In Conversation with Bruce Driver | 40 YEARS WITH STAN

Bruce Driver played a dozen seasons with the Devils starting with the lean years of the franchise and through the club's maturation. His nobel service as one of the National Hockey League's steadiest defenders finally was rewarded in his final campaign at the Meadowlands.
The Toronto native played a pivotal role in the Garden Staters 1994-95 crusade that led to their Stanley Cup triumph. In a one on one interview, the defenseman discusses some of the most important subjects related to that playoff run. The topics and Bruce's answers follow:

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AFTER HANDILY BEATING THE BRUINS, THE DEVILS NEXT FACED JAROMIR JAGR AND THE PENGUINS. CONFIDENCE WAS BUILDING:

"It was the second deep run in the playoffs for a handful of us. The first was the one in 1987-88 when we squeezed in on the last night of the season and then upset the first-place Islanders in the opening round. After that, we went all the way to the third round before losing to Boston. In beating the Bruins this time we ended the series by winning two one-goal games and that gave us confidence. So, now we're in Pittsburgh and lose the first game of the second round, but it turned out to be our only road loss of the entire 1995 playoffs.
"Despite that first game loss we still were a confident group and proved it by winning Game Two in Pittsburgh. That was a huge one, all things considered. Plus there were positive things about our style that put us in a good position to continue onward and upward. The key was our team game and the ability to play all four forward lines and six defensemen. That strategy helped wear teams down and we wound up beating Jaromir Jagr's team. Now we were becoming more admired around the league but, still, there was quite a ways to go before the Finish Line."

MANY DEVILS HAVE SAID THAT JACQUES LEMAIRE WAS THE BEST COACH THEY EVER HAD. BRUCE DRIVER REMEMBERED A LOT ABOUT WHAT MADE THE FRENCH-CANADIAN MENTOR SO EFFECTIVE:

"Lemaire's attention to detail was probably his very best asset. I learned so much from him, as did the team. He taught us the importance of being in the right spot on the ice when defending. We would work on defensive drills in practice and Jacques would blow his whistle to stop us and literally move a player three feet from where he was standing. 'Don't stand here,' he'd say, 'stand there.' Everyone thought we were this defensive-minded, boring team but Jacques fooled everyone. When we could attack we would; and as hard and as physical as any team. When we saw that the opposing team had good control of the puck, he taught us how to give the opponent one outlet pass so that everyone on our team knew where that pass was going. The plan worked to a high degree and we were able to create turnovers that would result in puck possession and often scoring chances. The words, 'The Trap,' were not part of his or our vocabulary. We forechecked hard when we could and played smart positionally when we couldn't."

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NOW THE DEVILS ACTUALLY WERE THINKING THAT -- FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY -- NEW JERSEY COULD WIN THE STANLEY CUP:

"After beating Pittsburgh, we faced Philadelphia in the third round. The confidence we gained in the first two rounds helped us early in the series against the Flyers but they had different ideas. We won the first two games on the road but the series shifted in Game Three in New Jersey. They beat us in overtime and then beat us again in the Meadowlands in Game Four to even the series.
"From a personal standpoint, the pain was even worse for me. I took a hit in Game Three that separated the cartilage in my ribs and I was out of commission. Missing the rest of Game Three and then Games Four through Six was a helpless feeling. But the team bounced back in Game Five at The Spectrum. Claude Lemieux scored some big goals in the series and got the winner late in Game Five on a long shot from the right boards. Claude thrived in the playoffs and loved being the difference in a physical series, and this one certainly was an example of that. His long-shot goal that beat goalie Ron Hextall was huge and put us up three games to two. Then he scored another third-period goal in Game Six to help us close out the series."

NEW JERSEY'S GOALIE, MARTIN BRODEUR, STILL WAS QUITE YOUNG BUT PLAYED LIKE AN UNBOTHERED VETERAN:

"Marty was a hard-working goaltender who played with passion but always was under control. He became great. But, like all players who are the best, he did so by being one of the best players in every practice and in every game. He loved the game and enjoyed every minute that he was on the ice. With that in mind, I'm sure that the pressure of playing in the playoffs in tight games didn't bother him at all. He truly was/is the best goalie of all time."

BRUCE DRIVER'S INJURY WAS SERIOUS ENOUGH TO POSSIBLY KEEP HIM FROM PLAYING IN THE FINAL ROUND, YET HE MIRACULOUSLY CAME BACK.

"I was so fortunate to play in the Final against Detroit thanks to our trainer Ted Schuch. Somehow he found a place where I could get laser treatments done on my ribs. At the time, laser treatments were widely used in Canada and Europe but not in America. But Ted found a chiropractor in Rahway who was using laser experimentally. So, I made the daily visits to try and recover more quickly and got lucky. Amazingly, it worked. To me, it was a miracle that it worked and I was ready to go once the Final series against the Red Wings rolled around."

MOST MEDIA TYPES PREDICTED A QUICK AND EASY DETROIT VICTORY:

"We were aware that most in the media gave us little to no chance in the series. But by the time we got to the final round --- and after going through the misery of losing Game Seven the previous year to the Rangers -- we had gone through the learning process. That was part of it. The other part was that we now had confidence in each other and our games so far. As we approached the Final series with Detroit, we resonated more confidence within us, and that positive feeling was translated to the ice.
"We started fast in the first two games at Joe Louis Arena, winning both and that was just what the doctor ordered. By the time we returned to New Jersey for Games Three and Four, the reporters had changed their tune and now the media was saying that the Red Wings needed to change their games in order to compete with us. That didn't change our plans; we figured that it would be business as usual when we returned home. Reviewing that Final round you will find that we played four great playoff games and that's how we won The Stanley Cup. And, furthermore, our record of 16-4 in those playoffs -- not to mention 10-1 on the road -- goes down in hockey history as a huge accomplishment."

AS THE DEVILS WRAPPED UP GAME FOUR AGAINST DETROIT, PLAYERS REACTED EMOTIONALLY. MIKE PELUSO EVEN REFUSED TO TAKE A FINAL SHIFT AS HE OPENLY WEPT ON THE BENCH. BRUCE DRIVER REMEMBERS:

"I was on the bench when Mike began to weep. He was such a warrior, but I think we all felt some of the same feelings, but they just didn't creep out like they did for Mike. A few of us comforted him, but he was so darn overcome with emotion. Mike's passion and love of the game and what winning the Stanley Cup meant to him was quite evident that night!
"Most Canadians dream of winning a Stanley Cup. As a kid growing up in Toronto, I had many fond memories of pretending to score the game-winner in the Cup-clinching game. Winning The Cup the way we did truly was a dream come true!"