Martin Brodeur

JAKOB SILFVERBERG hit the post on one shot and just missed with another in regulation, so the young Ottawa Senators right wing wanted to make sure he made the right plays down the stretch - especially in the shootout. "I had a few chances and missed them," said Silfverberg, whose goal in the shootout was the lone tally in the Senators' 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils in Newark on Monday. "The one that hit the post, [Devils goalkeeper Martin Brodeur] didn't know where it was, so I really thought I had that one. " However, Silfverberg made up for his earlier misses by setting up Daniel Alfredsson for the tying goal with 11:48 left in regulation, then gave the Senators the win by finally beating Brodeur in the shootout.

MARTIN Brodeur isn't the only New Jersey Devils goalie who knows a thing or two about shutouts. Veteran backup Johan Hedberg made 22 saves for his 22nd career blanking, and Steve Bernier scored two of New Jersey's three third-period goals in the Devils' 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday in Uniondale, N.Y. The game was scoreless until Bernier broke the deadlock with a power-play goal with 3:54 remaining. He doubled New Jersey's lead just 1:10 later, and David Clarkson sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final minute as the Devils snapped a four-game losing streak (0-1-3)

Slightly more than eight minutes remained in the third period, and New Jersey's 1-0 lead over the Rangers was still tenuous when the Devils fans packed into Continental Airlines Arena last night stood in unison during a pause in the riveting action and saluted goalie Martin Brodeur with a long, loud ovation. The Rangers, decidedly outplayed most of the game, had just finished peppering Brodeur with three of their most dangerous shots. First it was Doug Lidster, then Luc Robitaille, then Shane Churla after Robitaille's blast popped out into the crease.

They had no history worth noting. No tradition except as annual first-round playoff losers with questionable character. Last night, though, the New Jersey Devils earned a place in the hearts of their small legion of fans. Now it can be said that the Devils have courage. It's a start in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Carrying the weight of a potentially demoralizing and fatiguing 1-0 loss in the fourth overtime of a Game 6 that lasted 6 hours and 12 minutes, the Devils edged the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1, at Meadowlands Arena to grab this seemingly never-ending best-of-seven series, four games to three, and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Martin Brodeur was pressing one hand against the side of his head, checking to see if his right ear was still attached. With his other hand, he was groping for his mask, which had been dislodged by a vicious slapshot by the Flyers' Kevin Dineen. During this odd third-period sequence, the superb young goalie had become a symbol for his New Jersey Devils, a symbol for a team that has suddenly lost its equilibrium in the Eastern Conference finals. The Devils, who had their way with the Flyers in the first two games at the Spectrum, have gone through a rapid transformation.

JAROMIR JAGR scored off his skate in his Bruins debut and Tuukka Rask stopped 40 shots to lead Boston to a 1-0 victory over the visiting New Jersey Devils on Thursday night. Acquired from Dallas this week shortly before the trade deadline, Jagr joined the Bruins for the pregame skate Thursday morning and quickly endeared himself to the Boston fans. Brad Marchand's centering pass went off Jagr's left skate and past Martin Brodeur to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead with 80 seconds gone in the second period.

Corey Crawford made 28 saves and Andrew Shaw scored the only goal as the host Chicago Blackhawks stretched their NHL-record, season-opening point streak to 18 games with a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night. Crawford earned his seventh NHL shutout and second this season in his first start since Feb. 12. He outdueled Columbus' Steve Mason, who stopped 26 shots. Shaw provided all the offense in the second period for the Blackhawks (15-0-3), who haven't lost in regulation time this season and have earned 33 of a 36 possible points.

Brandon Dubinsky scored once and added two assists, leading the New York Rangers to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks last night. The Rangers are 3-0 for the first time since 1989. In other games: At Raleigh, N.C., the Hurricanes beat the Florida Panthers, 6-4 . . . At Newark, N.J., Martin Brodeur finished with 25 saves and the Devils beat the New York Islanders, 2-1 . . . At Buffalo, Ales Kotalik scored a shootout goal as the Sabres beat Montreal, 2-1 . . . At Dallas, Rich Nash's goal with 20 seconds left in overtime lifted Columbus, 5-4 . . . At Atlanta, Bryan Little's two goals helped lead the Thrashers over Washington, 7-4 . . . At St. Louis, Keith Tkachuk scored twice in a 5-2 Blues win over Nashville.

There was just one surprise last night when Flyers general manager Bob Clarke, appearing in Ottawa, announced the Canadian Olympic team that will go to Nagano, Japan, in February. Of course, the Flyers' Eric Lindros, Rod Brind'Amour and Eric Desjardins were on it. But Vancouver's Mark Messier wasn't. "I talked to Mark this afternoon, and he reacted with class and dignity, as you would expect, and wished us good luck," Clarke, the GM of the Canadian team, said in a prepared statement.

The Flyers are not the only team in the Atlantic Division to undergo changes in the offseason. New York Rangers: Added centers Chris Drury (Buffalo) and Scott Gomez (New Jersey) to an offense that already had Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan. Lost Michael Nylander to Washington and traded Matt Cullen to Carolina. Pittsburgh: The Penguins did not have many moves to make since they are loaded, with league MVP Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal on offense, Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar on defense and Marc-Andre Fleury in net. The biggest moves were signing Crosby to a 5-year, $43 million extension and the additions of Petr Sykora and Darryl Sydor.

