1996–97 New Jersey Devils season

The 1996–97 New Jersey Devils season was the team's 15th in the National Hockey League since the franchise relocated to New Jersey. The Devils captured the Atlantic Division title and finished first in the Eastern Conference, but fell in the second round of the playoffs to their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers.
During the regular season, the Devils allowed the fewest power-play goals (28), took the fewest penalties (232) and had the best penalty killing % (87.93%) in the league. Coincidentally, they also had the fewest power-plays (288) scored the fewest power-play goals (40) in the league.
and 
==Regular season==
===Final standings===
===Game log===
# 	R	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	W	Oct 5, 1996 	3–1 	Detroit Red Wings 	1–0–0
2 	L	Oct 7, 1996 	1–3 	@ Philadelphia Flyers 	1–1–0
3 	L	Oct 12, 1996	2–4 	Dallas Stars 	1–2–0
4 	W	Oct 15, 1996	3–2 	Montreal Canadiens 	2–2–0
5 	T	Oct 18, 1996	2–2 OT	Ottawa Senators 	2–2–1
6 	L	Oct 19, 1996	2–6 	@ Hartford Whalers 	2–3–1
7 	W	Oct 24, 1996	3–1 	San Jose Sharks 	3–3–1
8 	W	Oct 26, 1996	4–1 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning 	4–3–1
9 	L	Oct 29, 1996	2–5 	@ Boston Bruins 	4–4–1
10	L	Oct 30, 1996	1–6 	New York Rangers 	4–5–1
11	W	Nov 2, 1996 	2–1 	Tampa Bay Lightning 	5–5–1
12	W	Nov 6, 1996 	2–0 	@ Detroit Red Wings 	6–5–1
13	W	Nov 7, 1996 	4–2 	@ Chicago Blackhawks 	7–5–1
14	W	Nov 9, 1996 	4–0 	New York Islanders 	8–5–1
15	W	Nov 12, 1996	3–2 OT	Washington Capitals 	9–5–1
16	L	Nov 14, 1996	0–3 	Vancouver Canucks 	9–6–1
17	W	Nov 16, 1996	6–3 	Tampa Bay Lightning 	10–6–1
18	W	Nov 19, 1996	2–1 	@ Ottawa Senators 	11–6–1
19	L	Nov 22, 1996	1–5 	Washington Capitals 	11–7–1
20	L	Nov 23, 1996	3–4 	@ Washington Capitals 	11–8–1
21	W	Nov 27, 1996	3–2 	@ Dallas Stars 	12–8–1
22	L	Nov 28, 1996	3–4 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes 	12–9–1
23	L	Nov 30, 1996	1–2 	@ Colorado Avalanche 	12–10–1
24	W	Dec 3, 1996 	2–0 	Florida Panthers 	13–10–1
25	W	Dec 5, 1996 	2–1 	Calgary Flames 	14–10–1
26	L	Dec 7, 1996 	3–4 OT	Phoenix Coyotes 	14–11–1
27	W	Dec 10, 1996	5–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs 	15–11–1
28	W	Dec 12, 1996	7–4 	@ Boston Bruins 	16–11–1
29	T	Dec 14, 1996	3–3 OT	Montreal Canadiens 	16–11–2
30	W	Dec 16, 1996	5–0 	@ Calgary Flames 	17–11–2
31	W	Dec 18, 1996	2–1 	@ Vancouver Canucks 	18–11–2
32	W	Dec 20, 1996	3–2 	@ Edmonton Oilers 	19–11–2
33	T	Dec 23, 1996	0–0 OT	Buffalo Sabres 	19–11–3
34	L	Dec 26, 1996	1–4 	@ New York Islanders 	19–12–3
35	W	Dec 28, 1996	5–3 	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 	20–12–3
36	L	Dec 31, 1996	5–6 	@ Buffalo Sabres 	20–13–3
37	L	Jan 2, 1997 	1–6 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	20–14–3
38	W	Jan 3, 1997 	1–0 	@ Ottawa Senators 	21–14–3
39	L	Jan 5, 1997 	3–5 	St. Louis Blues 	21–15–3
40	T	Jan 8, 1997 	1–1 OT	Colorado Avalanche 	21–15–4
