Martin Brodeur has done just that, appearing in his 1,000^th career game Saturday night to open the New Jersey Devils’ 2009-2010 season.

Opening the new year at home, the Devils lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2.

Brodeur saw a lot of action early in the game, as the Flyers out-shot the devils 5-1 in the first six minutes of the game.

The Flyers struck first, when Jeff Carter fired from the right faceoff circle off of a pass from Scott Hartnell at 15:47 in the first period.

Despite plenty of chances to even the score, including two 5-on-3 opportunities, the Devils found it very difficult to keep the puck in the offensive zone and rotate lines efficiently.

“That was probably the most negative in our game tonight, long shifts by different groups,” Devils’ coach Jacques Lemaire said.  “Because after, you don’t have that energy, especially in the first game.”

Philadelphia then used the momentum of penalty kills to add to their lead.

New Jersey native James van Riemsdyk sent a pass from the left blueline to Ian Laperriere, who took a wide-angle shot from the right faceoff circle that flew past Brodeur nine minutes into the second period.

Mike Richards put the Flyers up 3-0 six minutes later. Richards dumped the puck into the zone to Matt Carle. Carle sent the puck around the back boards and Richards picked up the puck and banged it off of Brodeur’s left leg pad, where it flipped into the top of the net.

Fans began to leave 7:34 into the third period when Darroll Powe fired a routine shot from the left faceoff circle that riccoted off of Brodeur’s mitt and into the far corner of the net. With his second assist of the game, van Riemsdyk notched his third point of his two-game-long NHL career.

The Devils maintained a shot lead over the Flyers for most of the game, but the visitors took advantage of the opportunities given.

New Jersey got on the board 9:44 into the final period when Philadelphia took a too-many-men penalty. Brian Rolston moved in from the point to the left faceoff circle and fired a dart into the net behind Flyers’ goalie Ray Emery.

Nicholas Bergfors and Dainius Zubrus were credited with the assists.

Any thought of a comeback was squashed at 11:13 when Matt Carle skated cleanly into the offensive zone and shot a puck that deflected off of Brodeur’s leg bad.

The Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner restored some energy to the building when he and Zubrus combined on a 2-on-1 short-handed breakaway. Langenbrunner fired five hole and Emery was unable to stop the puck.

“The best thing out of this game, I thought the guys kept playing, even though they took a big league,” Lemaire said.  “The guys were positive on the bench and talking about ‘don’t let up’ and working, and ‘we’ll get goals’.”

Brodeur stopped 22 of the 27 shots he faced, and Emery stopped 24 of the 26 shots aimed in his direction.

Had the Devils won, it would have been Lemaire’s 200^th career coaching victory.

New Jersey has another opportunity to get the milestone win for Lemaire against another Atlatic Division foe Monday in the second game of the season when the New York Rangers visit the Prudential Center at 7 p.m.

But that remains to be seen.

“I am planning to spend the next couple of weeks with my family to reflect on and evaluate my plans for the future,” the 40-year-old left wing said in a statement. Nowhere did he say that he was done.

After re-signing with the Devils over the summer, both parties had an agreement in place as an escape clause. “If we were unable to find a suitable fit in which I would be able to compete and contribute at the level I expect from myself, then I would simply step aside.”

Don’t count Shanny out. A similar situation occurred at the beginning of last season when the Rangers decided to not re-sign him after two campaigns at Madison Square Garden. More than half the season went by before Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello called and signed Shanahan for the final 34 games of the regular season. He scored only six goals and had eight assists after scoring at least 20 goals in every season since his second in the league.

The Devils are looking to get more playing time for a trio of prospects in Niclas Bergfors, Matt Haliscuk and Ilkka Pikkarainen. Their development would not continue as well if any of them were sent to the minors and the team is looking to give them the best opportunity to succeed at this level.

All three players showed promise during training camp and the preseason schedule and it takes a big man to step aside for the good of the team, plus he also was not satisfied with a limited roll. “I have great respect for Lou, Jacques (Devils head coach Lemaire) and the entire Devils organization,” Shanahan continued in the statement. “The decision was both mutual and amicable.”