There were lots of empty seats at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night, and few good scoring chances for the Flyers or New Jersey Devils. Welcome to late-season hockey for two teams on the verge of being eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The Flyers continued a recent trend: Another team ended a long losing streak against them. New Jersey snapped a 10-game skid as Martin Brodeur notched his 121st career shutout to defeat the Flyers, 3-0. Brodeur, who has more shutouts than any goalie in NHL history, had gone 10 straight games (0-6-4)

MATS ZUCCARELLO had little to celebrate six games into his second stint with the New York Rangers. The 5-7 spark plug had no goals and two assists in his return. Demanding coach John Tortorella noticed and wasn't pleased with the lack of production. On Wednesday, before the Rangers took the ice for the back end of a home-and-home series with Toronto, Tortorella called out Zuccarello, saying he needed to score - in games and in shootouts. The message got through in a hurry.

JAROMIR JAGR scored off his skate in his Bruins debut and Tuukka Rask stopped 40 shots to lead Boston to a 1-0 victory over the visiting New Jersey Devils on Thursday night. Acquired from Dallas this week shortly before the trade deadline, Jagr joined the Bruins for the pregame skate Thursday morning and quickly endeared himself to the Boston fans. Brad Marchand's centering pass went off Jagr's left skate and past Martin Brodeur to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead with 80 seconds gone in the second period.

In his first game in a month, Martin Brodeur was credited with his third career goal and made 17 saves Thursday to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 4-1 road victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Peter Harrold, Adam Henrique, and Andrei Loktionov also scored to help the Devils snap a three-game losing streak. Brodeur, who had been out since Feb. 21 with a pinched nerve in his neck, got credit for the game's first goal when Carolina's Jordan Staal passed the puck back to the point from behind the net with a delayed penalty call pending against Marek Zidlicky.

MARTIN BRODEUR playfully asked what else he could have done for the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night, and coach Peter DeBoer had an idea. "If he would've got in a fight, he would've done a little bit of everything for us," DeBoer said. Brodeur scored his third career goal and made 17 saves in his first game in a month, leading visiting New Jersey to a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Brodeur had been out since Feb. 21 with a pinched nerve in his upper back and neck.

A PINCHED nerve in his neck and upper back sidelined New Jersey's Martin Brodeur for 12 games, and doctors told the NHL's winningest goaltender there was a chance it could have been a lot longer. Brodeur returned to Devils practice for the first time in nearly a month Monday and felt pain-free after working out for an hour at the team's practice rink at the Prudential Center. The 40-year-old will not start against the New York Rangers Tuesday, but he did not rule out backing up Johan Hedberg, who has started every game in his absence.

The Washington Capitals shut down former teammate Alexander Semin and put together a second consecutive impressive performance, beating the visiting Carolina Hurricanes, 3-0, Tuesday night.   Jets jolt Rangers Olli Jokinen scored twice and Evander Kane had a goal and an assist in the second period for the surging Winnipeg Jets, who completed a dominant road trip with a 4-3 victory over the injury-riddled and slumping New York Rangers.   Penguins fall Tomas Kopecky recorded his first career hat trick, and Tomas Fleischmann had the go-ahead score for his 100th career goal, lifting the host Florida Panthers to a 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Corey Crawford made 28 saves and Andrew Shaw scored the only goal as the host Chicago Blackhawks stretched their NHL-record, season-opening point streak to 18 games with a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night. Crawford earned his seventh NHL shutout and second this season in his first start since Feb. 12. He outdueled Columbus' Steve Mason, who stopped 26 shots. Shaw provided all the offense in the second period for the Blackhawks (15-0-3), who haven't lost in regulation time this season and have earned 33 of a 36 possible points.

Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty scored 18 seconds apart in the third period to seal the Montreal Canadiens' fourth straight win, a 3-0 victory over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Pacioretty added an assist and Brandon Prust also scored for Montreal in the third. Peter Budaj made 19 saves for his second win of the season and his first shutout in a Canadiens uniform. Senators beat Devils in shootout Jakob Silfverberg beat Martin Brodeur to his stick side in the shootout and goalie Ben Bishop turned aside 30 shots for his first victory of the season, giving the Ottawa Senators a 2-1 win over the host New Jersey Devils on Monday afternoon.

JAKOB SILFVERBERG hit the post on one shot and just missed with another in regulation, so the young Ottawa Senators right wing wanted to make sure he made the right plays down the stretch - especially in the shootout. "I had a few chances and missed them," said Silfverberg, whose goal in the shootout was the lone tally in the Senators' 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils in Newark on Monday. "The one that hit the post, [Devils goalkeeper Martin Brodeur] didn't know where it was, so I really thought I had that one. " However, Silfverberg made up for his earlier misses by setting up Daniel Alfredsson for the tying goal with 11:48 left in regulation, then gave the Senators the win by finally beating Brodeur in the shootout.