41	T	Jan 10, 1997	3–3 OT	Chicago Blackhawks 	21–15–5
42	L	Jan 12, 1997	0–3 	@ New York Rangers 	21–16–5
43	W	Jan 14, 1997	4–2 	Boston Bruins 	22–16–5
44	W	Jan 21, 1997	4–1 	@ Los Angeles Kings 	23–16–5
45	L	Jan 22, 1997	1–3 	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	23–17–5
46	W	Jan 24, 1997	3–1 	@ San Jose Sharks 	24–17–5
47	T	Jan 29, 1997	1–1 OT	Ottawa Senators 	24–17–6
48	T	Jan 31, 1997	3–3 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs 	24–17–7
49	T	Feb 1, 1997 	4–4 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens 	24–17–8
50	W	Feb 5, 1997 	4–1 	New York Islanders 	25–17–8
51	T	Feb 7, 1997 	2–2 OT	Florida Panthers 	25–17–9
52	W	Feb 8, 1997 	4–2 	Philadelphia Flyers 	26–17–9
53	W	Feb 12, 1997	3–2 	@ Hartford Whalers 	27–17–9
54	W	Feb 13, 1997	4–0 	Hartford Whalers 	28–17–9
55	W	Feb 15, 1997	4–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens 	29–17–9
56	T	Feb 17, 1997	2–2 OT	@ New York Rangers 	29–17–10
57	T	Feb 19, 1997	1–1 OT	New York Rangers 	29–17–11
58	T	Feb 20, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Florida Panthers 	29–17–12
59	L	Feb 22, 1997	1–3 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning 	29–18–12
60	W	Feb 26, 1997	5–3 	@ New York Islanders 	30–18–12
61	W	Feb 27, 1997	4–1 	Buffalo Sabres 	31–18–12
62	W	Mar 1, 1997 	6–3 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	32–18–12
63	W	Mar 4, 1997 	3–1 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins 	33–18–12
64	W	Mar 5, 1997 	3–1 	@ Philadelphia Flyers 	34–18–12
65	L	Mar 8, 1997 	1–5 	@ New York Islanders 	34–19–12
66	W	Mar 9, 1997 	4–1 	@ Buffalo Sabres 	35–19–12
67	W	Mar 11, 1997	6–1 	Edmonton Oilers 	36–19–12
68	W	Mar 13, 1997	6–0 	Hartford Whalers 	37–19–12
69	W	Mar 15, 1997	3–2 	Washington Capitals 	38–19–12
70	L	Mar 17, 1997	1–4 	Florida Panthers 	38–20–12
71	T	Mar 19, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Washington Capitals 	38–20–13
72	W	Mar 22, 1997	3–2 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins 	39–20–13
73	L	Mar 25, 1997	3–4 	Philadelphia Flyers 	39–21–13
74	W	Mar 27, 1997	4–0 	New York Rangers 	40–21–13
75	W	Mar 30, 1997	5–2 	Los Angeles Kings 	41–21–13
76	W	Apr 1, 1997 	1–0 	@ Washington Capitals 	42–21–13
77	W	Apr 4, 1997 	3–0 	Tampa Bay Lightning 	43–21–13
78	W	Apr 6, 1997 	2–0 	@ St. Louis Blues 	44–21–13
79	T	Apr 8, 1997 	2–2 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning 	44–21–14
80	L	Apr 9, 1997 	2–4 	@ Florida Panthers 	44–22–14
81	W	Apr 11, 1997	2–0 	Boston Bruins 	45–22–14
82	L	Apr 13, 1997	4–5 	@ Philadelphia Flyers 	45–23–14
==Playoffs==
In the first game of the series against Montreal, on April 17, 1997, with the Devils up by two goals late in the game, Martin Brodeur fired the puck the length of the ice and into the Canadiens' empty net to ensure a 5-2 victory. It was only the second time in NHL history that a goaltender had scored in the playoffs, and the fifth time overall.