In 1,524 career games, Shanahan has scored 656 goals and 698 assists (1,354 points) and a 151 +/- ratio. In 184 playoff games, he tallied 60 goals and 74 assists. The eight-time All-Star won three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings (1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02) and was a mainstay of their mini-dynasty. After nine years in Motown, Shanahan signed with the Rangers as a free agent and tallied his 600^th career goal as a Blueshirt on October 5, 2006 against Washington’s Olaf Kolzig.

Shanahan’s highest single season goal total came in 1993-94 when he had 52 with St. Louis. The year before, Shanahan had 51 goals for the Blues. During international play, Shanahan won a gold medal for Canada in the 1991 Canada Cup and another for his home country in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Needless to say, Shanahan should find himself in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day. That may be delayed if he finds a taker at this time. Certainly Lamoriello left the door open just a crack when he didn’t rule out a possible return for Shanahan or even a role within the organization in the future.

The Devils and the Islanders played 20 minutes of scoreless hockey to open up Tuesday’s game, and the Islanders killed off the one power-play opportunity afforded to the Devils.

“Two good shifts, two bad shifts. One good shift, one bad shift,” New Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire said. “The thing that is happening is that we don’t have five guys working together.”

A pre-season mistake of too-many-men put the Devils down a man 41 seconds into the second period, and the Isles took advantage.

New York scored 1:12 into the second on a shot by Jack Hillen that careened behind Martin Brodeur into the far corner of the net.

But the Devils were not defeated, as the goal seemed to open up the game.

With a little more than five minutes past in the second, Zach Parise forced a turnover in the Devils offensive zone. He dug the puck out from the left boards and found Travis Zajac left of Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson, and Zajac passed to Jamie Langenbrunner on the right corner of the crease.

Langenbrunner fired, and Parise met the rebound and poked it past Roloson to tie the game at one.

“Most importantly for our line is getting the chemistry back,” Parise said. “Tonight we were a lot sharper, we were making smart plays, and it showed for us on the scoresheet.”

Poor decisions put the Devils down two men half-way into the second period.

On a 5-on-3 opportunity, Mark Streit fired from the right circle and the puck went over Brodeur, off the crossbar and into the net to reinstate the New York lead. First-overall draft pick John Tavares added an assist on the goal.

The power play remained key for both teams, as Brian Rolston evened the game at 14:21 in the second, driving up the left side of the ice, passing to himself between Radek Martinek’s legs and firing his signature shot past Roloson. Rookie Cory Murphy assisted on the play.

The “ZZ Pop” line continued to regain their regular season playing level when Zajac forced a turnover at the blue line. He sent the puck in deep behind the Islander net, and Parise sent it back to Zajac for the perfect give-and-go combination.

Another well-executed pass between Brendan Shanahan and Nicklas Bergfors resulted in a 4-2 lead in the third period.

Bergfors sent a pass up ice to Shanahan in the left faceoff circle, and Shanahan one-timed the puck past Roloson. Dainius Zubrus, who switched centering lines with new-acquisition Rob Niedermeyer earlier in the game, was credited with the secondary assist.

The Devils played a conservative third period to ensure that they took a win and a healthy roster into the regular season.

New Jersey opens the regular season at home on Saturday, Oct. 3, against the Flyers at 7 p.m. Lemaire said after the game that Saturday’s line-up would be very similar to Tuesdays, with, “maybe one or two guys are changed.”

NOTES: Matt Halischuck switched from #63 to #16, Joel Rechlicz was sent to the showers early for 3 fights in one game and for blindsiding Colin White after the play… The two teams racked up a total of 88 penalty minutes including two game misconducts and 10 five-minute fighting penalties… David Clarkson fought Brendan Witt because he respects Witt and wanted to get a fight in before the regular season… Mike Mottau was an unexpected member of the lineup. He was originally considered out from the upper body injury he got Thursday in Philadelphia, but Mottau said that he was strong enough to play, and that the injury was just sore after the game… Jay Pandolfo was scratched with a groin injury.

The Devils used solid goaltending from Yann Danis and a surprise scoring output by David Clarkson to defeat the New York Rangers 3-2 in a shootout Wednesday night.

