PHILADELPHIA (AP) Martin Brodeur missed all the postseason fun a year ago. One of the game's all-time greats, the veteran goaltender considered retirement and the New Jersey Devils were absent from the playoffs for the first time since 1996.
Flash forward a year later. The cheering and hollering from behind closed doors in the Devils locker room could be heard way down the Wells Fargo Center hallway. Days after he turned 40, Brodeur has the Devils back where they've been six other times before in their 30-year history.
The Eastern Conference Finals.
#5 Philadelphia Flyers vs #6 New Jersey Devils
Devils eliminated Flyers from playoffs, win series 4-1 Published on May 8, 2012 by ESPN
Bryce Salvador, David Clarkson and Ilya Kovalchuk scored goals to lift New Jersey to a 3-1 Game 5 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night, sending the Devils into the conference championship round for the first time since 2003.
The Devils await the winner of the New York-Washington series, which the Rangers lead, 3-2. New Jersey rebounded this season under coach Peter DeBoer in his first season on New Jersey's bench after the franchise suffered one of its worst years since general manager Lou Lamoriello took over in 1987.
Brodeur had 27 saves and the Devils hope they can ride him all the way to June one more time.
Dan Gelston is an Associated Press Sports Writer based in Greater Philadelphia Area, Pennsylvania
congrats to the devils and their fans. never bet against brodeur.
NEW YORK (AP) Henrik Lundqvist went from shaking his head in disgust to raising his arms in celebration when time finally ran out on the Washington Capitals.
Such is life as a New York Ranger these days.
Lundqvist was perfect in yet another nail-biting game that was razor close throughout the tension-filled, seven-game series, until the Capitals cut the Rangers' brief two-goal lead to one in the third period of Game 7. But Washington couldn't muster much else, and New York held on for a 2-1 victory on Saturday night that sent the top-seeded Rangers into the Eastern Conference finals against the No. 6 New Jersey Devils.
"We didn't expect the first blowout,'' said Rangers forward Brad Richards, who staked his team to a 1-0 lead just 1:32 in. ''We expected another tight game. It came down to that again. It's just the way this series has gone, and it didn't change."
#1 New York Rangers vs #7 Washington Capitals
Rangers eliminated Capitals from playoffs, win series 4-3 Published on May 12, 2012 by ESPN
Michael Del Zotto also scored for the Rangers, who enjoyed the two-goal lead for all of 38 seconds before Capitals defenseman Roman Hamrlik made it 2-1 with 9:17 remaining.
Coming into Game 7, these teams were tied or within one goal of each other for 90 percent of the time, and the finale provided much of the same.
Lundqvist finished with 22 saves for the Rangers, who improved to 5-0 in Game 7s at Madison Square Garden. Now they will face the Atlantic Division-rival Devils in a rematch of the 1994 East finals, won dramatically by New York on Stephane Matteau's double-overtime goal in Game 7. That propelled the Rangers toward their first Cup title in 54 years.
It was that series that truly put this regional rivalry on an international stage. With stars on both sides, the Rangers and Devils, separated by just six miles and the Hudson River, played 27 periods of dramatic, tense hockey that ultimately resulted in each team winning a Stanley Cup over the next 13 months.
Ira Podell is an Associated Press Sports Writer based in Greater New York City Are, New York
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) A great road playoff run has the Los Angeles Kings in a place they haven't been since the Great One was skating in Southern California.
Dustin Penner scored 17:42 into overtime and the Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night to earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals since 1993.
"It means everything," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. "You grow up your whole life wanting to be in that Stanley Cup final."
The kings of the road, Los Angeles will play for Lord Stanley's cup for the second time as a franchise after taking down the Western Conference's top three seeds.
#3 Phoenix Coyotes vs #8 Los Angeles Kings
Kings eliminated Coyotes from playoffs, win series 4-1 Published on May 22, 2012 by ESPN
The Kings knocked off No. 1 Vancouver, the Presidents' Trophy winner, No. 2 St. Louis and rounded it out with a five-game win over the No. 3 Coyotes in the conference finals to become the second No. 8 seed - along with Edmonton in 2006 - to reach the Stanley Cup finals.
They played hard, utilized their skill and size, and won away from home like no other team in NHL history.