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	82	23	39	62 	54 	24 	5 	0 	6
 	LW 	82	27	34	61 	48 	38 	4 	1 	2
 	RW 	80	29	25	54 	49 	11 	5 	0 	6
 	RW 	82	29	18	47 	95 	-2 	7 	0 	9
 	C/RW	81	18	27	45 	20 	6 	2 	2 	3
 	LW 	71	14	24	38 	36 	-10	3 	0 	2
 	D 	81	5 	30	35 	64 	-4 	3 	0 	3
 	LW 	57	15	19	34 	46 	9 	1 	0 	2
 	C/RW	70	12	20	32 	62 	7 	3 	0 	3
 	RW 	77	9 	18	27 	109	15 	0 	0 	2
 	D 	79	5 	19	24 	70 	26 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	33	8 	14	22 	14 	9 	2 	0 	2
 	C 	20	7 	15	22 	22 	7 	2 	0 	0
 	D 	73	4 	17	21 	19 	17 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	62	4 	15	19 	14 	6 	0 	1 	0
 	D 	79	3 	13	16 	110	16 	1 	0 	2
 	LW 	46	6 	8 	14 	6 	-1 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	77	2 	7 	9 	70 	24 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	20	2 	5 	7 	6 	2 	1 	0 	1
 	D 	28	2 	4 	6 	6 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	17	2 	3 	5 	2 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	29	2 	2 	4 	20 	-13	0 	0 	0
 	G 	67	0 	4 	4 	8 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	27	0 	4 	4 	60 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	57	1 	2 	3 	38 	-8 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	19	1 	2 	3 	4 	-8 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	18	0 	3 	3 	4 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	20	0 	2 	2 	68 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	2 	1 	0 	1 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	3 	0 	1 	1 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	26	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	5 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	3838	67	37	14	13	120	1.88	10	1633	1513	.927
 	1013	26	8 	7 	1 	43 	2.55	2 	456 	413 	.906
 	139 	3 	0 	2 	0 	13 	5.61	0 	65 	52 	.800
Team: 	4990	82	45	23	14	176	2.12	12	2154	1978	.918
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	RW 	10	4	5	9 	4 	2 	1 	1
 	D 	10	1	6	7 	6 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	10	2	4	6 	6 	2 	0 	1
 	C/RW	10	4	1	5 	6 	1 	2 	0
 	LW 	8 	3	2	5 	2 	1 	0 	1
 	LW 	8 	2	3	5 	4 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	10	2	3	5 	4 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	10	2	2	4 	19 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	10	0	4	4 	14 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	10	0	4	4 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	8 	2	1	3 	18 	1 	0 	1
 	C 	10	1	2	3 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	10	0	3	3 	10 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	10	1	1	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	10	1	1	2 	18 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	10	1	0	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	1	0	1 	0 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	6 	0	1	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	10	0	0	0 	28 	0 	0 	0
 	C/RW	9 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0	0	0 	29 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	2 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	2 	0	0	0 	10 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	659	10	5	5	19	1.73	2 	268	249	.929
Team: 	659	10	5	5	19	1.73	2 	268	249	.929
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 = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage; 
==Awards and records==
==Transactions==
==Draft picks==
Team's picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, held in 
Rd #	Pick #	Player 	Nat	Pos	Team (League) 	Notes
1 	10 	Lance Ward 	 	D 	Red Deer Rebels (WHL) 	Never reported for the Devils; was subsequently redrafted by Florida in the third round (63rd overall) of the 1998 Draft.
2 	38 	Wes Mason 	 	LW 	Sarnia Sting (OHL) 	The Devils acquired the 1996 second-round pick (Mason) from Vancouver for Esa Tikkanen on November 23, 1995; Tikkanen had been acquired from St. Louis just 22 days earlier.
2 	41 	Josh DeWolf 	 	D 	Twin Cities Vulcans (USHL) 	The Devils acquired two 1996 second-round picks, DeWolf (originally Toronto's) and White, from Pittsburgh for San Jose's 1996 second-round pick (used on Pavel Skrbek) on June 22, 1996. The Devils had originally received the pick from San Jose in exchange for Chris Terreri on November 15, 1995.
2 	47 	Pierre Dagenais 	 	LW 	Moncton Alpines (QMJHL) 	The Devils traded Corey Schwab to Tampa Bay in exchange for Jeff Reese, Chicago's 1996 second-round pick (Dagenais), and Tampa Bay's 1996 eighth-round pick (Bertsch), on June 22, 1996.
2 	49 	Colin White 	 	D 	Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) 	Although the Devils made four picks in the second round of the 1996 Draft, none were originally their picks; the Devils' original pick (used on Marek Posmyk) was traded to Toronto in exchange for Dave Andreychuk on March 13, 1996.
3 	63 	Scott Parker 	 	RW 	Kelowna Rockets (WHL) 	Parker never reported for the Devils; he was subsequently redrafted by Colorado in the first round (20th overall) of the 1998 Draft.
4 	91 	Josef Boumedienne	 	D 	Huddinge IK (Allsvenskan) 	
4 	101 	Josh MacNevin 	 	D 	Vernon Vipers (BCJHL) 	No source exists to indicate why the Devils made two selections this round.
5 	118 	Glenn Crawford 	 	LW 	Windsor Spitfires (OHL) 	
6 	145 	Sean Ritchlin 	 	RW 	University of Michigan (CCHA)	
7 	173 	Daryl Andrews 	 	D 	Melfort Mustangs (SJHL) 	
8 	199 	Willie Mitchell 	 	D 	Melfort Mustangs (SJHL) 	
8 	205 	Jay Bertsch 	 	RW 	Spokane Chiefs (WHL) 	Bertsch had previously been drafted by Quebec in the eighth round (191st overall) of the 1994 Draft. Bertsch's profile at HockeyDB.com
9 	225 	Pasi Petrilainen 	 	D 	Tappara (SM-liiga) 	
==See also==
*1996–97 NHL season
==References==
Category:New Jersey Devils seasons
New Jersey Devils season, 1996–97
New Jersey Devils season, 1996–97