The pre-season opener featured Danis in net the whole game. With starting goaltender Martin Brodeur not suiting up for the game, initially Jeff Frazee was supposed to split ice time with Danis. But Lemaire changed the game plan after two shut-out periods by the free-agent acquisition.

“I thought he was doing well, and I hate to pull a goalie … when you’re having a good game,” explained Lemaire.

In all, Danis stopped 29 shots during regulation, one in overtime, and five of the six shots he faced during the shootout.

“Guys did a good job in front of me all night,” Danis said. “I saw the puck all night. I cleared a few rebounds here and there, but they definitely made my job easier.”

Travis Zajac solidified Danis’ first win as a Devil by firing top-shelf over Rangers’ goaltender Chad Johnson in the sixth shootout round.

“When I looked up, it looked like he was cheating a little to left,” Zajac explained. “He was giving me high blocker, so I just took a quick shot.”

The Prudential Center crowd rose to their feet after both teams scored a goal in the third round. Zach Parise made a double move in front of Johnson to the right, and then slipped in left to deposit the puck behind the goalie. This counteracted rookie Matt Gilroy’s five-hole goal against Danis.

“I felt good throughout,” Danis said. “I think I was reading their moves pretty well.”

The Atlantic-Division adversaries were pushed into extra time when the Rangers’ young-guns dissolved the Devils’ two-goal lead.

Three minutes into the third period, Gilroy netted his first goal of his professional career on a pass from Aaron Voros. Sean Avery, who made his presence known early with a goalie interference and unsportsmanlike conduct double-major in the first period, was credited with the secondary assist.

With less than nine minutes left in the period, Jordan Owens slipped the puck past Danis, assisted by rookie Michael Del Zotto.

The Devils took control of the game early. Clarkson, splayed out in front of the net, shoved the puck past the Rangers’ starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist at 13:31 of the first period on the power play.

Clarkson added his second goal on the power-play half-way through the second period.

“The puck was going in for me, and I was feeling good on the ice, and it’s something that I’ve been working on all summer to get ready,” Clarkson said.

Lemaire praised Clarkson for his work ethic and attitude during training camp, which opened Saturday, and rewarded him with the assistant captaincy for Wednesday’s game.

“I liked what he did at camp,” Lemaire stated. “He works hard and tries to do what we want, and is positive.”

The designation was special for Clarkson.

“It’s an honor, to be someone that’s chosen as one of those guys he considers a leader,” Clarkson explained. “I used to be a junior captain in juniors and in the American League a little bit, but to get a chance to do it in the NHL, I never thought I’d be in this league, never mind wearing the “A” one day, so it was pretty special to me.”

Lemaire said he was impressed with his veterans, and liked some of what he saw from the younger players. He also commented on how the different training camp styles benefited the Devils against the Blueshirts, who lost to Boston, 2-1, Tuesday night.

“We practiced a little bit, but I heard they didn’t practice much at all,” Lemaire said.

With one pre-season game in the books, the newest chapter in Jacques Lemaire’s Devils history is starting to take shape.

Notes: Lemaire sent a shock through the media when he explained giving Brendan Shanahan the captain’s “C” for the game as “When your captains injured, you won’t give the ‘C’ to anyone because you don’t have any more leaders on the team?” He later confirmed Jamie Langenbrunner was not injured, just routinely sitting out the game… Shanahan took Langenbrunner’s spot on the top line with Zajac and Zach Parise, and sported the number 14 on his sweater … up-and-coming defenseman Cory Murphy played well, but Lemaire said if he’s going to play in the NHL, he’ll have to score points … Free-agent acquisition Ilkka Pikkarainen also garnered praise for his work on the ice and in camp… the Devils out-shot the Rangers 4-1 in overtime, but could not convert, even with two minutes of 4-on-3 when Del Zotto was called for tripping… Next game: Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Nassau Coliseum against the Islanders.

In related news, Islander fans declared they want the Cup after seeing John Tavares at rookie camp while Ranger fans took to the streets demanding Glen Sather be fired. Hey. One can dream.

So, is bringing back Lemaire the right move for the Devils? That depends on how much he learned from his Minnesota experience along with final days from the previous New Jersey stint. He gets to coach another talented player in Zach Parise, whose fresh off a 45-goal, 94-point season. What does this mean for Parise along with ZZ Popp linemates Travis Zajac and Jamie Langenbrunner?

