C’est un championnat qui a changé la façon dont le jeu était joué. L’expansion et le succès des Diables ont contribué à ouvrir la voie au piège de la zone neutre. Soutenez The Hockey Guy via Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thehockeyguy Suivez-moi sur Twitter https://twitter.com/ShansBoomstick Aimez et suivez ma page sur Facebook https://www.facebook.com/youtubehockeyguy/ Contact moi par courrier postal à : The Hockey Guy PO Box 38 15038 Seven Oaks PO Abbotsford, BC V2S 8P1
@Devils du New Jersey
46 Comments
Are you going to cover all Stanley Cup champions to current day?
just got done studying, perfect timing for this video, thanks Shannon -Sean
1995 New Jersey Devils goal song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgY3AOZYntM
The trap was still going to come in some form later. It's not like the Devils opened Pandora's box
The neutral zone trap: The go-to weapon of choice by those who desire to discredit Martin Brodeur's greatness. Ironically, If people really knew how the Trap defense worked then they'd never use it against Martin Brodeur. Martin Brodeur was the main reason why the trap was as successful as it was in NJ. Many teams, past and present, utilize the neutral zone trap and it is not some magical defensive scheme that spawns 3-time Stanley Cup winning teams like some seem to believe. The difference between other neutral zone trap teams, and New Jersey, was Brodeur's remarkable puck handling skills. For those who may be unfamiliar, the neutral zone trap essentially forces teams to dump the puck in from the neutral zone due to a 4-man clog in the neutral zone and just 1 forechecker. When the dump would inevitably occur, Brodeur would then use his stick handling skills and make outlet passes, immediately putting the Devils back on the attack while completely inhibiting the opposing team from establishing a strong forecheck. Instead of Brodeur stopping shots, he was stopping the scoring/shooting chances altogether by handling the puck, while simultaneously creating a scoring opportunity for his team. If all of Marty's greatness was due to him playing behind the neutral zone trap, why haven't other teams such as the 2000-2009 Minnesota Wild (who were coached during those 9 years by none other, than the neutral zone trap guru, Jacques Lemaire), produced a legendary goalie? Where's all of the easy wins? The Vezinas? The Stanley Cups? How about Guy Boucher's Lightning from 2010 through 2013? Or His Senators last season? How did the trap defense work out for those team's success and their goaltenders? Martin Brodeur was the reason the neutral zone trap was as successful as it was in New Jersey due to his ability to be a 3rd defensemen, limit shots against, and completely neuter opposing team's offensive zone time and forecheck.
As for using shot totals as a way to diminish Marty's greatness, it doesn't work. Why? Because Marty himself, was the primary reason his shot totals were low. Crediting goalies for stopping shots but Discrediting Brodeur for stopping opportunities altogether is called flawed logic.
As a Devils fan since '82 (their first season in NJ) and New Jersey native, this playoff run was magical. A decade of losing and jokes were finally put to rest. Everyone in the NHL hated the trap, but we loved it because we dominated that style of play. My recollections from that playoff run was the "Crash Line" (Peluso-Holik-McKay). No team could match that 4th line and they were the real difference maker in putting us over the top.
That Wings team was stacked. They had Yzerman and Federov in their prime, Dino Ciccarelli, Paul Coffey, Slava Kozlov, Niklas Lindstrom, Kris Draper, Keith Primeau, and Mike Vernon & Chris Osgood in net to name a few. The Red Wings were heavy favorites going into to the finals, so the fact that we swept them really surprised everyone, including ourselves. We dominated them so thoroughly that we also proved that we weren't just a fluke and made the win all the more rewarding.
Finally.
i hate…hate…hate Claude Lemieux, hes one of the dirtiest players I've ever seen play this great game….but Brodeur is a great goalie, and im a red wings fan…. and i would have loved to have seen the wings win that cup, but the devils that playoff year was on fire…..
There was alot of sweeps in the 90's
Cool video bro, I was 10 at the time and Brodeur was my first NHL hero and became a Devils fan. Nice to see you rocking that Kovy jersey, since Kovalchuk was my second NHL hero.
We will be back in the playoffs soon to haunt all the others teams again, but this time with a whole different playing style. In Shero we trust!!!
If only they would have brought in admiral Akbar, things would have been different for Detroit.
