NHL ref works final game, Flyers-Penguins

THE VIDEO tribute began to roll during the final television timeout yesterday and as soon as Paul Devorski's name flashed on the big screen, boos rained down from all corners of Wells Fargo Center.

Devorski was just glad the video didn't play earlier in the third period with fans still hot and bothered after Jake Voracek's 10-minute misconduct.

"They said it was coming and they were going to do it right at the start of the third," Devorski said. "The fans were kind of restless right then, so they held off until near the end. It worked out pretty good. I heard the 'Ref, You Suck' [chant] earlier in the first period, so I was probably expecting it. The fans here are pretty good."

Once the 18,435 realized the video was to honor the last game of Devorski's 26-year NHL career, they rose to give him a standing ovation.

Devorski, 56, will begin the next chapter of his life today after 1,594 regular-season and 197 Stanley Cup playoff games. His first game was on Oct. 14, 1989 between New Jersey and Hartford, when Voracek was not yet 2 months old. He worked his final game yesterday alongside his younger brother, Greg, who has been a linesman for 22 years.

When it was over, both the Penguins and Flyers lined up to shake the hand of a familiar No. 10 in stripes. Kimmo Timonen organized a similar salute last week after the Blackhawks' game against Los Angeles, which represented Devorski's final Western Conference assignment.

Claude Giroux gave Devorski a hug. Mark Streit thanked him for his service. Even Zac Rinaldo, who is normally on the wrong side of the officials, offered a brief word.

"That was great," Devorski said. "There were a lot of good things I'm happy to remember, especially in this building. I worked here quite a bit. This game was a playoff atmosphere. I live down the road in Harrisburg. My dad lives in Toronto, but he couldn't make the game because he is sick, so I thought I might as well do it here. Philly has always been good to me."

Devorski's retirement represents a changing of the guard, the end of such familiar names in orange armbands whose appearance typically guaranteed a low-key contest with the focus on the action on the ice and not the officials. He is the last to retire from an era that included names like Bill McCreary, Don Van Massenhoven, Don Koharski, Kerry Fraser and Dan Marouelli.

Devorski earned a solid reputation because of his ease of communication with both players and coaches. He could take the verbal abuse and dish it back - without any hard feelings. He's even been caught a few times on video, once unleashing a fury of foul language at John Tortorella.

"I was just being myself out there," Devorski said. "I got along with most of the guys pretty well. Sometimes, I've been a [pain], too. You've got to turn that switch on. But for the most part, I've been myself out there. There's a lot of things that I can say on the ice that I can't say here. I haven't been good at disguising anything."

That communication created lasting relationships for the son of a junior hockey league official from Guelph, Ontario. He became particularly close with Craig Berube, who played in Hershey and they then crossed paths along the years in the NHL, and numerous other players.

" 'Devo' was one of the best because he would call guys out and he knew who was bluffing and who wasn't," Penguins assistant general manager Bill Guerin told NHL.com.

"There was one game, and I forget who the two players were, they were yapping at each other and pushing and face-washing. The linesmen were kind of getting in there, and Devo came over and he goes, 'No, no, no, no, back up. OK, you two, go ahead, fight.' The two guys didn't do anything, and Devo goes, 'See, cut the [bullbleep].' "

Devorski was rewarded with assignments in the 1999 All-Star Game, 2004 World Cup of Hockey, outdoor games in 2011 (Heinz Field) and 2014 (Yankee Stadium), plus the 2006 (Turin) and 2010 (Vancouver) Winter Olympics. Two of his most cherished memories were the gold-medal game in Turin and Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup finals, when Pittsburgh held off Detroit.

The Stanley Cup playoffs will go on without him for the first time since 1992.

"That sucks," Devorski said.

It was fitting his last game was between the Flyers and Penguins, since he lives almost in the middle of the two cities. He moved to Harrisburg 25 years ago to be able to work most any game on the Eastern seaboard and be home in his own bed the same night. After millions of miles on the road, he's hoping there will be an official's supervisor role for him available at the league office.

"It's time to go," Devorski said. "You see the speed out there. Especially when it's in the corners, they all want the wall and that's where we stand, so we've got to keep pivoting and pivoting. I got ran over twice the other night in Chicago. I said, 'Oh, it is time to go.' "