Knowing that writing off the Devils is like killing Michael Myers, I’m not about to jump the gun. If being a Ranger fan has taught me anything, it’s that you just can’t count out the Devils. They had plenty of success under Lemaire the first time and one Brian Rolston should be quite familiar with what to expect. He played his best hockey under the defensive mind in St. Paul.

I’m more curious to see how Patrik Elias performs. He was a rookie the last time Jacques was there and the subject of controversy in a first round upset loss to immortal Damian Rhodes and the Sens. A lot’s changed since with Elias now the all-time Devils leading scorer supplanting former assistant  turned Lowell coach John MacLean. He also has won two Stanley Cups including the memorable set up of Jason Arnott’s sudden death clincher.

Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski accurately points out that Lemaire’s return pits him against former pupil Marian Gaborik, who signed with the Hudson rival Rangers. That should give a little extra juice to the rivalry. Why am I not the least excited?

Lemaire is bringing Wild assistant/former Habs coach Mario Tremblay and Tommy Albelin will be his other assistant with Hall of Famer Scott Stevens expected to play a bigger role as a special advisor. What that means exactly who knows. I’ll leave that to our resident NJD blogger Hasan.

There’s really not much else to say. This was expected once  Brent Sutter predictably quit to be with older brother Darryl in Calgary. At least the Devils brought in a coach who is passionate about the job and knows what to expect. Say what you will about Lemaire’s system but you’ll at least see more grins on that bench and a little more persona during the postgame.

Maybe it’s not all that bad a move. The Devil D didn’t exactly get the job done against Carolina. I guess we’ll leave the final verdict to Hasan.

Long after the final buzzer ended, there was a zombie-like haze amongst the players and the coaches.

How could everything change in one minute and twenty seconds? How could home-ice advantage and a raucous crowd just melt away in 80 ticks of a clock?  How did the Carolina Hurricanes win game seven?

“It was right there,” Colin White said. “We were that close.”

Eric Staal gained a burst of speed out of the neutral zone and fired a shot that slipped between Martin Brodeur’s right arm and leg pad, the “seven hole” as he described it, into the net for the series winning goal with less than 30 seconds on the clock.

“I was in good position,” Brodeur said. “But he made a better shot and beat me.”

Head coach Brent Sutter felt the play broke down before the puck got anywhere near Brodeur.

“They were able to come through the neutral-zone with speed, which is something we were able to contain all night,” Sutter said.

Moments earlier, Jussi Jokenin, the hero of game four’s last second goal, tied the game with a shot from the right side of the net underneath Brodeur while he slid to the post.

“We got caught out there not able to get the puck out of the zone,” captain Jamie Langenbrunner said. “We got caught running around out there at the end.”

The Prudential Center crowd was silent, as if watching in slow motion an unreal nightmare playing out in front of them.

New Jersey never gives up a lead after being ahead going into the third period. The only time it happened in the regular season was at home, against the Hurricanes.

The Devils had dominated the game, controlling the puck with big hits and smart passing. Brian Rolston converted on the power play, scoring what was thought to be the game winning goal at 8:47 of the second period.

Carolina overloaded the right side of the ice, following Brian Gionta carrying the puck into the offensive zone. Gionta made a cross-ice pass to Rolston, who skated into the zone untouched and rifled a one-timer into the top left corner of the net.

At the other end of the special-teams spectrum, the Devils killed off all five penalties called against them, including a lengthy 5-on-3 opportunity in the second period.

All was going to plan for New Jersey, until the final 80 seconds of the game. With the team scrambling to cover assignments and willing to play overtime after Jokinen’s goal, the Devils played not to lose, while the Hurricanes played to win.

“We were on our heels too much the last few minutes trying to protect the lead,” Sutter said.

Winning a playoff series is not only about playing quality sixty-minutes, but also being lucky and taking advantage when luck comes your way.

“When we’ve won Cups, when we’ve gone pretty far into the playoffs, we’ve gotten some bounces,” John Madden said. “Things turned in our favor very quickly too. Shorthanded goals late in a period, bounces that come off the glass right in front of the net, different things, goalies mishandling a puck. We didn’t get anything. Everything we got, we earned.”

