Chicago & MacLean | RING OF HONOR

Rapture, bliss, elation, jubilation, euphoria.

Take your pick.

When it comes to describing what effect John MacLean's 1988 playoff-making goal meant to Devils fans, any of the above five emotions will do - and then some.

Personally, The Maven will take the entire quintet and throw in one more - gratitude. I say that because - having been part of the 1988 SportsChannel Devils broadcast team - I was as emotionally involved with the joyous outcome as any Devil on the ice or, for that matter, any fan watching the game on TV, or listening to the radio.

The melodrama actually began on the afternoon of Sunday, April 3, 1988. That night either the hated New York Rangers or the beloved Devils would gain a playoff berth. For the Blueshirts, born in 1926, making the postseason was nothing new. On the other hand, the Devils had been in the league for six years without having indulged in a single playoff.

"It came down to the last game of the season," remembered Mister Devil, Ken Daneyko. "Either we were going to make it, or the Rangers would."

Both New Jersey and New York were tied with 80 points apiece. The Blueshirts season finale was at Madison Square Garden against the weaker Quebec Nordiques. The anticipated Rangers win would give them 82 points and 36 wins.

Thus, the Devils had to win their game against the Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium so they could have 82 points and 38 victories. To break the deadlock the NHL gave preference to the team with the most wins. Hence, the Devils would be in by beating Chicago.

"Because of the time difference," said Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld, "the Rangers game was an hour before we started. We eventually knew that they had beaten Quebec so our work was cut out for us: beat Chicago or go home!"

Schony's plan was simple enough. Start rookie Sean Burke in goal and hope for the best.

It was a good idea because Burke had compiled an extraordinary 9-1-0 record since becoming a Devil after starring in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

Burke started smiling in the second period.

"Kenny Daneyko, of all people, scored to give us the lead in the second period," recalled Burke, now a goalie coach for the Vegas Golden Knights.

The time was 11:07 but the lead didn't last four minutes. Denis Savard scored for the home club at 13:53 and 35 seconds after that, Dirk Graham fooled Burke and Chicago grabbed a 2-1 advantage at 14:29 of the middle stanza.

All signs indicated that the Hawks would exit the second period with the lead but late in the period peripatetic Pat Verbeek knocked home a rebound of defenseman Craig Wolanin's power-play drive.

Into the third period they skated and just short of the ten-minute mark Chicago's Troy Murray cleanly beat Burke. It now was 3-2 for the Blackhawks and time was running out on New Jersey.

Schoenfeld: "We had over ten minutes left. I figured we could at least tie the score and, hopefully, win it in overtime. I knew that my guys weren't going to quit."

Nor did they. Just seconds short of the 12-minute mark, New Jersey's Mark Johnson fired the puck at Chicago goalie Darren Pang who made the save but allowed a rebound. Skating in from the left side, John MacLean seized the biscuit and - WHAM! - it's a 3-3 hockey game right down to the buzzer that ended regulation time. The decisive overtime period was next.

"We knew a tie would do us no good," said Devils captain Kirk Muller. "But we also knew that we didn't want to give up a goal because a defeat would be just as bad. The trick was to play a solid overtime and hope for a break."

Like his teammates, Ken Daneyko was trying to calm his runaway emotions while simultaneously finding a way to win the game.

"Schony had me on the ice in overtime," said Daneyko, "along with my defense partner Joe Cirella. I actually had a great opportunity to get a second goal, but it didn't happen."

With the puck still in the enemy zone, Dano's hope was that somehow he - or one of his buddies - could regain possession of the puck as Chicago tried a clearing attempt.

Matthew Blittner, author of "Unforgettable Devils," pinpointed Daneyko's moves leading to the winning goal.

Daneyko: "Cirella - at the blue line - was able to prevent the Chicago clearing attempt. He took a quick, little snapshot from the right side and Pang made the save but the puck caromed right out to Johnny (Mac) in the high slot. I was really five or six feet behind Mac so I could see him perfectly. The puck was kicked right out and Johnny got to the rebound."

Dano added: "I had a pretty good vantage point, and I could kind of see the puck going in - but all I cared about was that it was in and, at that point, it was pandemonium and we went nuts, like kids in a candy store."

Larry Brooks, the Devils PR man, also was doubling as broadcast analyst at the game. He never forgot it either. In Blittner's book, Brooks detailed his feelings in overtime as the Garden Staters attacked the Chicago zone.

"It was nerve-wracking," said Brooks. "I remember the Blackhawks' clearing attempt was held at the blue line by (Devils defenseman) Joe Cirella who then took a shot. There was a rebound and then MacLean moved in and scored."

The moment the red light flashed, Brooks halted his gig as "color" commentator for the Devils radio broadcast, pulled off his headset, slammed it down and ran all the way downstairs to the visitors' locker room in the bowels of Chicago Stadium.

Brooks: "I went down there immediately because my next job was to oversee the post-game clubhouse. Looking backward, I can say it clearly was the most memorable game the Devils played while I was there."

Then, a pause: "After the three Stanley Cup wins, that game in Chicago was the fourth most memorable game in franchise history.

"And the fourth most important goal in their history was Johnny Mac's!"