The New Jersey Devils are back in the postseason for the first time in six years, as they get set to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
The Devils, who went 3-0-0 vs. the Lightning this season, have faced Tampa Bay twice before in the postseason.
In 2003, New Jersey defeated Tampa Bay four games to one in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and in 2007, the Devils eliminated the Lightning in six games in the opening round. It was the last playoff series the Devils ever won at the Meadowlands.
Travis Zajac and Andy Greene made their playoff debuts for New Jersey in that 2007 series. They are the only two Devils players remaining from the club that went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, the last time New Jersey was in the postseason.
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Keith Kinkaid, who went 16-3-1 with a .929 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against average down the stretch, dating back to Feb. 13, will likely be the starting goalie in Game 1 for New Jersey.
The last goaltender other than Martin Brodeur to start a postseason game for the Devils was Chris Terreri in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference semifinals vs. the Bruins at Boston Garden.
Brodeur started 194 consecutive postseason games for New Jersey, the most by any goaltender with one team in NHL history.
Here are the five goalies who have started postseason games for the Devils:
• Martin Brodeur 204• Chris Terreri 25• Sean Burke 19• Bob Sauve 3• Craig Billington 1
On Saturday night, the Devils lost their final game of the regular season, 5-3 to the Capitals in Washington, D.C.
Nico Hischier scored his 20th goal of the season in the loss, one short of the Devils' rookie record. Here's a look at rookies who scored at least 18 goals:
• Jeff Larmer (1982-83) 21• Kevin Todd (1991-92) 21• Pat Verbeek (1983-84) 20• Nico Hischier (2017-18) 20• Scott Gomez (1999-00) 19• Petr Sykora (1995-96) 18• Patrik Elias (1997-98) 18
On Thursday night at the Prudential Center, the Devils clinched their postseason berth with a 2-1 win over the Maple Leafs.
New Jersey's five-year playoff drought was the club’s longest since its first five seasons after relocating from Colorado to the Garden State.
The clinching win came in New Jersey’s next-to-last game of the regular season.
The Devils’ only playoff-clinching victory that came in the last game of a regular season was on April 3, 1988, in a 4-3 overtime win at Chicago.
Keith Kinkaid made 31 saves in the victory over Toronto, as the Devils won their fourth straight and extended their points streak to eight games (7-0-1), New Jersey’s best eight-game points stretch (15 of a possible 16) of the season.
Kinkaid’s 26 wins this season were one victory shy of Cory Schneider’s 27 for the most by a New Jersey goalie other than Martin Brodeur in a single season:
• Cory Schneider (2015-16) 27 • Keith Kinkaid (2017-18) 26• Cory Schneider (2014-15) 26• Scott Clemmensen (2008-09) 25• Alain Chevrier (1986-87) 24• Chris Terreri (1990-91) 24
On April 3, the Devils reduced their magic number to two points with a 5-2 win over the Rangers in Newark.
Taylor Hall had two goals and two assists, and Will Butcher scored twice on the power play for the Devils in the win.
Hall’s two-goal, two-assist game was the first by a Devils player since Zach Parise on Jan. 29, 2010, in a 5-1 win over the Maple Leafs in New Jersey.
The last players to have two goals and two assists against the Rangers for New Jersey were Scott Gomez and Patrik Elias, who did it in the same game, a 7-3 win at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 21, 2004.
Hall’s second goal came on a penalty shot. The only other Devils player with a successful penalty shot against the Rangers was Pat Verbeek, who scored against John Vanbiesbrouck as part of his two-goal, one-assist game in a 7-2 win at New Jersey on March 27, 1988.
Hall finished the regular season with 39 goals and 54 assists for 93 points in 76 games.
Hall’s points-per-game percentage now ranks as the best in Devils history:
• Taylor Hall (2017-18) 1.22 (93 points, 76 games)• John MacLean (1988-89) 1.18 (87 points, 74 games)• Kirk Muller (1987-88) 1.18 (94 points, 80 games)• Patrik Elias (2000-01) 1.17 (96 points, 82 games)• Zach Parise (2008-09) 1.15 (94 points, 82 games)
Will Butcher became the first Devils rookie defenseman to score two goals in a game since Damon Severson on October 16, 2014, in a 6-2 loss to the Capitals at Washington.
The last Devils defenseman prior to Butcher with two power-play goals in the same game was Brian Rafalski in a 5-2 win over Montreal at the Meadowlands on Feb. 14, 2007.
PLUS/MINUS
Plus: Taylor Hall. The Devils left wing has played in 529 career games without a postseason appearance, the fourth-most among active players, a drought that ends Thursday night.
Minus: Jeff Skinner. The Carolina left wing has played 579 career games without a postseason appearance, the most among active players, a drought that will continue until at least next year.