1982/83: After years of flirting with New Jersey, NHL hockey came to the Garden State on October 5th as the Devils took the ice at the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands playing the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-3 tie. Three nights later the Devils got their first win and bragging rights by beating the New York Rangers, who had tried to block a team from moving to New Jersey, at home 3-2.The Devils would play respectable hockey in their first 7 games losing just 1 game. However, form there it would go down hill as the Devils went on an 18-game winless streak on the way to finishing 5th in the Patrick Division with a 17-49-14 record.

1994/95: The bitter taste of the playoffs would linger in the Devils mouths for a longtime as the start of the season was delayed by a 4-month lockout. When play resumed in January the Devils would get of to a shaky start posting 12-13-5 record in the first 30 games of shortened 48-game schedule. The Devils would quietly finish the season strong posting a 22-18-8 record to make the playoffs as the 5th seed. In the playoffs the Devils would get off to a fast start shutting the Boston Bruins out in the first 2 games on the road. After dropping Game 3 at home the Devils and Bruins battled into overtime scoreless, where Randy McKay gave the Devils a 3-1 series lead with a goal midway through the first overtime period. The Devils would go on close out the Bruins with a3-2 win in Game 5 that was the last game ever at the Boston Garden. In the 2nd round the Devils would drop Game 1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road.  However, the rest of the way the Devils would frustrate the Penguins with Neutral Zone Trap winning the next 4 to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2nd straight season. This time facing their neighbors to the south the Devils, who were unfazed by rumors of a move to Nashville took the first 2 games on the road. However, the Flyers would stun the Devils by winning twice at the Meadowlands to even the series. The Devils would rebound to take Game 5 in Philly 3-2 on a late goal by Claude Lemieux. With a chance to close out the series at home the Devils were not about to make the same mistake taking an early lead and employing the trap to reach the Stanley Cup Finals with a 4-2 win. Facing the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings the Devils made the trap the NHL's biggest 4 letter word as they frustrated the heavily favored Wings in Detroit taking a 2-0 series lead.  Coming home to New Jersey the Devils would defend their home turf by blowing out the Red Wings twice 5-2 to complete the sweep and claim the Stanley Cup, as Claude Lemieux who scored 13 postseason goals, after scoring just 6 times in the regular season was awarded with Conn Smythe Trophy.

1999/00: The Devils would get off to a fast start again quickly taking the lead in the Atlantic Division. Through most of January and February the Devils would hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Along the way Ken Daneyko would become the first Devil to appear in 1,000 games for the franchise. However, as March started the Devils would struggle, posting a 5-10-2-1 record from February 17 to March 21st. Despite still hanging on to the top spot the Devils would fire Coach Robbie Ftorek and replace him with assistant Larry Robinson. Under Robinson the Devils would split their final 4 games and would fall out of first place finishing n 2nd with a record of 45-29-8-5. After closing the regular season on the wrong foot the Devils suddenly found themselves in the playoffs as they swept the Florida Panthers in 4 straight games. In the 2nd round the Devils would face the Toronto Maple Leafs splitting the first 4 games. The Devils would go in to Toronto and take Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead as the held off a late Leafs rally to win 4-3. With a chance to reach the Eastern Conference Finals the Devils jumped out early as Petr Sykora scoring 18 seconds into the game. From there the Devils employed the trap allowing just 6 shots in the entire game, to blank the Leafs 3-0. The 6 shots were the lowest in any NHL game since 1967. As they had 5 years earlier the Devils were matched up against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Finals. The Devils would get off to a fast start taking Game 1 in Philly 4-1. However, the Devils would let a 3-1 lead slip away from them in Game 3 as the Flyers evened the series. The Devils appeared to be affected by the missed opportunity as the Flyers took the next 2 games at the Meadowlands to grab 3-1 series lead. Facing elimination the Devils would bring their A game for a 4-1 victory in Game 5 on the road. Still needing a win to even the series the Devils broke open a scoreless tie on a goal by Claude Lemieux who had been reacquired earlier in the season. The Devils would go on to win the game 2-1 to force a decisive 7th game. The Devils and Flyers battled into the 3rd period tied at 1 as Flyers star Eric Lindros was knocked out by a crushing hit from Scott Stevens. Patrick Elias would end up scoring the game-winning goal with 2:32 left in the game, as the Devils became the first teams in the expansion era to rally from a3-1 deficit in the Conference Finals. Facing the defending Champion Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals the Devils would get of to a roaring start taking Game 1 at home 7-2. However the Stars would rally to take Game 2 sending the series even at 1 to Dallas. In Dallas the Devils would once again become kings of the road grabbing both games to take a 3-1 series lead as the Devils defense held the high scoring Stars to 2 goals. Looking to close the series out in Game 5 at home the Devils and Stars would battle late into the night with neither side being able to light the lamp. The Stars would go on to win the game with a Mike Modano goal in triple overtime. In Game 6 back in Dallas the Devils and Stars would battle into overtime again as the Petr Sykora was lost early in the game with a concussion. Tied at 1 the game would go into double overtime when Jason Arnott one time a Patrik Elias pass to clinch the Devils 2nd Stanley Cup. During the celebration Coach Larry Robinson would wear Sykora's jersey as Scott Stevens who set the defensive tone won the Conn Smythe. Following the celebration the Devils would take the cup to the hospital to Petr Sykora's hospital room.

2002/03: Facing the Cinderella Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the Stanley Cup Finals loaded with subplots including a battle between Petr Sykora and Jeff Friesen who were traded for each other in the off season while Devils defenseman Scott Niedermayer was matched up against his brother Rob in the first headed to head match up of Stanley Cup siblings since in 59 years. The Devils would get the first laugh as Friesen scored twice in a 3-0 win in Game 1 as the Devils limited the Mighty Ducks to 16 shots. Game 2 would be a carbon copy as the Devils again won 3-0 while allowing just 16 shots on goal. However, as the series shifted to Anaheim the Ducks would bounce back winning the next 2 games in overtime to even the series at 2 games a piece. After 4 tight defensive games Game 5 back at Meadowlands would be shoot out as the Devils regained the series edge with a 6-3 win, gaining their record tying 11th home playoff win. However, with a chance to close things out in Game 6 in Anaheim the Devils showed up flat as they were beaten 5-2 forcing a 7th game for the Stanley Cup at the Meadowlands. Thinking the Devils need a mental pick me up for Game 7 Coach Pat Burns activated Ken Daneyko for the finale. Daneyko who was relegated to a backup roll would provide an emotional lift to the Devils who got back to their tough defensive mind set holding the Ducks to 5 shots in a scoreless first period. In the second period rookie Mike Rupp would break the deadlock. The Devils would get some insurance as Jeff Friesen haunted his old team again to give the Devils a 2-0 lead heading into the final period. Form there Martin Brodeur too over blanking the Ducks for a third time in the finals as Friesen added a 3rd goal, late in the final minutes. As time ticked down on the Devils 3rd Stanley Cup Championship Ken Daneyko was on the ice ending his 20-year career with the Devils in style, as Martin Brodeur set a NHL record with 7 shutouts in the playoffs. However, Brodeur would lose out in the voting for the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP.