During the 1987-88 homestretch drive any Devils defeat hurt but when the rival Rangers happened to be the administrator of the loss, it pained even more.

What especially stung was a loss at Madison Square Garden when the Blueshirts ran rookie goalie Sean Burke out of the net and right to the shower.

Now, with the rematch in East Rutherford, Jim Schoenfeld's sextet was ready for revenge and it couldn't have happened at a more opportune time.

In our ice world there have been hockey games which have been so uniquely special; so extraordinary, that it would be sheer folly for a follow-up melodramatic contest to match the original classic.

So, it was for the Islanders Easter Epic which began on Saturday night, April 18, 1987 and ended early on Easter Sunday, April 19th.

For so many reasons, it was beyond extraordinary, a colossal battle between two game teams, bolstered by superior goalies, Kelly Hrudey (73 saves) and Bob Mason (54 saves). The marathon on April 18, 1987 spanned three regulation periods and four overtimes before Pat LaFontaine finally beat Washington Bob Mason at 8:47 of the fourth sudden-death period to clinch the series in Game Seven.

Legendary hockey reporter and analyst Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," will share his knowledge, humor and insight with readers each Wednesday. Once a month, he will let a picture from his vast collection do the talking in his "Picture is Worth 100 Words" feature.

This month, he writes about goalie Les Binkley, whose perseverance helped him earn a five-season stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins after the NHL's first expansion in 1967.

Hockey people always have had the knack for clever commentary and that includes the Devils and assorted folks who have been associated with the club. Here are my twenty-five favorite New Jersey one-liners from personalities past:

1. EX-DEVS COACH TOM MCVIE ON HOW FAST HE'LL TAKE HIS NEXT JOB: "I can be out of town in twenty minutes; thirty if I have stuff at the cleaners."

2. HERB BROOKS ON HIS BITTER-SWEET JOB COACHING IN NEW JERSEY: "Coaching is like being king; it prepares you for nothing."

3. EX-G.M. LOU LAMORIELLO PUTTING KEN DANEYKO IN HIS PLACE: "A hockey team is like an orchestra. Ken, don't think you're in the violin section; you're on bass drum!"

Read parts one and two of Stan Fischler's three-part series on the Easter Epic.

(Editor's Note: The Islanders-Capitals. Easter Epic, April 18-19, 1987, was rated second greatest game ever by The Hockey News. As for the marathon, after three periods and three overtime periods, the game remained tied. Here's what happened next:)

It was early Easter Sunday when the Islanders and Capitals took the ice for the fourth overtime on April 18-19,1987 in Landover, Maryland.

Most of the capacity crowd at Capital Centre had become exhausted by this marathon seventh game of the series. Some fans couldn't handle the fatigue and just fell asleep in their seats.

Legendary hockey reporter and analyst Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday.

This week's edition features a 1969 interview with Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Primeau, then 63 years old. The meeting took place at Primeau's home in Toronto. They talked about his career as a player and coach with the Maple Leafs, as well as his rare feat of having coached teams that won the Memorial Cup, the Allan Cup and the Stanley Cup.

By the 1987-88 season, it was inevitable that a Devils-Rangers homestretch race for the playoffs would become worthy of a Hollywood scriptwriter.

And so it was, as winter turned to spring and the clubs collided at The Meadowlands Arena in a match that gripped the heartstrings of fans on both sides of the Hudson.

Like a hound pursuing a fox in an English countryside setting, the Devils were hellbent in desperate pursuit of their Trans-Hudson foes. The stakes were high; the tension almost unbearable.

Only a few points separated them; but the Rangers for weeks had steadfastly -- very stubbornly -- held their fourth-place beachhead and were determined not to relinquish it so late in the campaign.

Read part one of Stan Fischler's three-part epic on the Isles-Capitals 1987 Easter Epic

(Editor's Note: The Islanders-Capitals. Easter Epic, April 18-19, 1987, was rated second greatest game ever by The Hockey News. As for the marathon, after three periods and no score -- plus one overtime period -- the game remained tied. Here's what happened next:)

Washington Capitals coach Bryan Murray believed that he had the Islanders on the ropes as the teams skated on to Capital Centre ice for the second sudden-death overtime period.

Legendary hockey reporter and analyst Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his knowledge, humor and insight with readers each Wednesday.

What could be better than a 1987-88 homestretch-playoff-berth race-between the Devils and Rangers?

Not much.

Well, actually, one thing could be better for New Jersey fans, and that would be for the Devils to oust their intensely disliked rival from a playoff berth.

Of course, since the Devils never had gained the post-season before, such glorious thoughts among Garden State fans occasionally were consigned to sleepless nights -- and sweet dreams.

"We knew that eventually, it could happen," said lifelong Devils fan Noam Kogen of Manhattan. "But we dared not believe that it would."