The Devils, you say.(Stanley Cup champions)

The defending Stanley Cup champs, with their combination of talent, discipline and unselfishness, are looking like league-beaters again

The words were short and to the point, yet profoundly eloquent, spoken in a loud and snarly voice spiced with a few adjectives not appropriate for the ears of young stick-handlers.

The speech wasn't a Knute Rockne pep talk. It was a scolding by Devils captain Scott Stevens, a passionate and effective reminder for his teammates to be more alert. It was so effective that one opponent remembered it clearly.

"I'm standing there looking at Stevens screaming at his teammates, pleading with them, imploring them to be better," Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis says. "I couldn't believe it. We're being embarrassed 9-0, in a late October game, with less then two minutes left, and he's all over his teammates about giving up one scoring chance."

According to Kasparaitis, this is what Stevens said: "If you can't finish off this game, what makes you think we'll be able to do it the next time, or the time after that? You DON'T remain champions by letting ANYONE off the hook, in ANY situation. Let's shut these guys down and show we're the defending Stanley Cup champions."

The Devils went on to preserve the shutout and finish the game strong. Stevens' speech, and the team's response, says a lot about the club's character. And that speech is just one example of what it takes to be a super team.

"We didn't have a chance at all," Penguins goaltender Garth Snow says. "They taught us a lesson. Seeing Stevens yell at his teammates in that situation should be a wakeup call for all of us to show us that you don't get to be champions without a discipline, a passion, an unselfishness that goes above and beyond the call of duty."