New Jersey Devils And Strange Saturday Comebacks

It was a great game – weird is I grew up a NJ fan I was at the inaugural game went through all those “Mickey Mouse “ seasons and then the MacLean and Burke just made their first playoffs last 9 games of season – then the nearly a dynasty time and then now wondering if all that was a fluke – and so living in Florida i distanced a bit from the Devils and I tried to stay loyal for many years after coming down here – I worked at Sunrise near the Panthers arena and went to some games there totally for the Devils – we saw many games the Devils dominate FL Panthers and we saw the Panthers improve much and then we went to a first round playoff series where Larry Robinson and Brodeur , Steven’s , Neidermeyer etc Devils swept the Panthers – i few guys jumped me at Sunrise we were celebrating NJ passionately then and that was supposed to be FL big year , the Devils that year I believe beat Dallas in the Stanley Cup- my work and family life took up so much my time, 4 kids and sports and school and we loved to Tampa area – 10 years or more passed and I just never had time to watch hockey – we slowly had to just root root root for the home team , the Lightning team became a consistency and a family and it felt like home and with Esposito on the radio and the kids leaving home my wife and I became Lightning fans and pre covid you could tell the Lighting were finally blooming and we did have extra time on our hands with the next emptying – so we got into hockey again and TB was our home and we felt at home at Amalie more and more – the shortened seasons and back to back wins the rest is history / but my childhood and my dad so engrained with NJ Devils hockey I secretly would watch the Devils in the standings and read artistes to see what was going on they seemed to always be at the bottom and struggling to find new identity and ownership and a solid legacy and new coach with a new tradition- it just seems like heartbreak always – and slowly I felt like NJ would maybe have to move it seemed hopeless but I don’t want that – i dream of silver lining scenarios like them moving to KC and going back full circle to the Scouts – but flash to the game you describe and my family older now my one sister eas in town and the TB vs Nj game was on and she is like hey the Devils are playing and I felt like a traitor I’m like I’m a Lightning fan now – but it bothers me in the soul to some extent because it’s my history too but my family I had a different legacy now – so anyway the Lightning seemed to dominate and I wanted to the game to meaningful and all but it seemed like Devils were not improving and not high in the standings and nothing was going right – TB seemed like their usual championship skills —/ then the game shifted and Blackwood was incredible- and even with Hughes the Devils got tough and solid and hung in and I saw that this game was beginning possibly of the confidence and the team gelling and the tide finally turning toward the future again – I always wanted the Devils to be like a Montreal solid franchise and that seemed lost for years but now it seems like it’s possible again –