from Damien Cox of The Spin,

They came into the season as the most disrespected Stanley Cup finalist in modern NHL history.

Nobody, but nobody looked at the New Jersey Devils when the NHL and union finally worked out their differences and imagined they would be a serious Stanley Cup contender.

No matter that the Devils were the class of the Eastern Conference last season and battled the Los Angeles Kings hard before falling in the Cup final.

All that seemed to matter was that Zach Parise was gone, Martin Brodeur was old and how could a team with Bryce Salvador as captain scare anybody.

Well, scaring the rest of the league is what the Devils are doing. Again. Like always.

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