NEWARK, N.J. Since Oct. 7 when they won their season opener, the New Jersey Devils have not spent a single day out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.On Thursday night, in front of a sold-out crowd on Fan Appreciation Night at the Prudential Center, the Devils guaranteed they would go the entire season without falling from the top eight in the East, clinching a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 2-1 nail-biting win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs in their next-to-last game of the 2017-18 regular season. In so doing, the Devils snapped a five Las Vegas Raiders T Shirts -year playoff drought, and their top player and Hart Trophy candidate Taylor Hall punched aticket to the postseason for the first time in his eight-year National Hockey League career."Fan Appreciation Night, to clinch, to have it come down to the last second there, it's a lot of fun," Hall said in the happy and somewhat relieved postgame dre sing room. "Personally, it was really good feeling to hear that buzzer go and see the playoff logo on the Jumbotron and hear the ovation. That's what it's all about. I'm excited to see what we can do (in the playoffs)."Our is ! The are Playoffs bound! x - New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) The Devils K.J. Wright Jersey who started the season by winning nine of their first 11 games needed a strong kick to hold off the surging Florida Panthers down the stretch, and they did just that. With a dominant Hall raising his game to new heights, careerlong backup Keith Kinkaid masterfully taking the reins as the No. 1 goaltender and heroes emerging nightly up and down the lineup, the Devils are 7-0-1 in their last eight games and 10-2-1 in their last 13."After all we went through last year, and the way we've been able to overcome everything this season and really play our best hockey down the stretch here, Iam really proud to be a part of this group," offered Hall, who arrived in New Jersey in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers over the summer of 2016 and then suffered through a last-place finish a year ago."This is the first step of the journey, there's a lot more to come . . . but it is a big first step."Thursday marked the 529th regular season game of Hall's career one that no longer will carry Trevon Moehrig Jersey the moniker of "best player never to have played in the Stanley Cup playoffs.""It's no better feeling than to prove people wrong, and as a team we've done it," said Hall, who has 39 goals and 93 points this season.The Devils won and subsequently clinched Thursday on a night when Hall was neutralized by the tight checking of Toronto's Nazem Kadri, Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner. Patrick Maroon stepped up with a pair of a sists, Pavel Zacha scored the tying goal early in the second period and Miles Wood went to the net and buried the eventual game-winner at 17:02 of the middle stanza.Then there was Kinkaid, the 28-year-old who started each of the last eight games for the Devils, making a string of acrobatic saves finishing with 31 to boost his record to an eye-popping 16-3-1 since Feb. 24, effectively replacing Cory Schneider as Howie Long Jersey the team's top netminder."He's played great, and (Thursday) night he played great again," Kyle Palmieri said of Kinkaid. "He's kind of been our backbone in these last couple weeks. It's been an awesome stretch of hockey, to see the way he's played and stepped up."Countered Kinkaid, "I am fortunate to be in that position, and the guys in front of me are playing great hockey. They make my job easier, taking the pre sure off of me."Then there was the final faceoff in the Devils' end of the ice with 6.3 seconds on the clock and every last person in the building on their feet. Fittingly, veteran center Travis Zajac took and won the draw, while team captain Andy Greene also was on the ice. Zajac and Greene are the only two current Devils who were on the team when New Jersey last reached the postseasonin 2012 a run that went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final."It's awesome, really cool when the final buzzer went off," said the 35-year-old Greene. "There were a lot of emotions. We came in when we were expected to make the playoffs every year, then went Marcel Reece Jersey through a little bit of a down time here, so it makes this even sweeter. For us to do it tonight, on our terms, in front of our fans and a great atmosphere, is just awesome."Zajac then sounded the call to arms for the 2018 playoffs."It's been a while, and this is great," said Zajac. "But it's a different animal in the playoffs and we can't be satisfied just getting in."