East Rutherford, NJ (My Sportsbook) - The fact that Michael Rupp and Jeff Friesen, both in their first season as New Jersey Devils, played integral roles in the club's 3-0 win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in Game 7 Monday night was a fitting tribute to the way the Devs have earned their three Stanley Cups

Three titles. Three different coaches. Three diverse casts of characters.

The era of the Devils has been one of adaptation with the times. Utilizing a base mentality and core group of players, general manager Lou Lamoriello has been able to mold three champions by surrounding the key cogs with the right mix of complements and giving them the proper helmsman for that particular point in time.

At the other end of the spectrum, Monday's historic triumph -- Jersey joined Detroit, Edmonton, Montreal and the NY Islanders as the only clubs to win at least three titles in the post-expansion era -- was also a living testament to the aforementioned core -- Scott Stevens, Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer and Ken Daneyko -- who have been there from the beginning.

The goaltender of the bunch especially had his say in Game 7, complementing goals from Rupp and Friesen -- two for the latter -- with 24 saves for his third shutout of this series. Brodeur, much to the chagrin of the Meadowlands faithful, didn't win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, but his performance Monday reinforced that he is absolutely the top netminder in the game. The effort included 10 stops in a frantic third period that had many in the Continental Airlines seats chomping at their nails in anticipation.

But Brodeur was there every time and managed his NHL-record seventh blanking of the postseason, which broke Dominik Hasek's mark set a year ago. Brodeur's third Cup simply pads his Hall of Fame resume, but don't think he is finished yet.

"I think it's important to know that it's not over for us and we are going to try to build on this," said the 31-year-old. "I think that we have a great bunch of guys, we have a great organization. We have a lot of young guys that are going to come up."

One of those "young guys" is Rupp, who sparked the first of many eruptions during the course of the evening with his first career playoff goal 2:22 into the second period. Rupp, who made his NHL postseason debut in Game 4, added assists on both of Friesen's insurance tallies as well.

"I'm caught up in everything going on," said Rupp, who took the injured Joe Nieuwendyk's spot on his line. "It's just been great. Two weeks ago, I never would have thought this could happen, so Coach [Pat] Burns put me in this situation and showed he believed in me and I've been blessed with that situation. It worked out great."

The 6-5, 230-pound Rupp is only 23, and Friesen, who rediscovered the scoring touch of his early career with 10 playoff goals, is just 26. Jamie Langenbrunner, who led the team with 11 tallies this spring, is a year older at 27. Patrik Elias, John Madden, Brian Gionta -- the list goes on -- are all under 30.

OK, enough numbers, but the point is that the Devils aren't finished contending, and could wind up with two or three more of these things before all is said and done. Perhaps the only thing that might stop them is a lengthy labor battle in 2004. Of the core group, Stevens and Daneyko, who likely played his last game with the team, are the only ones nearing the end, and I would expect Stevens, 39, to go a couple more years considering he can still play at a reputable level.

Brodeur is, well, Brodeur. He's fresh off both his best regular season and playoff, and isn't going anywhere. Niedermayer, meanwhile, was perhaps the best player on the ice in Game 7, logging nearly 25 minutes of ice time and assisting on the first two goals. He is clearly capable of anchoring a championship blueline for years to come.

Will the Devils win a fourth, or even fifth championship? No one is a mindreader, but as long as Lamoriello is running the ship it is a rather safe bet. Jersey has fought through many obstacles in reaching its status at what has to be considered a moderate dynasty. From Day 1, the Devs have been ripped for being boring -- the league instituted rules to try to lessen the effect of their trap -- and many find it disgraceful that a team representing useless marshland and a highway exit has become so successful.

It is true that the Devils' philosophy has ruined the high-flying game hockey was in the 1980s and early '90s, and the team's fanbase, with the exception of rowdies up in Section 217, is lukewarm at best. But, while a team of the Devils' stature would be better served in a market that can fully appreciate them -- in other words throw a celebration that isn't limited to the parking lot -- and it's much more exciting when the best player on the team isn't the goaltender, the bottom line is the end result.

And when you're the last one standing three times in nine seasons, that's a pretty impressive bottom line.