Martin Brodeur

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.

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.

While the coach and system have changed this year, the New Jersey Devils are once again a division winner. They captured their third straight Atlantic Division title last night by defeating the visiting Washington Capitals, 1-0. Martin Brodeur made 15 saves and Brian Rolston scored the game-winner with his 20th goal of the season as New Jersey became the first team since the Flyers (1985 to '87) to win three straight division titles. "There was a question mark at the beginning of the season," Rolston said of the coaching switch from Jacques Lemaire to Robbie Ftorek.

Martin Brodeur wanted his extra digit - and he got it. Brodeur become the first NHL goalie since Montreal's Ken Dryden in 1976-77 to post 10 shutouts in a season, leading host New Jersey to a 2-0 victory over Boston last night. "It's always fun to get into that double digit," Brodeur said. "It's something you aim for when you are close. I've just gone out and tried to do my best and this year I got 10. " The shutout, Brodeur's fourth in six starts, lowered his league-leading goals-against average to 1.88.

As a youngster growing up in Montreal, Martin Brodeur idolized Patrick Roy. Last night, Brodeur trumped his idol in a duel of premier goaltenders as the streaking New Jersey Devils posted their fifth straight win with a 4-1 victory at home over the Colorado Avalanche. Brodeur made 20 saves to help the Devils win for the eighth time in their last nine contests (8-1-0), while Roy had a subpar night. Brodeur admitted he still gets a charge from the matchup. "It's not as much as my first couple of years in the league," Brodeur said.

After allowing 12 goals in two games, the New Jersey Devils tightened up defensively. The Devils blanked the Ottawa Senators, 1-0, in Kanata, Ontario, on Bill Guerin's goal and Martin Brodeur's 19-save goaltending. Scott Niedermayer fed the puck to Steve Sullivan in the neutral zone and Sullivan got around Senators defenseman Frank Musil on the left wing and passed to Guerin on the right side. Guerin snapped a shot behind Damian Rhodes for his team-high 15th goal at 5:13 of the third period.

Martin Brodeur bounced back from his shortest postseason performance with a record-setting 24th Stanley Cup playoff shutout, leading the host New Jersey Devils to a 4-0 victory over the Florida Panthers Thursday night, tying their first-round series at 2-all. Brodeur made 26 saves in taking over sole possession of the postseason shutout mark from Patrick Roy. The 39-year-old goaltender also added his second assist of the series, giving him 10 for his career, four behind all-time leader Grant Fuhr.

James Neal scored in the third round of a shootout and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the visiting New Jersey Devils, 1-0, last night in a game dominated by goalies Marc-Andre Fleury and Martin Brodeur. Fleury made 21 saves for his third shutout of the season and the 19th of his career. He also stopped Brian Rolston, Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias in the shootout. Brodeur extended his NHL shutout record to 116 with his sixth of the season. He made 26 saves and stopped Alexei Kovalev in the shootout.

THE FLYERS' plan to avoid looking past the Devils today to tomorrow's Stanley Cup final rematch in Chicago is simple: Remember how close they came to losing to the Devils on Jan. 8, when the Devils began their resurgence. It came as the Devils were marching toward a fourth straight loss, their second in 2 days to the Flyers and their seventh in the eight games since Jacques Lemaire took over as coach for John MacLean. It happened with the Flyers holding a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.

NEWARK, N.J. - It's sad to watch as a living legend's career starts to fade toward, well, retirement. That's what seemed to be happening with Martin Brodeur, the 38-year-old goalie whose demise has been matched by his New Jersey Devils teammates this season. Brodeur, the winningest goalie in NHL history, has the league's 32d-best goals-against average (2.87) and 37th-best save percentage (.894). Marty Legend, as he is called by his many fans, also has a 9-18-2 record for the NHL's worst team.

LONG A TEAM incapable of finding one starting goalie, the Flyers are now suppliers. Johan Hedberg has been New Jersey's starter in Martin Brodeur's absence; Antero Niittymaki started last night for the San Jose Sharks. Soon, it would seem, one of the two goalies who backstopped the Flyers' improbable charge into the Stanley Cup finals last spring will have to find work elsewhere. "I would not be opposed to carrying three goalies, for the short term anyway," general manager Paul Holmgren said this week, anticipating the return of Michael Leighton to the big club from a rehab stint in the minors.

Before we examine Flyers coach Peter Laviolette's surprising decision not to start good soldier Brian Boucher against Tampa Bay on Thursday, let's get some perspective. It has been nearly a year since The Driven One, Laviolette, was named the Flyers' coach, and his intensity and ability to get the most out of his players has endeared him to the fans. Laviolette's resumé includes a Stanley Cup championship with Carolina in 2006, and a Finals appearance last season with a Flyers team that grossly underachieved until the playoffs rolled around.

Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens, 1986 The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup as this rookie sensation racked up a 1.92 goals-against average and won 15 of 20 playoff games. His best game was a 1-0 shutout of the Calgary Flames in Game 4 of the Cup Finals. Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche, 2001 Selected by many as the best NHL goalie ever, Roy earned four shutouts and 16 playoff victories, including two shutouts in the Finals against the Devils. He had a 1.58 goals-against average in 23 games.

Sitting at his locker-room stall wearing flip-flops and the sweat from another brisk practice, Brian Boucher tilted his head back and erupted in laughter before answering the question. "No," the Flyers goalie said when asked whether he found the persistent references to him as a journeyman to be insulting. "I am a journeyman, but I'm proud of my career. " One of Webster's definitions of a journeyman is: A competent but routine worker or performer. That pretty much sums up Boucher's career.

Goaltending, special teams, and defense. Those three ingredients, staples in playoff hockey, carried the seventh-seeded Flyers to their four-games-to-one elimination of second-seeded New Jersey in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal. In the Flyers' five-game dispatching of the Atlantic Division champion Devils, journeyman Brian Boucher outplayed Martin Brodeur, the winningest goalie in NHL history; Ian Laperriere and Blair Betts keyed a penalty-killing unit that was superb; and Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen anchored a team-wide defensive effort - the back-checking forwards should not be overlooked - that did not allow New Jersey to score an even-strength goal in the last three games.

Goaltending, special teams, and defense. Those three ingredients, staples in playoff hockey, carried the seventh-seeded Flyers to their four-games-to-one elimination of second-seeded New Jersey in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal. In the Flyers' five-game dispatching of the Atlantic Division champion Devils, journeyman Brian Boucher outplayed Martin Brodeur, the winningest goalie in NHL history; Ian Laperriere and Blair Betts keyed a penalty-killing unit that was superb; and Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen anchored a team-wide defensive effort - the back-checking forwards should not be overlooked - that did not allow New Jersey to score an even-strength goal in the last three games.