A guy in a Devils jersey sat right behind the glass Thursday night at Mellon Arena, right along the goal line. He took his seat almost immediately after the visiting team had taken the ice, then chatted up some people around him as the game went on. When the Devils scored, he clapped vigorously, but smiled only occasionally. Sure, he loves being at the rink during the playoffs. But not as much as before.

The guy in the Devils jersey is 37-year-old John Vanbiesbrouck. Because the visitors' bench is so small here at the Igloo, the backup goalie has to sit across the rink from his team, in the galley leading to the locker room. Only a handrail and an aisle of steps separated Vanbiesbrouck from the rest of the spectators. "I don't really like it," he says evenly. "I don't feel a part of the team."

When there was a stoppage in play and his teammates got together to plan and refresh, Vanbiesbrouck's thoughts wandered to next year. And the year after that. He thought about the pros and cons of staying on the other side of the dasher for good. "I can't give you an answer," he said after his team had beaten Pittsburgh 3-0 to take a 2-1 Eastern Finals lead. "But there aren't too many pros."

If Vanbiesbrouck somehow gets in a couple more appearances this spring -- and he's quite comfortable knowing he won't -- he'll have 4,000 playoff minutes in the books. In his playoff career he has won 28 games, made nearly 1,900 saves, and gave up 177 goals for a neat 2.68 goals-against average. The highlight has to be 1996, when he took the fledgling Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup Finals virtually by himself. He came within four wins of hockey's greatest accomplishment -- an accomplishment he will savor if the Devils win six more games. "I can't change the bad things," he said Thursday night. "But this would be a nice way to complete my career."

But Vanbiesbrouck's minutes away from the rink over the last 19 years are even more memorable than those on it. He had four children. His older brother Frank, who first inspired him to play goalie, took his own life. And he found a newer and deeper religious faith. Don't be fooled by the bleached hair: Vanbiesbrouck is pushing 40, and he has a full life to show for it. "I don't know if it's worth it to come back and play in 20 games," he says. Maybe he'll go into coaching, or broadcasting. Maybe he'll leave the game altogether and move back to his home state of Michigan. He still has family there.

When the final horn sounded Thursday night at the Igloo, the guy in the Devils jersey stood up in satisfaction and appreciation, but he did not wait for the team to leave the ice surface. As the Devils gathered to congratulate winning goalie Martin Brodeur, John Vanbiesbrouck turned and left. He had seen enough.

Eric Adelson is covering the NHL playoffs for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at eric.adelson@espnmag.com.