Eleventh Heaven For Devils Gives Them Sixth Atlantic Crown

Apparently, the stars were aligned for these comeback Devils. Left for dead before this miraculous run of 11 straight, they saved their best comeback against Montreal in an improbable 4-3 win at Bell Centre Tuesday to capture their sixth Atlantic Division in nine seasons.

At one point they trailed the Flyers by 19 points on January 6. By overcoming that deficit, they recorded the biggest comeback to claim a division since the league split into two conferences back in 1974-75. The Red Wings held the previous record, coming back from 18 down in '93-94.

"I don't think it's sunk in," Jamie Langenbrunner expressed to the AP. "We were basically so far out of it even three weeks ago that somehow we won this division and have home ice is; I think we're all a little bit in shock about that. But we definitely earned it."

Coupled with the Flyers' 4-1 win over the Islanders and the Rangers' 5-1 loss to Ottawa, the Devils clinched home ice due to holding two tiebreakers over Philadelphia. In the last nine days, the roles reversed between the Devils and their Lincoln Tunnel rivals, the Rangers. Rewarded for how they finished the season while New York dropped their final five, it's the Devils who will now host the Rangers in what promises to be an exciting first round series.

It will be the fourth time they have met in the playoffs and first since the last time the Rangers made the playoffs in 1997. The Devils will try to carry their momentum into this match-up and alter recent history. They have never defeated the Rangers in a playoff series going 0-for-3 in '92, '94 and '97. But that's all ancient history. A once again heated rivalry is alive. The battle begins this Saturday.

All of this wouldn't have even been believable three weeks ago. After a stinging home loss to Toronto March 26, the Devils trailed the Rangers by 13 points. Amazingly, they were only three points up on Atlanta for the final spot. But after a team meeting before a pivotal game at Ottawa, they rebounded to play their best hockey of the season. Now, they enter the Stanley Cup tournament as the league's hottest team and are playing with remarkable confidence.

However, more than halfway through against the Canadiens, it didn't look plausible. Flat from the outset, the Devils fell behind by three goals. After building a two-goal first period lead on goals by Craig Rivet and Tomas Plekanec, Devil killer Alexei Kovalev struck to make it 3-0 at 14:14 of the second. Taking a pass from Mike Ribeiro, he wheeled around Brad Lukowich and flipped a backhand past Martin Brodeur for his 23rd.

But just over three minutes later, the Devils got one back thanks to Brian Gionta. After tying Pat Verbeek's team record in a win Sunday, the emerging Hart Trophy candidate broke it when he rebounded home a Scott Gomez shot for his 47th at 17:18. It extended Gionta's point streak to 15 straight, matching Patrik Elias' team record. The goal would prove enormous and set the stage for a dramatic third period comeback.

With Montreal clinging to a two-goal lead and sitting back, the Devils pressed to get back in it. Finally awarded a power play with 9:49 left, they made their move. Gionta buried his second of the game off a rebound for his 48th to cut it to 3-2 with 8:31 left.

After a clutch stop by Martin Brodeur on Richard Zednik, they tied it thanks to Patrik Elias. Off a Gomez rush, Elias took a feed and walked around two Habs and then whipped a wrist shot past Cristobal Huet to suddenly tie the score with 5:05 to go.

"We knew what was going on," Gionta admitted. "Down 3-1 going into the third and with a chance for a division title, we had to throw everything on the line."

Fully aware that the Rangers had lost and the Flyers won, the Devils went for the kill. It would come when Jamie Langenbrunner notched his 19th with just 2:23 remaining. Off a Montreal turnover, the Devils cameback three-on-one. Taking a pass from Lukowich, Langenbrunner faked pass and then wristed one by Huet to give them the lead. Embraced by teammates, he pumped his fist.

"I was definitely excited," Langenbrunner said. "To be able to help your team clinch a division is definitely a good feeling, especially considering all that we've been through this year with our struggles early on, players leaving and coaches quitting. It's been quite a year."

"To win 11 in a row at the end of the year is quite an accomplishment, especially the schedule we were playing, against pretty much all playoff teams," Langenbrunner said. "We're excited about the way we're playing, but this team is built to play in the playoffs and that's what we base our accomplishments on and we're excited about our opportunity now."

They'll get that chance starting Saturday against the Rangers.

Notes: In making 29 saves, Brodeur won his 11th straight to notch his 43rd victory of the season, matching a career high. ... Huet finished with 36 saves to absorb the loss. Despite losing, the Canadiens clinched the seventh seed due to Tampa Bay's loss to Washington. Montreal will meet Carolina in the first round. ... Defenseman Colin White sat out due to a groin injury and is uncertain for Game One. ... With two assists, Gomez finished the season with a seven-game scoring streak (6-9-15). ... With a goal and assist, Elias had his fourth consecutive multi-point game and had nine points in the last five. In his final nine, Elias was 7-10-17.