2005–06 New Jersey Devils season

2005–06 New Jersey Devils
Atlantic Division Champions
Division 1st Atlantic
Conference 3rd Eastern
2005–06 record 46–27–9
Goals for 242
Goals against 229
Team information
General Manager Lou Lamoriello
Coach Larry Robinson (Oct-Dec)
Lou Lamoriello (Dec-May) interim
Captain Vacant
Alternate captains Patrik Elias
John Madden
Alexander Mogilny (Oct-Jan)
Colin White
Brian Rafalski
Arena Continental Airlines Arena
Average attendance 14,230
Team leaders
Goals Brian Gionta (48)
Assists Scott Gomez (51)
Points Brian Gionta (89)
Penalties in minutes Cam Janssen (91)
Colin White (91)
Plus/minus Brian Gionta (+18)
Wins Martin Brodeur (43)
Goals against average Martin Brodeur (2.57)
<2004–05 2006–07>

The 2005–06 New Jersey Devils season was the team's 24th in the National Hockey League since the franchise moved to New Jersey. It was the team's first season back after the NHL canceled the previous season, due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout. The Devils rallied from a poor first half of the season to win the Atlantic Division title on the last day of the season. For the first time, the Devils defeated the New York Rangers in a playoff series, sweeping their rivals in their opening-round matchup.

Contents

Season overview

Many of the Devils' players had played in other leagues while the National Hockey League was inactive due to the lockout. Most notably was Patrik Elias, who missed the first 39 games of the season due to catching Hepatitis A while playing for the Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Super League.[1] With many new rule changes for the 2005-06 season, the Devils had to change their style of play. Martin Brodeur, one of the best puck-handling goalies, could no longer use this to his advantage as before, since restrictions were placed on where goalies could handle the puck. The Devils also lost long-time captain Scott Stevens and his physically punishing style of play to retirement, as well as another longtime defenseman Scott Niedermayer to free agency.

In July 2005, the team announced that head coach Pat Burns would not return for the season after being diagnosed with cancer for the second time in little more than a year.[2] Assistant coach Larry Robinson, the team's head coach from 2000 to 2002, was promoted to start the season.

The Devils struggled early in the 2005–06 season, ending the 2005 calendar year with a 16-18-5 record.[3] Robinson resigned as head coach on December 19, and Lamoriello moved down to the bench.[4] Once Elias returned from his bout with hepatitis, the team quickly turned around with a 9-game winning streak, finishing 46-27-9 after a season-ending eleven-game winning streak capped with a dramatic 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens. During that final victory, which clinched the Devils' sixth division title, Brian Gionta set a new team record for goals in a season with 48, topping Pat Verbeek's 46.[5] The win streak to close the year was also an NHL record.[6]

On April 29, 2006, the Devils won their first round Stanley Cup playoff series against the New York Rangers four games to none, extending their winning streak to fifteen games and marking the first time the Devils defeated their cross-river rival in a playoff series. The team's season ended in the next round with an 4-1 Game 5 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, who eventually won the Stanley Cup.

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division
No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 3 New Jersey Devils 82 46 27 9 242 229 101
2 5 Philadelphia Flyers 82 45 26 11 267 259 101
3 6 New York Rangers 82 44 26 12 257 215 100
4 12 New York Islanders 82 36 40 6 230 278 78
5 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 82 22 46 14 244 316 58

[7]

