As a New Jersey Devils fan since 1982, this was probably the most anxiety inducing series I’ve been through in my 40 years following this team. Back in January we knew this team was on track to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2018 with a young squad and a chance to undo a decade of misery. But as the regular season began to reach it’s end, one thing continued to worry me; they might face the Rangers.
Oh the hated Rangers, in the World’s Most Famous Arena and every news outlet in this area being pro-Rangers every chance they get. Being in New Jersey, we’ve lived in the shadow of New York City for years, and facing the Rangers, would to me, make an amazing regular season be wasted by a playoff loss. New York City fans have a certain holier-than-thou attitude when it comes to New Jersey. So this series scared me when it became a reality.
Every hockey pundit gave the Devils no shot in hell. Paid pundits on every network and webiste said the Rangers were too experienced, too talented, too strong and the Devils too inexperienced, too young and too soft to keep up. Rangers in 4, Rangers in 5, Rangers in 6 and the occasional Rangers in 7. But never Devils in ANYTHING.
And for the first two games, I hated they were right. I watched as the Devils showed up outclassed and inexperienced and the Rangers took it to them, firing out 10 goals and a quick 2-0 lead. After game two, I plowed through some ice cream and binged a few episodes of Archer. I wrote about that, and how this series was killing me inside.
But for game three, I stopped watching. I couldn’t see my team fail again. And it nearly ended up 3-0 Rangers if not for an overtime goal by Dougie Hamilton to cut the lead to one and keep the dream alive. I didn’t watch, and they won. It worked once, could it work again? So for game 4, I didn’t watch again, and this time, a 3-1 win and suddenly a tied series. Game 5, didn’t watch for a third time, and this time a 4-0 brutal shutout of the Rangers and a 3-2 lead.
Game 6, I chose to watch, and they got killed 5-2. Was I a jinx? It’s weird that the three games I watched, the Devils lost in embarrassing fashion. Couldn’t chance it for an elimination game. So for game 7, with everything on the line I resisted every temptation and chose to not watch:
And true to form, the Devils held the Rangers off the scoreboard and recorded another 4-0 shutout. I admit I started following the game in the third period via the NHL website, but still wasn’t watching (apologies to my wife BTW for scaring her half to death when the Devils scored goal #3) In the end the Devils moved on with their first playoff series win in more than a decade and will face the Hurricanes on Friday. But before we talk about the Canes and round two, let’s look at the oddity of this playoff series:
| Games I Watched | Games I Didn’t Watch |
| Game 1 – 5-1 Loss Game 2 – 5-1 Loss Game 6 – 5-2 Loss | Game 3 – 2-1 Win Game 4 – 3-1 Win Game 5 – 4-0 Win Game 7 – 4-0 Win |
Weird coincidence. In the three games I watched, they were outscored 15-4. In the four games I didn’t, they outscored the Rangers 13-2. Bizarre. Did I indirectly help the team win by NOT watching? Probably not, but no hardcore fans anywhere could fault me for doing what I did.
Right now, the club is probably partying in the locker room harder than any of them ever had in their lives. And damn did they earn it. We’ll talk about the Hurricanes and what to expect later in the week, but for now fellow Devils fans, be proud your young scrappy club took down the Rangers, showed the pundits they were wrong and get to watch this glorious season continue. As for me, I’m not sure what I’ll do on Friday, if I should continue to not watch. Maybe if they lose game 1, I’ll stop watching. Whatever helps the team.
About the author – Scott Churchson has been an actor in every way for the past 13 years, from BG to stand in to stunts and principal, a sports writer for the past 4 and is one of the people that created Stream Punk Entertainment. He’s married to a veterinarian, has a cat with three working legs, a mother-in-law who just moved in and is just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe.
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