1998–99 New Jersey Devils season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1998–99
Year:	1998
Team:	New Jersey Devils
Conference:	Eastern
Conferencerank:	1st
Division:	Atlantic
Divisionrank:	1st
Record:	47–24–11
Homerecord:	19–14–8
Roadrecord:	28–10–3
Goalsfor:	248
Goalsagainst:	196
Generalmanager:	Lou Lamoriello
Coach:	Robbie Ftorek
Captain:	Scott Stevens
Altcaptain:	Denis Pederson Ken Daneyko Randy McKay
Arena:	Continental Airlines Arena
Attendance:	16,670
Minorleague:	Albany River Rats Augusta Lynx
Goalsleader:	Petr Sykora (29)
Assistsleader:	Petr Sykora (43)
Pointsleader:	Petr Sykora (72)
Plusminusleader:	Scott Stevens (+29)
Pimleader:	Krzysztof Oliwa (240)
Winsleader:	Martin Brodeur (39)
Gaaleader:	Martin Brodeur (2.29)
Divisionwin:	yes
Next Season:	1999–2000

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.

Regular season

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

Season standings

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.^[2] The Devils never recovered, never once leading in Game 7 before eventually losing 4–2.^[3]

Schedule and results

Regular season

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

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 1 ||W|| April 22, 1999 || 3–1 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Devils lead 1–0 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 2 ||L|| April 24, 1999 || 1–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Series tied 1–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 3 ||L|| April 25, 1999 || 2–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Penguins lead 2–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 4 ||W|| April 27, 1999 || 4–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Series tied 2–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 5 ||W|| April 30, 1999 || 4–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Devils lead 3–2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 6 ||L|| May 2, 1999 || 2–3 OT || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Series tied 3–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 7 ||L|| May 4, 1999 || 2–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Penguins win 4–3 || |-|-| Legend:

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
	Player
17		RW	80	29	43	72	16	22	7	3	3	6	−3	4
16		C	78	27	37	64	16	119	7	0	7	7	−1	6
14		C	82	24	33	57	11	14	7	1	0	1	−1	2
25		C	74	27	27	54	10	79	7	2	2	4	−3	4
26		LW	74	17	33	50	19	34	7	0	5	5	0	6
9		C	76	13	33	46	−4	18	7	0	2	2	−1	0
27		D	72	11	35	46	16	26	7	1	3	4	−5	18
21		RW	70	17	20	37	10	143	7	3	2	5	1	2
24		D	70	5	26	31	6	114	7	0	3	3	−1	10
23		LW	52	15	13	28	1	20	4	2	0	2	0	4
20		LW	70	14	13	27	3	10	7	1	0	1	−5	0
8		LW	53	11	16	27	11	28	4	0	0	0	0	0
4		D	75	5	22	27	29	64	7	2	1	3	−2	10
10		C	76	11	12	23	−10	66	3	0	1	1	0	0
18		LW	47	5	10	15	8	28	5	3	1	4	2	4
29		LW	64	5	7	12	4	240	1	0	0	0	0	2
3		D	82	2	9	11	27	63	7	0	0	0	3	8
28		D	62	1	10	11	4	22	7	0	0	0	−4	0
19		C	56	2	8	10	−3	36	7	0	0	0	−1	2
6		D	56	1	7	8	−4	16	5	0	0	0	0	0
2		D	70	1	7	8	5	110	2	0	1	1	1	0
12		LW	10	4	0	4	4	6	4	0	0	0	−2	0
30		G	70	0	4	4		4	7	0	2	2		2
32		RW	16	0	3	3	0	59
7		D	5	1	0	1	1	0
11		C	4	0	1	1	−2	0
31		G	12	0	1	1		0
22		LW	1	0	0	0	0	0
34		D	1	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

	Regular season										Playoffs
	Player
30		70	39	21	10	1728	162	2.29	.906	4	4239	7	3	4	139	20	2.82	.856	0	425
31		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	^[4]
		Robbie Ftorek (coach)
		Bobby Holík
		Scott Stevens
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Vadim Sharifijanov (December)	^[5]
Team	Devils' Players' Player	Sergei Brylin
	Hugh Delano Unsung Hero	Jay Pandolfo
	Most Valuable Devil	Martin Brodeur
	Three-Star Award	Petr Sykora

Milestones

Draft picks

The Devils' draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.^[7]

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

See also

• 1998–99 NHL season

References

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

Notes and References

1. Book: National Hockey League . The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011 . 2010 . Triumph Books . 83 . 978-1-60078-422-4.
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402130706/http://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/poboxscore.cgi?O19990039
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402142929/http://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/poboxscore.cgi?O19990043
4. Web site: NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1999 . NHL.com . June 26, 2023.
5. Web site: New Jersey's Sharifijanov Named Rookie of the Month . NHL.com . July 26, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/19991010001614/http://www.nhl.com/news/jan/010599sharifijanov.htm . October 10, 1999 . January 5, 1999.
6. Web site: Devils 3, Rangers 1 . AP NEWS . June 27, 2023 . November 3, 1998 . Dave Andreychuk got his 600th career assist on the play, the 50th player to reach the milestone..
7. Web site: 1998 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . June 28, 2023.