1998–99 New Jersey Devils season

The 1998–99 New Jersey Devils season was the 25th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and 17th season since the franchise relocated from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season.^[1] Despite winning the Atlantic Division and being the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Devils were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

1998–99 New Jersey Devils
Atlantic Division champions
Division	1st Atlantic
Conference	1st Eastern
1998–99 record	47–24–11
Home record	19–14–8
Road record	28–10–3
Goals for	248
Goals against	196
Team information
General manager	Lou Lamoriello
Coach	Robbie Ftorek
Captain	Scott Stevens
Alternate captains	Denis Pederson Ken Daneyko Randy McKay
Arena	Continental Airlines Arena
Average attendance	16,670
Minor league affiliate(s)	Albany River Rats Augusta Lynx
Team leaders
Goals	Petr Sykora (29)
Assists	Petr Sykora (43)
Points	Petr Sykora (72)
Penalty minutes	Krzysztof Oliwa (240)
Plus/minus	Scott Stevens (+29)
Wins	Martin Brodeur (39)
Goals against average	Martin Brodeur (2.29)
← 1997–98 1999–2000 →

Regular season

The Devils' 28 regular-season road wins were the most in the NHL.

Season standings

Atlantic Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	New Jersey Devils	82	47	24	11	248	196	105
2	5	Philadelphia Flyers	82	37	26	19	231	196	93
3	8	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	38	30	14	242	225	90
4	10	New York Rangers	82	33	38	11	217	227	77
5	13	New York Islanders	82	24	48	10	194	244	58

^[2]

Eastern Conference^[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	47	24	11	248	196	105
2	y – Ottawa Senators	NE	82	44	23	15	239	179	103
3	y – Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	34	30	18	210	202	86
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	45	30	7	268	231	97
5	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	37	26	19	231	196	93
6	Boston Bruins	NE	82	39	30	13	214	181	91
7	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	37	28	17	207	175	91
8	Pittsburgh Penguins	ATL	82	38	30	14	242	225	90
9	Florida Panthers	SE	82	30	34	18	210	228	78
10	New York Rangers	ATL	82	33	38	11	217	227	77
11	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	32	39	11	184	209	75
12	Washington Capitals	SE	82	31	45	6	200	218	68
13	New York Islanders	ATL	82	24	48	10	194	244	58
14	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	19	54	9	179	292	47

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division

Playoffs

The Devils opened the 1999 playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins having only reached the second round of the playoffs once in the three years following its 1995 Cup win. They appeared to be on their way to a series victory against the Penguins when they led Game 6 late; but Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr, silent all series to that point, scored with two minutes to go in the third to send the game to overtime and later scored the overtime winner to ensure a seventh game.^[4] The Devils never recovered, never once leading in Game 7 before eventually losing 4–2.^[5]

