. They started playing joyful hockey.
Seeing the Devils dominate the Flyers (who could not have been more overhyped after beating a swiss-cheese of a team in Pittsburgh) and then grind out a series over the Rangers, and exorcise the demons of both 1994 and 2008 was all I needed from this Devils team. I probably would have felt a little worse about the Devils being down 0-3 right now had they gone through, say, the Bruins and Capitals to get to the Finals. Going through the rivals helps. It made this final gravy, a cherry on a sundae that was the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Just like in real life where I hate cherries, I didn't need a cherry on this sundae to make it delicious.
The last reason why I really don't mind the Devils 2011-12 season ending in relative infamy (a sweep), is that when this is the one team that has given me more joy than any other team I have followed other than the Colts (and when you think about postseason success, more than the Colts) I give them a lot of slack. I wasn't there for 1995, but I was there, at just the young age of 9, watching Game 6 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals end in Dallas, with a beautiful pass from Patrik Elias (my favorite non-Marty-Neidermayer-or-Stevens Devils) to Jason Arnott to kill off the defending champs past midnight. I was there throughout the '03 Playoffs, seeing the Devils play toe-to-toe with a loaded Senators team and win Game 7 in Ottawa in a classic game. I then saw Marty Brodeur outplay Jean Sebastian Giguere posting three shutouts in the Stanley Cup Final (the most ever in one Cup Final) and cement his place in the pantheon of great goalies. With that history, with that personal trophy case as a fan, I'm a little more accepting, more giving. I can accept that this Devils team did more than I could have imagined, and that the Kings deserve this.
Before the Finals started, I compared this to the 2001 Finals, but with the Devils playing the role of the Aves, with the old goalie in his swan-song, and the Kings as the 2001 Devils, with the young hot goalie (the one difference being either of those teams would have taken out either the '12 Devils or even Kings in 5). I picked the wrong Devils team. This is almost a carbon copy of the 1995 Finals. The one difference is those Red Wings were historically dominant, and the Kings aren't playing the trap, but there are tons of similarities. In that series, the Devils went to Detroit in Games 1&2 and won both in close games (Game 1 was also 2-1), with Marty playing great. Game 2 featured an end-to-end goal by Scott Niedermayer that was reminiscent of Drew Doughty's goal in Game 2 . Yup, it was all the same, but this time the other way around. Those Devils blew the Wings out 5-2 in Game 3 and did it again in Game 4, but the story of the series was the Devils in all. They stifled the Great Red Wings. The didn't allow them to breath. They didn't allow them to get anything going. They were the dominant team against what had been a truly dominant team. I guess this is payback for the Devils, getting dominated in a similar fashion. Thankfully, the payback is coming 17 years later, when I am old and mature enough to realize that the Devils have given me Cups already. Now they need to give me memories and my God have they done that. Winning the Cup isn't everything. It is for Kings fans right now, but not for most Devils fans. Call it maturity, whether it be age or just relative success of your team. It is good for the heart either way.