It's impressive like it or not i don't give a shit if they played the trap the Res Wings we're by FAR the better team on paper and they destroyed the Wings one of the biggest upsets in history
Revisit the broad Street bullies
No mention of the crash line?? I feel like you left out a lot of key things about this run. You also didn't mention the scores from the sweep of the Red Wings. This wasn't no 1 goal trap wins. They beat them 2-1, 4-2, 5-2 and 5-2. How could you forget to mention Mike Peluso crying on the bench with 3 minutes to go in game 4 of the final? Crash line finished the game and he played his shift hardly able to see from tears. Cried his way through the handshake line. He was a lowly enforcer and wasn't given good minutes with Ottawa. New Jersey gave everyone ice time. His line was an important and very effective 4th line that year.
Great stuff looking forward to your 2000, 2001 & 2003 championship videos
Even as a Devils fan I always thought this was one of the weakest teams to win the Stanley cup. I was too young to really remember this run but looking back on it, it really seems like the last gasp of the late 80s-early 90s Devils mixed in with what they would become in those elite 2000s teams. By the very next season MacLean, Lemieux and Richer would all either be gone or falling off. They had the two future hall of famers in Stevens and Niedermayer but there were still a lot middling guys on the team. Lemaire took a team in transition that had no business winning the Stanley Cup and they were dominant.
The closest modern comparable I think would be the 16-17 Senators, they had an all-star defenseman in Karlsson in front of a great goalie playing out of his mind and a team that was more than the sum of its parts.
Drew Stafford in new jersey
I just followed You on Instagram (KyleThomas08)
Everyone knocks on them how defensive they were known , but 1995 and 2000 both teams had great depth in offence . I remember in 2000/2001 the avs stats showed they were far more defensive then the devils. 1995 had so many good weapons then Lemieux came out to play with so many timely goals. 2000 maddin had a few when they really needed it. Those role players make the difference when both teams have a star 1st line .
And the start of the three teams just and NHL rolling with new jersey, Detroit and Colorado…. occasionally one otherAnd brought on the lock out…. now it just rolls Pittsburgh, Chicago and L.A. Good job bettmen
We need a kickstarter to get Hockey Guy a retro "christmas tree" Devils jersey!
As always, thanks for the vid and opinions 😈
Amazing team, unbelieveable run.
+The Hockey Guy – False – Brodeur saw 23.2 shots per game in the 95 playoffs NOT 22.7. Also, you continue with this logic that less shots means easier to win/easier to obtain better stats. Lundqvist, Richter, Ryan Miller, and CuJo, to name a few have all proven that logic wrong. Again, if Brodeur sucked when facing busier nights in net, I can understand why you'd use seeing less shots throughout his career as a knock on him but the fact is he played statistically better on busy nights than light nights!! 104 playoff games in Brodeur's career where he saw an average of 31.5 shots per game. In those 104 playoff games Brodeur posted a .928 SV%. What does that tell you? That tells you that his other 101 playoff games where he saw less than 25 shots per game he had to be posting an inferior SV% because his career playoff SV% is a .919….I'm sorry, but your logic makes no sense at all when it comes to your critiques of MB
My second favorite team. Niedermayer Arnott Stevens and Elias are some of my favorite all-time players
I don’t quite understand the vendetta against the trap. It’s like you’re saying there’s an innate problem with a team focusing first on stopping the other team from scoring, then figure out how you’re gonna score. Why is that some evil thing that fans of every other team shudder at the mention of it?
The trap was NEVER an issue. It was a strategy like any others to win It was to the other coaches to figure how to beat it. This is the year i became a Devil fan, my 2nd favorite team after Montreal ( today NJ is my #1 because i can't stand Montreal anymore with all their idiotic BS over so many years )
The kovalchuck Jersey… ouch….
This team reminds me of the Kevin Smith movie "Clerks"
I've been a devils fan since 87! I was a 12 year old boy and I went to bed crying after game 7 against the Rangers the year before and this was such sweet redemption. What a dominant fantastic fucking run in 95! I could have spent the rest of my life feeling satisfied if they never won another cup. Yes Claude Lemieux deserves to be in the hall of fame. He won 4 cups on 3 diff teams. Huge difference maker when it mattered the most. Devils couldn't get over the hump and win another cup until he went back to NJ in 2000.
1) the team went to 7 in ecf against the Rangers the year before -playing the same system. It wasn’t “new” to that season. 2) the Rangers were swept by Phila in playoffs. ‘94 is ancient history. One year wonders that the ny sportswriters still master bate to. 3) Peluso played with Holik and McKay on a regular shift that accentuated forechecking and produced ample turnovers. If you want to give a history lesson, get facts straight.
The biggest challenges for the 1995 Stanley Cup Champions New Jersey Devils came in:
Game 4 ECQF vs. Boston with a 1-0 OT win to take a 3-1 series lead which ended in 5 games. The "Crash Line", especially McKay & Peluso coming in from opposite sides of the net simultaneously forcing a turnover and a OT goal.
