NHL PLAYOFFS : It’s a Long Time Coming, but Devils Get Their Due

The ghosts of a Game 6 failure a year ago have been exorcised. The decade-long turnaround from a so-called Mickey Mouse franchise is complete.

The New Jersey Devils are going to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time.

The Devils earned the right to play for Lord Stanley’s trophy against the Detroit Red Wings by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2, Tuesday night to capture the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final in six games.

“This has been so long coming,” said defenseman Bruce Driver, who along with John MacLean and Ken Daneyko have endured since John McMullen moved the Colorado Rockies franchise to New Jersey in 1982.

“I remember grabbing Johnny Mac at the end, not a word was said,” Daneyko said. “We knew what each other was feeling. He was flashing back to all the past games. I’m sure he was. I know I was.”

The past was never pleasant for the Devils, a team referred to as Mickey Mouse by Wayne Gretzky in the 1980s.

But they improved and three times previously were a victory from a berth in the finals. The Devils lost Game 7 of the 1988 Wales Conference final to Boston, and last year they led the New York Rangers, 3-2, in games before losing the series in the seventh.

This time the Devils, whose early history in New Jersey was spent near the bottom of the standings, didn’t let it slip away.

“We learned from last year,” said Stephane Richer, who tied Tuesday’s game at 1-1 with a power-play goal. “We realized we made a mistake last year. It hurt to lose the series. Tonight before the game we were scared. We were so scared to lose because of what happened last year.”

New Jersey never came close to losing this one in becoming the first team in this series to win a home game.

Whether New Jersey is home much longer to the Devils remains to be seen.

The team is exploring a move to Nashville, Tenn., but on Tuesday night, with a roaring crowd and Gov. Christine Whitman in the stands, the Devils and New Jersey seemed perfect together.

Philadelphia took an early 1-0 lead on Jim Montgomery’s first career playoff goal.

However, that was the Flyers’ only lead. Their other goal came late on a power play by Mikael Renberg.

“I think we were as hungry as they were,” Renberg said. “But they had more experience than we had. That was the key to the series. We learned a lot. I guess we’ll be even better next year.

The Devils’ neutral ice trap limited Philadelphia to 16 shots against Martin Brodeur, and New Jersey got the goals it needed from Richer, Brian Rolston, Randy McKay and Claude Lemieux.

The vaunted Legion of Doom line of Eric Lindros, Renberg and John LeClair finished with five goals in the series after scoring 81 of the team’s 150 in the regular season in leading the Flyers to the Atlantic Division title.

“It’s frustrating,” Flyer forward Kevin Dineen said. “We were two games away from the finals. Now we’re over 100 games away from the finals. It’s a long way back. It’s a long summer.”

Said Lemieux, “It’s great but I think everyone here realizes that we’re only half way through to where we want to be: winning the Stanley Cup. We know what’s ahead of us and we are probably going to face the best team in hockey.”

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STANLEY CUP FINALS NEW JERSEY vs. DETROIT

Game 1: Saturday at Detroit

Game 2: June 20 at Detroit

Game 3: June 22 at New Jersey

Game 4: June 24 at New Jersey

*Game 5: June 26 at Detroit

*Game 6: June 28 at New Jersey

*Game 7: June 30 at Detroit

x--If necessary

Note: All games start at 5 p.m. PDT except Game 6, which would start at 4:30. Fox will televise Games 1, 4, 7 and ESPN will show Games 2, 3, 5 and 6.