THIS DAY IN DEVILS HISTORY: April 4

On this day in 2003, the New Jersey Devils would secure their run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, one where Scott Stevens would hoist the Stanley Cup over his head on three months later. And they clinched it in style, over their most storied rival.
A 2-1 victory on April 4, 2003, over the New York Rangers, the Devils secured the Atlantic Division title and their spot in the post-season.

''Winning our division, that's what we had at stake,'' Joe Nieuwendyk said after the game. ''We played a solid team game.''
That solid team game was backboned by Martin Brodeur in net, who made 18 saves on 19 shots for his 41st win of the year. Meanwhile, the Devils threw 41 shots at Rangers netminder Mike Dunham.
Scott Niedermayer snapped a 22-game scoreless streak with a power-play goal at 4:43 of the second to tie the game at one. Just over 10 minutes later Jeff Friesen's 23rd goal of the season with 5:06 left in the second period gave New Jersey the 2-1 lead the team would hold through the rest of the game.
The Rangers lead the game for just 2:43.
If clinching the title wasn't enough, the Devils win also eliminated the Rangers from the post-season, marking the fifth year in a row the Rangers failed the qualify.
As for the Devils and their 2003 Cup run that started with clinching the division? Well, you know the rest of the story…