New Coach, Same Result | SUNDAYS WITH STAN

Reaching back to their memory bank as training camp opened at South Mountain Arena, the Devils had reason to be both motivated and angry.
They had been a dominating team during the previous (1997-98) season but exited the opening round to Ottawa faster than you can say "Heads will roll."
The disappointing loss to the Senators, coupled with Jacques Lemaire's brouhaha with the media prior to the final game in Ottawa, was enough for Lou Lamoriello.
The Boss' buddy - and Jacques and Lou did remain close forever - had to go and he did.
"We'll go in a different direction," Lamoriello announced; and he sure did.
In May 1998 Robbie Ftorek was hired as Lemiare's replacement. Unlike his French-Canadian predecessor, Ftorek was a New Englander who preferred sweaters as his natural behind-the-bench attire.

A longtime hockey guy, Ftorek had obtained his credentials at virtually every level both as a player and bench boss.
"It was a hire that made sense," one of the beat reporters observed after Robbie took control of the team. "It'll make more sense if he can get them past the first playoff round and maybe even win another Cup for New Jersey."
Ftorek inherited a somewhat different lineup than Lemaire's when Jacques orchestrated New Jersey's first championship. Absent were such heroes as Bill Guerin, Stephane Richer and Claude Lemieux.
"I still have a good nucleus from the Cup year," said Ftorek, "and I'll build around it."
The core included defensemen Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer - both future Hall of Famers - along with Ken Daneyko. Other vets from the '95 fraternity were centers Bobby Holik and Bobby Carpenter.
Best of all, another future Hall of Famer, Martin Brodeur, was back in goal and considered one of the National Hockey League's best goaltenders.
"There was a lot to like about our club," Marty opined, and the well-balanced club went out and proved Brodeur's point.
Lamoriello infused youth with the vets and the chemistry worked like a charm. Young Czech forward Petr Sykora and his fellow countryman Patrik Ellias galvanized the offense along with tall center Jason Arnott. The trio would come to be named "The A Line."
For back-up goaltending, Lou imported Chris Terreri who'd been Providence College netminder when Lamoriello coached the team. Terreri and Marty had been paired before and got along splendidly.
So did the Devils. By Thanksgiving they had established themselves as a contender and betrayed few weaknesses.
"All things being equal," predicted Sykora, "we should have a deep playoff run."
Surely, the arithmetic was on their side. You didn't have to be a master of analytics to appreciate the Devils. They finished with a league-leading road record and totaled 105 points to lead their division over Philadelphia by a dozen points.
Sykora enjoyed a trifecta,leading the team in points (72), goals (29) and assists (43). Meanwhile, captain Stevens excelled on defense and paced the team in plus-minus with a resounding plus-29.
MSG Networks' researcher Leo Scaglione, Jr. had become a Sykora fan like so many Garden State ice followers.
"This was Sykora's first full season with the Devils," Leo remembered. "He previously had spent time between Albany and New Jersey. Now he'd come into his own. Skating with Elias and Arnott, Petr had a ball. That 'A Line' sure was fun to watch."
Brodeur's numbers weren't too shabby either with a 2.29 goals-against average coupled with the fact that he had rapidly reached his peak as a top puck-stopper.
Division-winners with 105 points (47-24-11), and top seed in the Eastern Conference, everything had turned up roses for Ftorek.
"The regular season record was just fine," noted Holik, "but we all know we're in this to win The Cup."
Author-historian George Falkowski was impressed by the regular season success. "It was a third straight strong season," said Falkowski, "but they were haunted by the two previous - make that unforgivable - playoff flops. Now came a third try."
Easy, it would not be; and just everybody in East Rutherford knew that. The club's first round foe would be the Pittsburgh Penguins armed with offensive superstar Jaromir Jagr and his Czech sidekick, Martin Straka.
The series began with a 3-1 New Jersey victory but it turned out to be just the top of the see-saw. Pittsburgh rebounded in East Rutherford, 4-1, and followed that with a 4-2 triumph in The Steel City.
Now was the time for Ftorek to rally the troops and he sure did. The Devils won Game 4 in Pittsburgh, 4-2, and returned home and pleased Garden State fans with a 4-3 squeaker.
"Game 6 was looking good as well," Falkowski recalled. "The Devils were just over two minutes from knocking out the Pens in six. Then, Jagr tied it late and won it in overtime to tie the series.
"The Devils never recovered although Game 7 was close until Straka's third period dagger - his sixth of the series - finished off New Jersey, 4-2."
For Lamoriello, Inc. the decade ended dismally with a hat trick of playoff defeats. The Devils were getting a rep they did not want to hear about.
Falkowski: "They were being called 'playoff chokers' and beyond that people were whispering that Marty Brodeur was not the big-game goalie that he appeared to be in 1995. But he still was young and so was the team."
Taking their sticks and hockey bags, the Devils left for the summer many thinking - if not singing - a hit Broadway tune, "Our Day Will Come!"
Who knew when?
Time would tell,. but that timewould happen a lot sooner than many skeptics had thought!