Schedule and results

Regular season

1998–99 regular season^[6]
October: 5–4–0 (home: 2–3–0; road: 3–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 L October 10, 1998 1–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 0–1–0 Recap 2 L October 14, 1998 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 0–2–0 Recap 3 W October 16, 1998 2–1 @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 1–2–0 Recap 4 L October 17, 1998 2–4 Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 1–3–0 Recap 5 W October 22, 1998 3–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 2–3–0 Recap 6 W October 24, 1998 3–1 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 3–3–0 Recap 7 L October 28, 1998 0–4 Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 3–4–0 Recap 8 W October 29, 1998 2–1 @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 4–4–0 Recap 9 W October 31, 1998 3–1 Florida Panthers (1998–99) 5–4–0 Recap
November: 8–3–1 (home: 4–0–1; road: 4–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 10 W November 3, 1998 3–1 New York Rangers (1998–99) 6–4–0 Recap 11 W November 7, 1998 4–3 @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 7–4–0 Recap 12 L November 8, 1998 1–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 7–5–0 Recap 13 W November 11, 1998 3–0 Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 8–5–0 Recap 14 W November 13, 1998 4–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 9–5–0 Recap 15 L November 14, 1998 1–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 9–6–0 Recap 16 W November 19, 1998 3–2 OT Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 10–6–0 Recap 17 T November 21, 1998 3–3 OT Florida Panthers (1998–99) 10–6–1 Recap 18 W November 22, 1998 5–2 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 11–6–1 Recap 19 W November 25, 1998 5–2 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 12–6–1 Recap 20 L November 26, 1998 2–3 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 12–7–1 Recap 21 W November 28, 1998 3–2 @ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 13–7–1 Recap
December: 8–2–3 (home: 3–2–2; road: 5–0–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 22 W December 1, 1998 4–0 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 14–7–1 Recap 23 T December 4, 1998 1–1 OT Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 14–7–2 Recap 24 W December 5, 1998 7–5 @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 15–7–2 Recap 25 T December 8, 1998 5–5 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 15–7–3 Recap 26 W December 10, 1998 5–4 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 16–7–3 Recap 27 W December 12, 1998 5–3 Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 17–7–3 Recap 28 W December 16, 1998 6–3 New York Rangers (1998–99) 18–7–3 Recap 29 L December 18, 1998 2–5 Calgary Flames (1998–99) 18–8–3 Recap 30 T December 19, 1998 1–1 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 18–8–4 Recap 31 W December 23, 1998 4–2 St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 19–8–4 Recap 32 L December 26, 1998 0–2 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 19–9–4 Recap 33 W December 28, 1998 7–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 20–9–4 Recap 34 W December 30, 1998 3–2 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 21–9–4 Recap
January: 6–6–1 (home: 2–3–1; road: 4–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 35 L January 2, 1999 0–6 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 21–10–4 Recap 36 T January 5, 1999 3–3 OT San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 21–10–5 Recap 37 W January 6, 1999 5–2 @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 22–10–5 Recap 38 L January 9, 1999 2–3 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 22–11–5 Recap 39 L January 11, 1999 2–4 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 22–12–5 Recap 40 L January 14, 1999 2–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 22–13–5 Recap 41 W January 15, 1999 3–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 23–13–5 Recap 42 L January 18, 1999 1–3 @ San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 23–14–5 Recap 43 W January 20, 1999 4–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 24–14–5 Recap 44 W January 21, 1999 3–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 25–14–5 Recap 45 W January 26, 1999 4–1 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 26–14–5 Recap 46 W January 28, 1999 2–0 @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 27–14–5 Recap 47 L January 30, 1999 2–3 OT Nashville Predators (1998–99) 27–15–5 Recap
February: 6–5–3 (home: 3–4–2; road: 3–1–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 48 T February 1, 1999 2–2 OT Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 27–15–6 Recap 49 W February 3, 1999 4–1 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 28–15–6 Recap 50 W February 4, 1999 2–0 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 29–15–6 Recap 51 L February 6, 1999 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 29–16–6 Recap 52 L February 9, 1999 3–4 Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 29–17–6 Recap 53 L February 12, 1999 2–3 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 29–18–6 Recap 54 W February 13, 1999 6–4 Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 30–18–6 Recap 55 T February 15, 1999 3–3 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 30–18–7 Recap 56 W February 17, 1999 7–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 31–18–7 Recap 57 L February 19, 1999 1–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 31–19–7 Recap 58 L February 20, 1999 2–3 New York Islanders (1998–99) 31–20–7 Recap 59 W February 22, 1999 3–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 32–20–7 Recap 60 T February 25, 1999 3–3 OT @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 32–20–8 Recap 61 W February 28, 1999 4–1 Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 33–20–8 Recap
March: 7–2–3 (home: 2–1–2; road: 5–1–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 62 W March 3, 1999 5–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 34–20–8 Recap 63 L March 5, 1999 1–4 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 34–21–8 Recap 64 W March 7, 1999 4–2 @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 35–21–8 Recap 65 W March 9, 1999 3–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 36–21–8 Recap 66 W March 15, 1999 2–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 37–21–8 Recap 67 W March 17, 1999 4–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 38–21–8 Recap 68 L March 20, 1999 1–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 38–22–8 Recap 69 T March 23, 1999 1–1 OT Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 38–22–9 Recap 70 W March 25, 1999 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 39–22–9 Recap 71 T March 27, 1999 4–4 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 39–22–10 Recap 72 T March 28, 1999 2–2 OT @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 39–22–11 Recap 73 W March 31, 1999 7–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 40–22–11 Recap
April: 7–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 4–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 74 W April 3, 1999 4–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 41–22–11 Recap 75 W April 4, 1999 4–1 New York Rangers (1998–99) 42–22–11 Recap 76 L April 6, 1999 2–4 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 42–23–11 Recap 77 W April 8, 1999 1–0 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 43–23–11 Recap 78 W April 10, 1999 6–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 44–23–11 Recap 79 L April 12, 1999 2–4 New York Islanders (1998–99) 44–24–11 Recap 80 W April 14, 1999 2–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 45–24–11 Recap 81 W April 16, 1999 3–2 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 46–24–11 Recap 82 W April 17, 1999 4–1 @ Nashville Predators (1998–99) 47–24–11 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1999 Stanley Cup playoffs^[6]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) Pittsburgh Penguins – Penguins win 4–3 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 W April 22, 1999 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Devils lead 1–0 Recap 2 L April 24, 1999 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Series tied 1–1 Recap 3 L April 25, 1999 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins Penguins lead 2–1 Recap 4 W April 27, 1999 4–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins Series tied 2–2 Recap 5 W April 30, 1999 4–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Devils lead 3–2 Recap 6 L May 2, 1999 2–3 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins Series tied 3–3 Recap 7 L May 4, 1999 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Penguins win 4–3 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.

			Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
17	Petr Sykora	RW	80	29	43	72	16	22	7	3	3	6	−3	4
16	Bobby Holik	C	78	27	37	64	16	119	7	0	7	7	−1	6
14	Brian Rolston	C	82	24	33	57	11	14	7	1	0	1	−1	2
25	Jason Arnott	C	74	27	27	54	10	79	7	2	2	4	−3	4
26	Patrik Elias	LW	74	17	33	50	19	34	7	0	5	5	0	6
9	Brendan Morrison	C	76	13	33	46	−4	18	7	0	2	2	−1	0
27	Scott Niedermayer	D	72	11	35	46	16	26	7	1	3	4	−5	18
21	Randy McKay	RW	70	17	20	37	10	143	7	3	2	5	1	2
24	Lyle Odelein	D	70	5	26	31	6	114	7	0	3	3	−1	10
23	Dave Andreychuk	LW	52	15	13	28	1	20	4	2	0	2	0	4
20	Jay Pandolfo	LW	70	14	13	27	3	10	7	1	0	1	−5	0
8	Vadim Sharifijanov	LW	53	11	16	27	11	28	4	0	0	0	0	0
4	Scott Stevens	D	75	5	22	27	29	64	7	2	1	3	−2	10
10	Denis Pederson	C	76	11	12	23	−10	66	3	0	1	1	0	0
18	Sergei Brylin	LW	47	5	10	15	8	28	5	3	1	4	2	4
29	Krzysztof Oliwa	LW	64	5	7	12	4	240	1	0	0	0	0	2
3	Ken Daneyko	D	82	2	9	11	27	63	7	0	0	0	3	8
28	Kevin Dean	D	62	1	10	11	4	22	7	0	0	0	−4	0
19	Bob Carpenter	C	56	2	8	10	−3	36	7	0	0	0	−1	2
6	Brad Bombardir	D	56	1	7	8	−4	16	5	0	0	0	0	0
2	Sheldon Souray	D	70	1	7	8	5	110	2	0	1	1	1	0
12	Sergei Nemchinov†	LW	10	4	0	4	4	6	4	0	0	0	−2	0
30	Martin Brodeur	G	70	0	4	4		4	7	0	2	2		2
32	Sasha Lakovic	RW	16	0	3	3	0	59	—	—	—	—	—	—
7	Ken Sutton	D	5	1	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
11	John Madden	C	4	0	1	1	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Chris Terreri	G	12	0	1	1		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
22	Scott Daniels	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Bryan Muir‡	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