After losing Game 4 at home, Los Angeles closed out Phoenix in the desert for its NHL record eighth straight road victory of the playoffs. The Kings became the first team to go undefeated on the road en route to the Stanley Cup finals and have won 10 straight road playoff games over two seasons, another record.
Anze Kopitar scored Los Angeles' fifth short-handed goal of the playoffs, Drew Doughty had a goal an assist, and Mike Richards also scored for Los Angeles. Jonathan Quick had some big saves in the third period and overtime, and Penner capped it by gathering a bouncing puck and beating Smith for his third goal of the playoffs.
John Marshall is an Associated Press Sports Writer based in Phoenix, Arizona
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) A year after missing the playoffs for the first time since 1996, the New Jersey Devils are going back to the Stanley Cup finals, thanks to a rookie, a 40-year-old goaltender and a coach who'd never been to the postseason in the NHL.
How's that for a turnaround?
Adam Henrique scored off a wild scramble in front at 1:03 into overtime and the Devils defeated the rival New York Rangers, 3-2, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals to advance to their first Stanley Cup finals since 2003.
The Devils will face the Los Angeles Kings for the Cup in a series that will start on Wednesday here.
#1 New York Rangers vs #6 New Jersey Devils
Devils eliminated Rangers from playoffs, win series 4-2 Published on May 25, 2012 by ESPN
This series win came against the Devils' most intense rival, and it was that much sweeter.
"That one was like Christmas," said Henrique, who also scored the series winner as Devils' first-round win over Florida.
It also was needed. The Devils' blew a 2-0 first-period lead and didn't want to head back to New York for a Game 7 on Sunday.
"It didn't matter how it got to overtime, we were in a good position," Devils captain Zach Parise said. "We were at home. We just needed one shot."
Actually, the Devils needed four shots to win the game.
Tom Canavan is an Associated Press Sports Writer based in Greater New York City Area, New York
LOS ANGELES (AP) Dustin Brown practically snatched the Stanley Cup away from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, skating directly to center ice and thrusting it skyward.
Forgive his haste. The Los Angeles Kings' captain had only been waiting his whole life for this moment. The Kings' long-suffering fans had been waiting nearly 45 years for somebody to lift that 36-pound silver trophy and remove the burden on a franchise that had never won an NHL title.
Brown, MVP goalie Jonathan Quick and the late-blooming Kings never flinched under all that weight. After an unbelievable postseason run that ended in a triumphant flurry of blood, sweat and power-play goals in Game 6, they're all champions.
Jeff Carter and Trevor Lewis scored two goals apiece, Quick finished his Conn Smythe Trophy-winning performance with 17 saves, and the Kings beat the New Jersey Devils 6-1 Monday night, becoming the first eighth-seeded playoff team to win the Stanley Cup finals.
#6 New Jersey Devils vs #8 Los Angeles Kings
Kings eliminated Devils to win Stanley Cup, win series 4-2 Published on June 11, 2012 by ESPN
When Lewis scored into Martin Brodeur's empty net with 3:45 to play, the Kings' decades of tension and frustration finally turned into raw anticipation. After 45 years of existence, one tumultuous regular season and two missed chances to clinch the Cup, the Kings knew they were about to be champions for the first time.
Even the sober, serious Quick got happy.
"You get that four-goal lead, you know, it's hard for it not to creep into your head a little bit," he said. "That's when you take a big, deep breath, relax a little bit, and know it's going to happen."
The Kings can exhale. They're reigning over the NHL for the first time.
Brown had a goal and two assists for Los Angeles, which ended its spectacular 16-4 postseason run in front of a crowd including several dozen Kings faithful who have been at rinkside since the team's birth in the Second Six expansion in 1967.
Greg Beacham is an Associated Press Sports Writer based in Los Angeles, California
congrats to the kings and their fans. i always have confident that sutter will eventually win a cup, but not with the kings though, with the sharks! i like his style of play, defense and physical. well, at least the kings won it, not the devils. that helps soften my bitterness.
also, with 9 power plays, that were gifts to the kings. can't expect brodeur to stop them all night after night, no matter how good a goaltender he is.
again, congrats to the kings. they deserved it. they are the best team in the playoff, peaked just at the right time. first #8 seed to win the cup.
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Kings eliminated Devils to win Stanley Cup, win series 4-2 
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