Game log

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 7, 2005 5–1 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 1–0–0
2 L October 7, 2005 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 1–1–0
3 W October 8, 2005 3–2 OT New York Rangers (2005–06) 2–1–0
4 L October 13, 2005 1–4 @ New York Rangers (2005–06) 2–2–0
5 L October 15, 2005 1–6 Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 2–3–0
6 W October 18, 2005 4–3 Florida Panthers (2005–06) 3–3–0
7 W October 20, 2005 6–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 4–3–0
8 L October 22, 2005 3–4 @ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 4–4–0
9 L October 26, 2005 3–6 Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 4–5–0
10 W October 28, 2005 3–2 Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 5–5–0
11 W October 29, 2005 5–4 SO @ Boston Bruins (2005–06) 6–5–0
12 L November 1, 2005 3–4 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 6–5–1
13 L November 3, 2005 2–4 New York Rangers (2005–06) 6–6–1
14 L November 5, 2005 2–3 SO @ New York Rangers (2005–06) 6–6–2
15 L November 8, 2005 1–4 New York Islanders (2005–06) 6–7–2
16 W November 11, 2005 4–3 @ Washington Capitals (2005–06) 7–7–2
17 W November 12, 2005 3–2 Washington Capitals (2005–06) 8–7–2
18 L November 15, 2005 1–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 8–8–2
19 W November 18, 2005 5–3 Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 9–8–2
20 L November 19, 2005 4–5 @ Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 9–9–2
21 W November 23, 2005 5–1 @ Florida Panthers (2005–06) 10–9–2
22 W November 25, 2005 8–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 11–9–2
23 W November 29, 2005 3–2 Boston Bruins (2005–06) 12–9–2
24 L November 30, 2005 1–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 12–10–2
25 W December 3, 2005 3–2 SO Minnesota Wild (2005–06) 13–10–2
26 L December 6, 2005 2–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (2005–06) 13–11–2
27 L December 7, 2005 1–4 Calgary Flames (2005–06) 13–12–2
28 L December 9, 2005 3–4 SO Colorado Avalanche (2005–06) 13–12–3
29 L December 11, 2005 2–3 OT @ Columbus Blue Jackets (2005–06) 13–12–4
30 W December 13, 2005 2–1 SO Edmonton Oilers (2005–06) 14–12–4
31 L December 15, 2005 2–3 OT Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 14–12–5
32 L December 17, 2005 1–4 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 14–13–5
33 W December 20, 2005 3–1 @ New York Rangers (2005–06) 15–13–5
34 L December 21, 2005 2–4 @ New York Islanders (2005–06) 15–14–5
35 L December 23, 2005 0–1 Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 15–15–5
36 L December 26, 2005 1–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 15–16–5
37 W December 28, 2005 7–2 Washington Capitals (2005–06) 16–16–5
38 L December 29, 2005 2–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 16–17–5
39 L December 31, 2005 3–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 16–18–5
40 W January 3, 2006 3–0 Florida Panthers (2005–06) 17–18–5
41 W January 5, 2006 5–4 Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 18–18–5
42 W January 7, 2006 3–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 19–18–5
43 W January 9, 2006 3–0 Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 20–18–5
44 W January 13, 2006 3–0 Vancouver Canucks (2005–06) 21–18–5
45 W January 15, 2006 3–2 SO @ Chicago Blackhawks (2005–06) 22–18–5
46 W January 17, 2006 5–3 @ St. Louis Blues (2005–06) 23–18–5
47 W January 19, 2006 4–3 SO @ Nashville Predators (2005–06) 24–18–5
48 W January 21, 2006 3–2 SO New York Islanders (2005–06) 25–18–5
49 L January 22, 2006 1–3 @ New York Rangers (2005–06) 25–19–5
50 W January 24, 2006 4–0 @ New York Islanders (2005–06) 26–19–5
51 L January 26, 2006 0–1 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 26–19–6
52 L January 27, 2006 0–4 @ Florida Panthers (2005–06) 26–20–6
53 W February 1, 2006 5–3 Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 27–20–6
54 W February 3, 2006 3–0 Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 28–20–6
55 L February 4, 2006 2–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 28–21–6
56 W February 7, 2006 7–4 Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 29–21–6
57 W February 9, 2006 3–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (2005–06) 30–21–6
58 L February 11, 2006 1–2 New York Islanders (2005–06) 30–22–6
59 W March 1, 2006 2–1 SO Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 31–22–6
60 L March 2, 2006 2–3 SO @ New York Islanders (2005–06) 31–22–7
61 W March 4, 2006 2–1 New York Rangers (2005–06) 32–22–7
62 L March 7, 2006 1–2 SO @ New York Islanders (2005–06) 32–22–8
63 W March 10, 2006 4–3 SO @ Washington Capitals (2005–06) 33–22–8
64 L March 11, 2006 3–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 33–23–8
65 L March 14, 2006 1–6 New York Islanders (2005–06) 33–24–8
66 W March 16, 2006 2–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 34–24–8
67 L March 19, 2006 0–4 Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 34–25–8
68 L March 21, 2006 1–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 34–26–8
69 L March 23, 2006 5–6 OT @ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 34–26–9
70 W March 24, 2006 4–2 Boston Bruins (2005–06) 35–26–9
71 L March 26, 2006 3–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 35–27–9
72 W March 28, 2006 3–2 SO @ Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 36–27–9
73 W March 30, 2006 3–1 Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 37–27–9
74 W April 1, 2006 4–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 38–27–9
75 W April 2, 2006 3–2 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 39–27–9
76 W April 5, 2006 6–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 40–27–9
77 W April 8, 2006 3–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 41–27–9
78 W April 9, 2006 3–2 New York Rangers (2005–06) 42–27–9
79 W April 11, 2006 4–3 OT @ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 43–27–9
80 W April 13, 2006 4–1 Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 44–27–9
81 W April 16, 2006 5–1 Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 45–27–9
82 W April 18, 2006 4–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 46–27–9