It seemed no one had learned from Jokinen’s goal with .02 seconds remaining in game four that the ‘Canes would attack for all 60 minutes of the game. They were not willing to take the last moments of regulation off and prepare for overtime, as there was still time in the third period to win it.

That attitude ended up being the difference between Carolina booking travel plans to Boston and the Devils booking tee times.

“This is as tough of a loss as you could possibly have,” Sutter said.

The New Jersey Devils have a great left-right wing combination that’s been known to throw a few punches, with left wing Mike Rupp and right wing David Clarkson on the fourth line, the heart of the team’s toughness.

On a team with a balanced attack of youth and experience, and skill and toughness, Rupp and Clarkson represent the grit that the post-season requires.

“I think in the history of the NHL playoffs, it’s kind of cool because it’s not always the most skilled players that make the difference,” Rupp explained.  “You look in the past at guys who have been big in the playoffs, you look at Darren McCarthy in Detroit and some of these guys that just by grit alone are getting the job done.”

Clarkson and Rupp hope to have that kind of impact during the run for the Stanley Cup this season.

Clarkson led the team during the regular season with 164 penalty minutes, many from big hits or fights to defend and inspire his teammates.

“There’s no fighting in the playoffs, or not as much, but going around crashing, hitting guys. If I get a chance to finish a check, doesn’t matter who it is, I need to make sure I finish it,” Clarkson said. “That’s the way I can help.”

Finish he has, scoring two goals in the first five games of the opening round, including the game-winning goal in Newark on Thursday.

Clarkson scored on the power play 11:22 into the second period to give the Devils a 1-0 lead that would hold until the final buzzer. The tipped shot from Andy Greene came as a big surprise; Clarkson doubted he would be used on the power play at all.

Rupp knows what it feels like to score a big goal during the post season, too.

Rupp worked his way into the Devils line-up just in time to score the Cup-clinching goal in game seven of the 2003 Finals. He earned his spot in this year’s playoff line-up by refusing to quit when he was forced out of the starting rotation for several games at a time after the Devils acquired Brendan Shanahan.

“It’s a long ride, and skill can take you so far, but the heart and the determination I think is really what can put you over the top,” Rupp said. “I think a guy like myself and Clarkie, and a lot of our team, we pride ourselves on that and I think that’s good. If your hands are failing every night, it’s a matter of your determination.”

Determination from this duo has led to points during the regular season; 32 from Clarkson (17g, 15a), and nine from Rupp (3g, 6a).

“You know guys are going to turn away from you when you hit them. Our job is to get in the corners, bang and crash, and cycle the puck,” Clarkson said. “We’re going to try to build through it in the series and create more offense for the team.”

Part of the Devils success this year has been the ability of all four lines creating offense, something Clarkson credits to the team’s depth.

“There’s not many teams in the league that have depth we do, where you can have certain guys on your fourth line or certain guys on your third line. I think if a lot of guys on our team were on other teams, they’d be top two, top three line guys and here it’s third or fourth,” Clarkson said.

The experience and the versatility of the team are not lost on Rupp, either.

“We were going around the room and counting how many Cups each guy has and its pretty impressive. You rely on that, you rely on your skill, your youth, your energy. You rely on your grit, your goaltending. We’re able to lean on any one of those crutches,” Rupp said.

The deeper the Devils go into the playoffs, the more they will be able to rely on the toughness of Rupp and Clarkson, when grit alone is what’s needed to get the job done.

“Well, I like the 2, 3-nothing better,” Brodeur joked. “It makes it tough at the end, because one lucky bounce, anything could happen.”

The all-time winningest goalie knows better than anyone, coming off a last-second controversial loss on Tuesday. Brodeur gave a fiery response to referees and media after Jussi Jokenin’s goal in game four, and played like a man-on-fire in game five.

Brodeur made 44 saves and tied Patrick Roy for playoff shutouts with 23 in his 98^th career playoff victory.

On the other side of the ice, Cam Ward saved 42 shots by the Devils, but was unable to stop a deflection on the power play by David Clarkson.

