Schwei's Devils Notes: Disappointing Season Ends; Is Brodeur Finished?
By John Schweibacher
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Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils ended an otherwise disappointing 2013-14 season on an up note with a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins Sunday afternoon at Prudential Center.
In what may have been his final game for New Jersey -- or his final game in the NHL, for that matter --Brodeur was the winning goaltender against the same team he and the Devils defeated for his first career victory back on March 26, 1992 at the Meadowlands, a 4-2 win against Boston.
Brodeur has won 800 combined regular and postseason games for New Jersey since that first win over Boston 22 years ago.
The Devils failed to make the postseason for the third time in the last four seasons. And for the first time since Lou Lamoriello became president and GM of the club, New Jersey has missed the playoffs in two straight years.
One of the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference went to the Detroit Red Wings, who qualified for the playoffs for the 23rd consecutive season, the longest current streak in the NHL.
Detroit's streak began with the 1990-91 season. New Jersey's 19 trips to the postseason since 1990-91 are tied for the second-most in the NHL over that span among the 21 teams that were in the league that season:
Most NHL postseason appearances since 1990-91:
• Detroit: 23
• New Jersey: 19
• Pittsburgh: 19
• Boston: 18
• St. Louis: 18
• Philadelphia: 17
(Note: The San Jose Sharks, who entered the NHL in 1991-92, have also qualified for the playoffs 17 times over this span.)
Fewest NHL postseason appearances since 1990-91:
• Carolina/Hartford: 7
• NY Islanders: 7
• Edmonton: 9
• Calgary: 10
• Toronto: 11
• Phoenix/Winnipeg: 11
New Jersey fell to 0-13 in the shootout this season and extended its NHL-record losing streak to 17, dating back to March 15, 2013 at Philadelphia, with their 3-2 defeat against the Islanders in the tiebreaker Friday night.
The last Devils shootout win was back on March 10, 2013, a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. That win gave New Jersey a 56-32 all-time record in the shootout, which at the time was the best overall in the NHL since the tiebreaker had been introduced for the 2005-06 season.
Despite the 17 consecutive shootout defeats, the Devils are tied for the sixth-most shootout victories in NHL history, and their 32 shootout wins at home somehow remain the most all time.
Most Overall Shootout Wins:
• Pittsburgh: 61
• NY Rangers: 58
• Dallas: 57
• Buffalo: 57
• NY Islanders: 57
• New Jersey: 56
• Los Angeles: 56
Most Home Shootout Wins:
• New Jersey: 32
• San Jose: 28
• Los Angeles: 28
• NY Rangers: 28
• Minnesota: 27
• Buffalo: 27
• Phoenix: 27
The Devils lost 2-1 in the shootout in Ottawa last Thursday night in their final road game of the season. New Jersey completed its road schedule with a record of 14-18-9 and 37 points overall.
Just two seasons ago, the Devils won 24 road games, tied for the second-most in a single-season in club history.
Their 14 road wins this season were New Jersey's fewest in a full season of 80-or-more games since 1991-92, when the Devils also won just 14 times away from home ice.
Here are the Devils' fewest road wins in a full season:
• 1982-83: 6
• 1983-84: 7
• 1990-91: 9
• 1986-87: 9
• 1984-85: 9
• 1988-89: 10
• 1985-86: 11
• 1991-92: 14
• 2013-14: 14
Cory Schneider stopped Ales Hemsky's penalty-shot attempt in the second period in the loss to Ottawa and has now saved six of seven in his career and one of two this season for New Jersey.
Brodeur, who stopped the only penalty shot he faced this season, has faced 12 penalty shots in his career, the most by any Devils goalie.
Here is the list of New Jersey Devils goaltenders and how they have fared against penalty shots:
Devils Goalie PS Faced Saves
• Martin Brodeur 12 9
• Chris Terreri 5 2
• Johan Hedberg 5 4
• Alain Chevrier 4 4
• Chico Resch 3 2
• Cory Schneider 2 1
• Craig Billington 1 1
• Bob Sauve 1 1
• Sean Burke 1 1
• Scott Clemmensen 1 0
• Kevin Weekes 1 0
• Mike McKenna 1 0
MSG Networks hockey analyst Glenn "Chico" Resch announced his retirement from the New Jersey Devils' broadcast booth during Friday night's Devils-Islanders telecast on MSG+.
Resch joined MSG Networks in 1996 and was paired with play-by-play announcer Mike "Doc" Emrick for 14 years. For the past three seasons, Resch has called games alongside Steve Cangialosi.
Resch appeared in 571 NHL games as a goaltender with the Islanders, Colorado Rockies, New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers and compiled a career record of 231-224-82 along with 26 shutouts and a 3.27 goals-against average, and won the Stanley Cup as a member of the 1979-80 Islanders.
Resch was the goaltender in the first regular-season game in New Jersey Devils history, a 3-3 tie against the Penguins on October 5, 1982 at the Meadowlands.
Resch recorded the first win by a New Jersey goalie on October 8, 1982, beating the Rangers, 3-2, at the Meadowlands. Resch made 21 saves in the victory, as John Davidson took the loss for New York.
The next season, Resch combined with Ron Low to register the first shutout in Devils history, 6-0, over the Red Wings on December 17, 1983. Resch relieved Low, who injured a finger early in the second period, and made 15 saves to complete the win in New Jersey.
Resch's final game for the Devils was on March 8, 1986, a 7-3 win over the Flyers at the Meadowlands. Three days later, Resch was traded to Philadelphia for a third-round draft choice.
Overall, Resch appeared in 198 games for the Devils, third-most behind Brodeur (1,259) and Chris Terreri (302) in club history, and his 49 wins rank fifth all-time among New Jersey goaltenders.
Schwei's Plus/Minus:
Plus: Cory Schneider -- Finished first Devils season with a 1.97 goals-against average, the best in the NHL among goalies who played at least half of their team's games.
Minus: 86'd with 88 -- Devils finished 2013-14 with a 35-29-18 record and 88 points, the most in club history in a non-playoff season, two more than their previous high of 86 points in 1995-96.
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