It was the first playoff game I'd ever been to. My dad and I had been going to games all season and had a package in section 217, row 17, seat 9 & 10. But or the first time this was a playoff game.
It was a Thursday night and the CAA was electric. This was the first game since June 24, 1995 so we were ready to explode.
When the puck dropped it was loud electric. The game itself felt so much faster than it probably was. Alot of the game was a blur. I remember after the first goal, some fan threw a pig's head on the ice. It felt like a major fuck you to the Panthers fan at the time. Hysterical moment.
Suddenly it's late in the third. The game has flown by, it's 4-2 Devils and we were starting to get ready to go home when a little bit of playoff magic happened.
The Canadiens had pulled their goalie and played the puck in deep. Then Marty picked up the puck and shot it down the ice. I remember thinking nothing of it till it was still going straight down the ice and there wasn't a single player near it.
It felt like slow motion as the puck went in the net, the light went on and the horn went off. After that I don't even remember hearing The Hey Song.
It wasn't until the replay was shown on the board that I saw Marty jump into Shawn Chamber's arms in celebration. It was amazing. The chants of "MAR-TIN!!! MAR-TIN!!!" still remain some of the loudest I've ever heard in person.
That night I also realized that TV does not do this game justice, especially back in 1997. There is no way I would ever experience that kind of moment at home watching on TV.
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