Devils' Cup win in 1995 not only time experts were wrong in playoffs

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

This week, Fischler offers five unexpected Stanley Cup Playoff results from the past.

ISLANDERS-RANGERS, 1975 first round

General manager Bill Torrey built the three-year-old New York Islanders from scratch when they earned a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 1975. In a fun twist, the New York Rangers were their first playoff opponent.

Hockey experts expected the best-of-3 first-round series against the Islanders to be a cakewalk for the Rangers.

Islanders defenseman Jean Potvin thought so, too.

"We joked a lot about how nervous we were and that helped relieve the tension," Potvin said.

Somehow, the Islanders shook off their nerves and won 3-2 in Game 1 on a goal by Clark Gillies. When the Rangers overwhelmed the Islanders 8-3 in Game 2 on Long Island, they seemed to have the series back under their control.

"The Islanders lost their cool," Rangers forward Rod Gilbert said. "It's going to be awfully tough for them to come back now."

But the deciding game was tied 3-3 at the end of regulation. Still the Madison Square Garden crowd figured that a Rangers team full of veteran players would win in overtime. Off the opening face-off, the visitors sent the puck into the right corner. Jude Drouin retrieved it and spotted J.P. Parise in front of the net. Drouin passed the puck and Parise deflected it past Rangers goalie Ed Giacomin. The first playoff installment of this great rivalry was settled in 11 seconds of overtime.

The upset was so unexpected that the Islanders publicity director, Hawley Chester III, could do only one thing. He wept uncontrollably!

RANGERS-ISLANDERS, 1979 semi-finals

The Islanders were an NHL powerhouse in 1978-79, leading the League with 117 points. They were clear favorites to reach their first Stanley Cup Final. The only thing that stood in their way was their main rival, the Rangers.

A reversal from the 1975 playoffs, the Islanders were the deeply talented team and the Rangers were the upstarts. But behind the stellar play of goalie John Davidson and big series from Don Maloney, Bobby Sheehan and Ron Greschner, the Rangers stunned the Islanders and won the best-of-7 semi-finals in six games.

The loss nearly cost legendary Islanders coach Al Arbour his job. But the Islanders bounced back, winning the Stanley Cup each of the next four seasons.

FLAMES-OILERS, 1986 Smythe Division Final

After ending the Islanders' "Drive for Five" and winning their first Stanley Cup in 1984, the Edmonton Oilers had become the League's next dominant team. They won the Cup again in 1985 and were heavy favorites for a "Threepeat" in 1986.

Led by future Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr and Paul Coffey, the Oilers were expected to dispose of the Calgary Flames in "The Battle of Alberta" second-round playoff series. Unexpectedly, the underdog Flames pushed the series to a climactic seventh game. In a stunning misplay, Edmonton defenseman Steve Smith's behind-the-net pass caromed off Fuhr's pads and into the net for what turned out to be the series-winning goal. It's one of the all-time gaffes in NHL history and led to a major playoff upset.

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DEVILS-RED WINGS, 1995 Stanley Cup Final

In the lockout-shortened season in 1995, the New Jersey Devils were a good team but far from dominant. The Detroit Red Wings, on the other hand, were a Stanley Cup favorite with stars Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov and Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman.

New Jersey started each playoff round on the road and won each series to reach the Cup Final against Detroit. Many hockey experts predicted a four-game sweep for the Red Wings. But backed by Martin Brodeur's airtight goaltending, the Devils opened the series with two wins at Joe Louis Arena.

And they kept going, playing a stifling team defense with their notorious trap, the Devils won the next two games on home ice. The Devils not only won their first Stanley Cup but shocked the so-called experts with their own sweep in the Final.

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ISLANDERS-PENGUINS, 1993 Patrick Division Final

Led by Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis, the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992 and were looking to to win the Cup a third straight season in 1993. In fact, the Penguins were trying to become only the second team from the United States to win the Cup in three consecutive seasons.

The other was the Islanders (1980-83). And that's whom the Penguins played in the second round in 1993. Pittsburgh was the heavy favorite, having won the President's Trophy for best regular-season record and finishing 32 points ahead of the Islanders.

Yet, here they were, pushed to Game 7 on home ice, having forced overtime when Rick Tocchet scored at 19:00 of the third period. But with the Igloo rocking and the Islanders on their heels, the unthinkable happened. Islanders forward David Volek stepped out of coach Al Arbour's doghouse and scored at 5:16 of overtime, shockingly ending the Penguins' championship reign.

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