At 11:22 in the second period, defenseman Andy Greene, seeing action for injured Bryce Salvador for the first time in this post-season, received a cross-ice pass from Patrik Elias and fired a shot from the right point. Clarkson screened Ward and raised his stick enough to tip the puck into the roof of the net.

The goal is Clarkson’s second of the post-season and second playoff goal of his career.

“Patty made a nice pass across to me and I just tried to shoot as hard as I can, and Clarkie made a great deflection. Just a great tip in by him and the rest is history,” Greene said.

Coach Brent Sutter was pleased with his defenseman’s play on short notice.

“Greene played very well,” Sutter said. “At different times throughout this year for us he’s come in and played very well. He’s a very poised and controlled young man. He prepared obviously, he got himself ready.”

If Clarkson’s goal were to hold up as the game winner, the Devils still had 30 minutes of ice time to defend the small lead, including some penalty time.

“You look at tonight, you score a goal on the power play allows us to win the game one nothing. And we had to kill off some big penalties,” Sutter said. “Specialty teams are a big part of the playoffs and if they’re not doing the job, you’re going to have a tough time finding success.”

The Devils killed off five penalties during the game and 18 of 19 penalties during the first five games of the series.

Much of the penalty kill was Brodeur, stopping 10 power play attempts by the Hurricanes.

Asked if Brodeur brought motivation from the previous loss, Sutter responded, “If there is, he certainly used it in the right way. He used it in a positive way.”

Brodeur went on the offensive when he strolled 15 feet in front of the crease to play a puck at 15:30 of the second period.  Johnny Oduya and Chad Larose were chasing after it, and Brodeur and Larose careened into each other.

Brodeur laid on the ice for a few moments while play continued, and leaped back into net as a shot barely missed the left post. When play was stopped to call Brodeur on an interference penalty, Brodeur got his ankle checked out.

Larosa’s skate cut the back of Brodeur’s leg as the two collided. Brodeur was concerned about the blood, but the cut did not hamper his play the rest of the game.

The number of shots Brodeur stopped including several in the final 30 seconds of the game, with Carolina looking for a repeat performance.

With less than 19 seconds remaining in the game, Brodeur covered a slap shot from point blank range off of a Carolina face-off win. After stopping it, his teammates took over.

Blocking 22 shots overall, two of the most important came in the final ten seconds.

Jay Pandolfo threw himself on the ice and took a shot from the left point in the stomach. The puck bounced off of him and stayed in the Carolina offensive zone, but Brendan Shanahan dove to swipe it past the blue line.

Pandolfo and Shanahan’s linemate also was a big factor in the game, according to Sutter.

“John was extremely good in faceoffs,” Sutter said of the veteran Madden.

With solid play from every line of forwards and defensemen, the Devils were able to put the game in Martin Brodeur’s hands, and Brodeur responded with terrific play that showed once again he can secure a win, no matter how big the lead.

Mottau’s second goal of the season started the playoff scoring for the Devils on Wednesday, but Gleason’s tally pushed the series back to Carolina for Game Three even at one win apiece.

Gleason fired a one-timer from Joseph Corvo while Eric Staal screened Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur. The puck bounced past the goalie 2:40 into the overtime session.

“It was high, it went off somebody’s leg or skate. I don’t know,” Brodeur said.

The Hurricanes dominated the overtime period, outshooting New Jersey 4-0 and trapping the Devils in their own zone.

Ray Whitney and Matt Cullen each had repeated attempts at the net, including a shot by Whitney that bounced off the crossbar.

“That was closer to the game that we’ve been playing for a long time,” Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said of his team’s overtime performance.

The Devils had to switch lines up at the end of the second period and throughout the rest of the game when captain Jamie Langenbrunner left the game with an unspecified lower-body injury.

Patrik Elias moved from the second line to the first with Zach Parise and Travis Zajac, and Brian Rolston shifted from third line to second with Brian Gionta and Dainius Zubrus, forcing the fourth line out of the rotation.

“We prefer a three line rotation over the course of the regular season, so I’d say maybe that evened the game,” Maurice said.

The Devils looked out of place without Langenbrunner, and although the team had shaken up lines throughout the season, adjusting to the new rotation seemed difficult.

“When you’re used to playing with someone for that long and to mix it up and constantly changing on the bench at the same time,” defenseman Paul Martin said. “Guys should know what they’re doing but obviously the chemistry is not there when you’re not playing with the guys you usually play with.”