Playoffs

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Gionta, BrianBrian Gionta RW 82 48 41 89 46 18 24 1 10
Gomez, ScottScott Gomez C 82 33 51 84 42 8 9 0 5
Langenbrunner, JamieJamie Langenbrunner RW 80 19 34 53 74 -1 8 1 1
Rafalski, BrianBrian Rafalski D 82 6 43 49 36 0 3 0 2
Elias, PatrikPatrik Elias LW 38 16 29 45 20 11 6 0 3
Brylin, SergeiSergei Brylin LW 82 15 22 37 46 -4 4 0 3
Martin, PaulPaul Martin D 80 5 32 37 32 1 3 0 0
Madden, JohnJohn Madden C 82 16 20 36 36 -7 0 1 0
Parise, ZachZach Parise LW 81 14 18 32 28 -1 2 0 5
Kozlov, ViktorViktor Kozlov C 69 12 13 25 16 0 2 0 1
Mogilny, AlexanderAlexander Mogilny RW 34 12 13 25 6 -7 7 0 3
Marshall, GrantGrant Marshall RW 76 8 17 25 70 -18 4 0 3
Pandolfo, JayJay Pandolfo LW 82 10 10 20 16 2 0 0 0
White, ColinColin White D 73 3 14 17 91 -2 1 0 1
Brown, SeanSean Brown D 35 1 11 12 27 -14 0 0 0
Matvichuk, RichardRichard Matvichuk D 62 1 10 11 40 2 0 0 0
Rasmussen, ErikErik Rasmussen LW/C 67 5 5 10 32 -4 1 0 0
Malakhov, VladimirVladimir Malakhov D 29 4 5 9 26 -9 3 0 0
Lukowich, BradBrad Lukowich D 18 1 7 8 8 3 0 0 0
Albelin, TommyTommy Albelin D 36 0 6 6 2 4 0 0 0
McGillis, DanDan McGillis D 27 0 6 6 36 -5 0 0 0
Hale, DavidDavid Hale D 38 0 4 4 21 5 0 0 0
Brodeur, MartinMartin Brodeur G 73 0 3 3 4 0 0 0 0
Pihlman, TuomasTuomas Pihlman LW 11 1 1 2 10 -1 0 0 0
Tallackson, BarryBarry Tallackson RW 10 1 1 2 2 -2 0 0 0
Suglobov, AlexanderAlexander Suglobov RW 1 1 0 1 0 -2 1 0 0
Wiemer, JasonJason Wiemer C 16 1 0 1 38 -1 0 0 0
Langdon, DarrenDarren Langdon LW 14 0 1 1 22 -3 0 0 0
Clemmensen, ScottScott Clemmensen G 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Janssen, CamCam Janssen RW 47 0 0 0 91 -3 0 0 0
Klee, KenKen Klee D 18 0 0 0 14 -3 0 0 0
Oliwa, KrzysztofKrzysztof Oliwa LW 3 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Rheaume, PascalPascal Rheaume C 12 0 0 0 4 -6 0 0 0
Ryznar, JasonJason Ryznar LW 8 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T/OT GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Brodeur, MartinMartin Brodeur 4365 73 43 23 7 187 2.57 5 2105 1918 .911
Clemmensen, ScottScott Clemmensen 627 13 3 4 2 35 3.35 0 295 260 .881
Team: 4992 82 46 27 9 222 2.67 5 2400 2178 .908