		Regular season										Playoffs
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
30	Martin Brodeur	70	39	21	10	1728	162	2.29	.906	4	4239	7	3	4	139	20	2.82	.856	0	425
31	Chris Terreri	12	8	3	1	294	30	2.48	.898	1	726	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Martin Brodeur^[a]	^[8]
		Robbie Ftorek (coach)
		Bobby Holík
		Scott Stevens
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Vadim Sharifijanov (December)	^[9]
Team	Devils' Players' Player	Sergei Brylin	^[10]
	Hugh Delano Unsung Hero	Jay Pandolfo	^[10]
	Most Valuable Devil	Martin Brodeur	^[10]
	Three-Star Award	Petr Sykora	^[10]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
600th assist	Dave Andreychuk	November 3, 1998	^[11]

Draft picks

The Devils' draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.^[12]

Rd #	Pick #	Player	Nat	Pos	Team (League)	Notes
1	26	Mike Van Ryn	Canada	D	University of Michigan (CCHA)
1	27	Scott Gomez	United States	C	Tri-City Americans (WHL)	^[b]
2	37	Christian Berglund	Sweden	C	Färjestad BK (Elitserien)
3	82	Brian Gionta	United States	RW	Boston College (Hockey East)	^[c]
4	96	Mikko Jokela	Finland	D	HIFK (SM-liiga)	^[d]
4	105	Pierre Dagenais	Canada	LW	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)	^[e]
5	119	Anton But	Russia	LW	Torpedo-2 Yaroslavl (Russian Superleague)	^[f]
5	143	Ryan Flinn	Canada	LW	Laval Titan Collège Français (QMJHL)
6	172	Jacques Lariviere	Canada	LW	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
7	199	Erik Jensen	United States	W	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
8	227	Marko Ahosilta	Finland	F	KalPa (SM-liiga)
9	257	Ryan Held	Canada	W	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

See also

• 1998–99 NHL season

Notes

1. Brodeur was voted to the starting lineup.^[7]
2. The Devils acquired the 1998 first-round pick from Dallas for Carolina's 1998 second-round pick (used on John Erskine) and the Devils' 1998 second-round pick (used on Tyler Bouck) on June 27, 1998.
3. The Devils acquired the 1998 third-round pick (originally Pittsburgh's) from Edmonton for the Devils' 1998 fourth-round pick (used on Kristian Antila), 1998 fifth-round pick (used on Oleg Smirnov), and the rights to Fredrik Lindqvist on June 27, 1998. The Devils' original third-round pick was traded to San Jose for Vlastimil Kroupa on August 22, 1997.
4. The Devils acquired the 1998 fourth-round pick from Chicago for Reid Simpson on January 8, 1998.
5. The Devils acquired the 1998 fourth-round pick (originally Boston's) from Los Angeles for Doug Bodger on June 18, 1998. The Devils' original fourth-round pick had been traded to Edmonton (see above note for Brian Gionta).
6. The Devils acquired the 1998 fifth-round pick from Vancouver for Peter Zezel on February 5, 1998.

References

• "New Jersey Devils 1998-99 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
• "1998-99 New Jersey Devils Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.

1. National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
2. Dinger 2011, p. 155.
3. "1998-1999 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
6. "1998-99 New Jersey Devils Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
7. "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
8. "NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1999". NHL.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
9. Popper, Steve (January 6, 1999). "HOCKEY; Devils Add Insult to Andreychuk's Injury Against Sharks". The New York Times. Retrieved June 26, 2023. VADIM SHARIFIJANOV, a Devils right wing, was named the league's rookie of the month for December, when he had 9 points in 10 games.
10. Levine, Mike (ed.), 2009-10 New Jersey Devils Media Guide, New Jersey Devils Hockey Club, p. 225
11. "Devils 3, Rangers 1". AP NEWS. November 3, 1998. Retrieved June 27, 2023. Dave Andreychuk got his 600th career assist on the play, the 50th player to reach the milestone.
12. "1998 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.