2007–08 New Jersey Devils season

Regular season

Under new coach Brent Sutter and many roster changes, including the departures of defenseman Brian Rafalski in free agency to his hometown Detroit Red Wings, and center Scott Gomez to the Devils arch rival New York Rangers, the Devils began the first nine games of the season on the road while construction was being finished up for the Devils new home arena, the Prudential Center. The team struggled in the first 19 games, going 7–10–2. The Devils were shut out a league-high 11 times during the regular season. Despite this, they still qualified for the playoffs with 99 points, placing second in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference.

• November 17, 2007: In an impressive 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, Martin Brodeur earned his 500th career win.

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Playoffs

The New Jersey Devils clinched a playoff spot following a 2–1 overtime victory against the New York Islanders on April 1, 2008, their 79th game of the season. They were the third team in the East to clinch a spot in the playoffs, and finished fourth in the Eastern Conference with 99 points. This was their 11th consecutive trip to the playoffs, and their 18th overall since making the playoffs for the first time during the 1987–88 season.

The New Jersey Devils played the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, losing the series 4–1, including three losses at their home arena in Newark. This was the fifth meeting between the two clubs. The Rangers took the first three series, winning 4 games to 3 in the 1992 Patrick Division Semi-finals, 4–3 again in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, and 4–1 in the 1997 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Most recently, the Devils swept the Rangers in the 2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Schedule and results

Preseason

|- | 1 || September 17 || 2–3 || Philadelphia Flyers || Sovereign Bank Arena || 0–1–0 || |- | 2 || September 20 || 3–0 || Boston Bruins || Verizon Wireless Arena || 1–1–0 || |- | 3 || September 21 || 3–4 || New York Rangers || Madison Square Garden || 1–2–0 || |- | 4 || September 24 || 3–1 || Philadelphia Flyers || Wachovia Center || 2–2–0 || |- | 5 || September 26 || 6–1 || New York Islanders || Tsongas Arena || 3–2–0 || |- | 6 || September 29 || 2–1 || New York Islanders || Arena at Harbor Yard || 4–2–0 ||

| Legend:

Regular season

|- | 1 || October 4 || New Jersey || 1 – 3 || Tampa Bay || || Brodeur || 19,454 || 0–1–0 || 0 || |- | 2 || October 6 || New Jersey || 4 – 1 || Florida || || Weekes || 19,250 || 1–1–0 || 2 || |- | 3 || October 8 || New Jersey || 2 – 4 || Ottawa || || Brodeur || 18,260 || 1–2–0 || 2 || |- | 4 || October 11 || New Jersey || 0 – 3 || Florida || || Brodeur || 10,847 || 1–3–0 || 2 || |- | 5 || October 13 || New Jersey || 6 – 5 || Atlanta || || Brodeur || 15,606 || 2–3–0 || 4 || |- | 6 || October 17 || New Jersey || 5 – 4 || Pittsburgh || || Brodeur || 16,990 || 3–3–0 || 6 || |- | 7 || October 18 || New Jersey || 0 – 4 || Philadelphia || || Brodeur || 19,113 || 3–4–0 || 6 || |- | 8 || October 20 || New Jersey || 3 – 4 || NY Islanders || OT || Weekes || 14,092 || 3–4–1 || 7 || |- | 9 || October 25 || New Jersey || 0 – 2 || NY Rangers || || Brodeur || 18,200 || 3–5–1 || 7 || |- | 10 || October 27 || Ottawa || 4 – 1 || New Jersey || || Brodeur || 17,625 || 3–6–1 || 7 || |- | 11 || October 31 || Tampa Bay || 1 – 6 || New Jersey || || Brodeur || 13,218 || 4–6–1 || 9 ||

| Legend:

Playoffs

|- | 1 || April 9 || NY Rangers || 4 – 1 || New Jersey || || Brodeur || 17,625 || 0 – 1 || |- | 2 || April 11 || NY Rangers || 2 – 1 || New Jersey || || Brodeur || 17,625 || 0 – 2 || |- | 3 || April 13 || New Jersey || 4 – 3 || NY Rangers || OT || Brodeur || 18,200 || 1 – 2 || |- | 4 || April 16 || New Jersey || 3 – 5 || NY Rangers || || Brodeur || 18,200 || 1 – 3 || |- | 5 || April 18 || NY Rangers ||5 – 3 || New Jersey || ||Brodeur || 17,625 || 1 – 4 ||

| Legend:

Player statistics

Regular season

;Scoring

;Goaltending

Playoffs

;Scoring

;Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

  MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T/OT = Ties/overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage; 

Awards and records

Awards

Nominations

Milestones

Transactions

The Devils have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.

Trades

Free agents

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Draft picks

New Jersey's picks at the 2007 NHL entry draft in Columbus, Ohio.

Media

Television coverage was on FSN New York (formerly SportsChannel New York and FOX Sports Net New York) with Mike Emrick and Chico Resch providing play-by-play with Steve Cangialosi and former Devil Ken Daneyko as color commentators. FSN New York, which was owned by Cablevision which at the time also owned MSG Network, was re-branded MSG Plus the following season. Radio coverage was still on WFAN 660 with Matt Loughlin and Sherry Ross.

References

References

1. [https://www.espn.com/nhl/ ESPN – NHL Attendance Leaders – National Hockey League]
2. National Hockey League. (2010). "The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011". Triumph Books.
3. "2007-08 NHL Schedule and Results".
4. (November 17, 2007). "Brodeur closes down Flyers to collect 500th victory".
5. "2007-08 New Jersey Devils Schedule".
6. "2007-08 New Jersey Devils Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com.
7. [http://devils.nhl.com/team/app?gameNumber=68&gameType=2&page=Recap&season=20072008&service=page New Jersey Devils - Recap: New Jersey @ Atlanta - 10/13/2007]
8. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080115210542/http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=280112002 Shootout loss extends Sabres' winless streak 9 games]
9. [http://devils.nhl.com/team/app?gameNumber=728&gameType=2&page=Recap&season=20072008&service=page New Jersey Devils - Recap: New Jersey @ Philadelphia - 01/22/2008]
10. 2007 NHL Entry Draft Results [http://www.nhl.com/futures/2007draft/ nhl.com] {{dead link. (January 2017)