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Elias, PatrikPatrik Elias LW 9 6 10 16 4 4 0 0
Langenbrunner, JamieJamie Langenbrunner RW 9 3 10 13 16 1 0 1
Gomez, ScottScott Gomez C 9 5 4 9 6 4 0 1
Rafalski, BrianBrian Rafalski D 9 1 8 9 2 1 0 0
Gionta, BrianBrian Gionta RW 9 3 4 7 2 1 1 2
Madden, JohnJohn Madden C 9 4 1 5 8 0 2 0
Pandolfo, JayJay Pandolfo LW 9 1 4 5 0 0 1 1
Parise, ZachZach Parise LW 9 1 2 3 2 0 0 0
Martin, PaulPaul Martin D 9 0 3 3 4 0 0 0
Brylin, SergeiSergei Brylin LW 9 2 0 2 2 0 0 0
Hale, DavidDavid Hale D 8 0 2 2 12 0 0 0
Klee, KenKen Klee D 6 1 0 1 6 0 0 0
Marshall, GrantGrant Marshall RW 7 0 1 1 8 0 0 0
Albelin, TommyTommy Albelin D 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Brodeur, MartinMartin Brodeur G 9 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Clemmensen, ScottScott Clemmensen G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Janssen, CamCam Janssen RW 9 0 0 0 26 0 0 0
Kozlov, ViktorViktor Kozlov C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lukowich, BradBrad Lukowich D 9 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Matvichuk, RichardRichard Matvichuk D 7 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Rasmussen, ErikErik Rasmussen LW/C 9 0 0 0 8 0 0 0
White, ColinColin White D 4 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Wiemer, JasonJason Wiemer C 8 0 0 0 16 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Brodeur, MartinMartin Brodeur 533 9 5 4 20 2.25 1 261 241 .923
Clemmensen, ScottScott Clemmensen 7 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 3 3 1.000
Team: 540 9 5 4 20 2.22 1 264 244 .924

[8]

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

Transactions

Draft picks

New Jersey's picks at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft at The Westin Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada.

Rd # Pick # Player Nat Pos Team (League) Notes
1 23 Nicklas Bergfors  Sweden RW Sodertalje SK (Elitserien)
2 38 Jeff Frazee  United States G U.S. Junior National Team
3 84 Mark Fraser  Canada D Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
4 99 Patrick Davis  United States LW Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
5 155 Mark Fayne  United States D Noble & Greenough School (Massachusetts)
6 170 Sean Zimmerman  United States D Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
7 218 Alexander Sundstrom  Sweden C IF Björklöven (Allsvenskan)

See also

References

  1. ^ "2005-06: Rallying Back". NewJerseyDevils. Archived from the original on 2007-06-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20070606224547/http://www.newjerseydevils.com/njd/fanzone/features/25series/2005-06.php. Retrieved 2007-06-24. 
  2. ^ "Devils' Burns battling cancer again, won't coach next year". CBC Sports. 2006-07-08. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2005/07/08/burns_cancer050708.html. Retrieved 2006-08-30. 
  3. ^ "The Contenders: Eastern Conference". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2006. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/stanleycup2006/content/features/east_contenders.html. Retrieved 2006-08-30. 
  4. ^ "Lamoriello to finish season behind bench". Canadian Press. 2006-02-22. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/news_story/?ID=155830&hubname=nhl-devils. Retrieved 2006-08-30. 
  5. ^ "Devils snare division title with three-goal flurry in third". CBS SportsLine. April 18, 2006. http://sportsline.com/nhl/gamecenter/recap/NHL_20060418_NJ@MON. Retrieved 2006-08-30. 
  6. ^ "25th Anniversary Most Memorable Moments Countdown". newjerseydevils.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-04-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20070424232441/http://www.newjerseydevils.com/njd/fanzone/contests/25th/part2/countdown.php. Retrieved 2007-05-12. 
  7. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 162. 
  8. ^ "2005-06 New Jersey Devils Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NJD/2006.html. Retrieved 2009-06-02. 

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