Devils owe their run to mouth that roared

A well-timed tirade by coach Larry Robinson lifted New Jersey out of a funk, over the Flyers and into the Cup final.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 30, 2000

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The message thundered from Larry Robinson's mouth, but the force of its meaning came from the heart.

The Devils coach surveyed his bedraggled players, sitting in a 3-1 hole after a 3-1 loss to the Flyers in the Eastern Conference final. This was not a time to tell them to buck up or that things would be all right.

This was the time to light a fuse, and Robinson did it with fire and brimstone.

"It was loud, and a few things got pushed on the floor," defenseman Scott Niedermayer said Monday.

Center Bobby Holik couldn't recall exactly what was said during the expletive-laced tirade, but he said it went something like this: "We were three games from being in the finals and seven games from the Cup. Why waste it now?

"And here we are."

Here they are indeed. The Devils begin the best-of-seven Stanley Cup final against the defending champion Stars tonight at Continental Airlines Arena after subduing the Flyers with three consecutive victories, two of which came at Philadelphia.

In doing so, New Jersey became the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a conference final.

Truth be told, though, much of what the Devils have overcome during the post-season has been their own demons -- demons that told them they could fall again in the first round of the playoffs. Demons that inexplicably took them out of their game and enabled the Flyers to push them to the brink of elimination.

"We showed that we have character on this team and we have heart," left wing Patrik Elias said. "Even when we got down, we battled back, and that will give us a lot of confidence going into the finals."

Confidence was in short supply after Game4 against the Flyers. New Jersey had outshot Philadelphia 25-21 and outhit it 34-24, but defenseman Colin White said that subtle problems had crept into New Jersey's style after the Devils started the series with a convincing 4-1 victory.

"We were just chasing around the puck," he said. "We totally didn't play our system. We played as individuals."

So Robinson exploded in a garbage-can-kicking rage.

"It's just something that had to be done," the coach said. "I felt our team was much better than they were showing, and I didn't want it to turn into something we were thinking about after it was too late and said, well, we should have done this or we should have done that."

Left wing John Madden had not played that night because of a knee injury. He was sitting in an adjoining room when Robinson let loose. He said it was a moment he will not forget.

"I think it shocked a lot of people because (Robinson is) not like that," Madden said. "He saw we had an opportunity here and we were not taking advantage of it. He made us realize what we had here."

"Larry's not a guy who does that a lot of the time," Niedermayer said. "So when he does it, it gets your attention. It was time for a kick in the butt, and the guys listened."

The Devils outscored the Flyers 8-3 in the final three games, and outshot and outhit them in two.

Stars center Joe Nieuwendyk figures that is the team that will show up for Game1.

"I'm sure they will be physical," he said. "It's up to us forwards to get to the net and get some traffic in front of (goaltender Martin) Brodeur and really go after their defense. If you shy away from what they're trying to do, then they have you."

What the Devils had going into the playoffs were doubts. They had advanced beyond the first round only once since winning the Cup in 1995, and not since 1997.

It was a sorry stretch constantly picked over by the media and fans sick of the Devils wasting notable regular-season results. And don't think the players, after a 103-point regular season, weren't thinking the same thing.

"It creeps into your mind," defenseman Ken Daneyko said. "You have to remember the past is the past and go out and play. We knew we had to get past the first round and quiet some criticism."

So when the Devils swept the Panthers, the monkeys could almost be seen jumping off their backs.

"There was so much relief," Daneyko said. "Fortunately for us, we said we have better things to come. We want more than the first round."

Which made it all the more puzzling to the Devils that it almost slipped away, and all the more painful for Robinson to watch.

"Every time they get hit, I get hit," he said. "Every time they make a big play, I make a big play. That's the beauty of being a coach. You get to see their feelings and the smiles on their faces."

And you find a way to keep them there.

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