Game 2 ECSF vs. Pittsburgh. Yes Mario Lemieux sat that year out with back problems. Pittsburgh for the 2nd game in a row scored a late 3rd period goal, in Game 2, the late goal tied game. But Scott Stevens responded with a late goal of his own and the Devils not only won Game 2 to tie the series but also won Games 3-5 and wrap the series up in 5 games.
The BIGGEST threat to the Devils 95 Championship run came vs. Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Devils took Games 1 & 2 in Philadelphia and looked to be steam rolling the Flyers but the Flyers dictated the play in Games 3 & 4 and had all the momentum going into Game 5 in Philadelphia.
Game 5 of the ECF was a nail biter and had OVERTIME written all over this game except for Claude Lemieux coming down the Right side and scoring through an improbable gap with less than a minute of regulation between the net and Hextall. Game 5 of the ECF was the clutch game for the Devils success in the 1995 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The New Jersey Devils never trailed after the 1st period in all 20 playoff games in 1995.
Detroit’s only momentum in the Finals in 1995 was when they took a brief lead in Game 2 and that was it. Games 3 & 4 New Jersey outscored the Red Wings 10-4, not bad for a team who was said to have no offense.
LGD
The most important player for the 1995 Devils in their Stanley Cup run wasn't even a Devil. It was Joe Kocur of the Rangers. Kocur and Daneyko had a fight earlier in the season and Daneyko fell awkwardly and partially tore ligaments in his knee. He was expected to miss the entire season, but he opted not to have surgery and to rehab it intensively instead. Because of the uncertainty about his availability for the playoffs, the Devils went out and traded for Shawn Chambers. Youngsters Chris McAlpine, Kevin Dean and Jaroslav Modry got a lot of playing time as the sixth defenseman in most games that season. When Daneyko came back at the end of the regular season, the team suddenly had a ton of depth on defense and didn't need to play the rookies in the playoffs. Look at the defensemen on this team in the playoffs: Stevens, Niedermayer, Driver, Daneyko, Albelin and Chambers. That is a very, very deep and well-balanced group of defensemen that you would rarely see on a roster back then. And Chambers ended up scoring two goals in the clinching Game 4 against Detroit, too.
Some other odd facts about this team … (1) I think this was the first team to win a Stanley Cup with more U.S.-born than Canadian-born players; and (2) when they won the Cup, Neal Broten became the first hockey player to win an NCAA national championship, an Olympic gold medal, and the Stanley Cup. He may still be the only one to accomplish this.
I loved those late 90s early 2000s devils teams. Broduer, Steven's, niedermayer, holik, McKay, elias, Gomez, rafalski, danyko, madden, arnott, sykora, lemieux, mogilny, richer, guerin etc. So many great players. Steven's, broduer, holik, Gomez, elias and niedermayer were my favorite devils. Oh and John madden.
Devils and Brodeur my favorite team and player of alltime! (sharks 2nd fav team)
Claude Lemieux should be in the HOF. 1 CS, 4 Stanley Cups.
Love the video but please the 95 Rangers were old & complete trash…The Devils would have went through them just like all the other series..
It’s so weird when a team doesn’t sweep anybody in the 1st 3 rounds and then sweeps a team that did better than them in the regular season and had at least one sweep in the 1st 3 rounds.
That season begun the destruction of the nhl. It was eye burning bad to watch. There is a reason in 2005 no one cared the lockout happened (except us nutty diehards). The league is never going back to the 80s but most people would rather watch paint dry then the dump/chase/grab/clutch era
the 1994 Devils had most of the same players and despite their defensive reputation were 1st or 2nd in the league in goals as a team in the regular season even without top end star power at forward.
Great video. Thanks for doing it.
LGD 🔥🔥
This 95 team has my heart for life. 5 days after they won my father passed away. This run I felt so confident about them.
I will say Jaques Lemaire came to the team in 94.
What you have to remember when analyzing this run was the value of the Crash line, Holik centering McKay and Peluso. Lemaire put them out after every goal to control the tone of the game and it worked brilliantly. If you scored against NJ, you’d get a smack in the face for your efforts.
Lemieux’s goals were always when they needed one the most so that made him a legit Conn Smythe winner. And he was a veteran cup winner so he taught the young guys what it took.
I was 24 and just loving all of this run. Still my favorite of the three cups. We had to endure so much ridicule back in ‘82 and this was just so sweet. The one memory I’ll always chuckle at was how the New York sports radio show with Mike Francesa and Chris Russo showed up to broadcast from the arena and multiple people asked why were they even there since they ignored the Devils for their whole existence up till then, leaving them humiliated.