The first line of Langenbrunner, Zajac and Parise worked well in the first period, but a disallowed goal may have been the deciding factor in pushing the game to extra time.

Travis Zajac knocked a shot by Langenbrunner down and into the net with a high stick at 10:18 in the first while the Devils were on a power play. A referee watched Zajac’s stick climb above the crossbar to bat at the puck, and immediately waved the goal off for high-sticking.

Not letting themselves get wrapped up in the no-goal, the Devils did score on the power play at 10:44, when Martin fired a shot from the right point and Parise deflected the puck into the top left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

New Jersey had seven more power play opportunities, but was unable to connect.

“We were able to get the puck in and get opportunities, we just weren’t able to capitalize,” Martin said.

Devils coach Brent Sutter agreed with the quality of the power play, but felt the missed chances were a bigger part of the game.

“You look at it now, it would’ve been nice to get another one or two on it. Still, our power play was still pretty good. We still had scoring chances on it, we created some things on it,” Sutter said.

With the series tied at 1-1, both teams travel to Carolina on Saturday for Sunday’s Game Three. New Jersey has not played its best at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C., losing both regular season games played there this season.

“We reset. We know we’re facing a great hockey team in Carolina. It wasn’t going to be a cakewalk,” Brodeur said.

The Devils will need to win at least one game to regain a true home-ice advantage the rest of the series.

“You have to win on the road in the playoffs. We have nothing to feel bad about. We played hard here tonight against a very good hockey team,” Sutter said. “Yeah, you lose home ice, and you go down there and you have to get it back. If you want to have success you have to win on the road, too.”

Games Three and Four will be played in North Carolina, and then the series returns to the Prudential Center for Game Five on Thursday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m.

Until then, it will be a long trip to Raleigh, where the Devils will try to everything the Hurricanes can do, but a little bit better.

Martin Brodeur has led the Devils to three championships and four finals appearances. But while New Jersey claims a battle-tested netminder, Carolina counters with Cam Ward, who has also taken a team to the top and beaten the Devils in a postseason series.

So who is better? A sold-out Prudential Center crowd chanted for their choice Wednesday night, and it was hard to argue as the Devils raced to a three-goal lead before posting a 4-1 victory against the Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Mike Mottau, Zach Parise and Patrick Elias scored to build a 3-0 lead before the second intermission as Brodeur turned aside 18 shots. Parise and Jamie Lagenbrunner each finished with a goal and an assist to start the opening round.

Following Elias’ tally, derisive chants of “Cam Ward” reverberated through the Rock.  Soon the throngs yelled “Marty’s better,” even as the Hurricanes made it difficult on the goalie by allowing 39 shots. Ward finished with 35 saves thanks to the Devils boasting a 20-shot advantage.

“All night long, they didn’t sustain too much offense,” Brodeur said. “It’s a credit to the way we were able to move the puck. We didn’t turn the puck over and that makes a big difference. They’re a quick team and a transition team. We played a good game and [my teammates] made my job a lot easier.”

The Devils established momentum in the first period, forging a 15-7 edge in shots while attempting to control time of possession in Carolina’s end. Mottau parlayed that pressure into a goal when the defenseman used his stick to keep the puck from crossing the blue line before wristing a shot from the right point that skipped past a screened Ward for the opening goal at 16:03.

Mottau scored just one goal in 80 regular season games. His shot didn’t light up the radar gun, though it had enough speed and some dip to elude Ward’s glove.

“I think it was from a lack of velocity,” Mottau joked about his shot’s movement. “I don’t score too many and the other guys took over after that. It was good to get some momentum. We were really strong in the danger area and got pucks out when we needed to.”

Carolina suffered an early set back coming out of the first intermission. Travis Zajac helped Parise dig the puck out of the corner along the board’s bench-side. The gritty play allowed Parise to snap off a sharp-angle shot before Erik Cole could skate over, beating Ward stick side from the crease’s right side just 59 seconds into the period.

Elias provided another insurance marker almost 10 minutes later, firing a slapper that built the 3-0 lead. After Elias moved the puck behind the net, Brian Gionta collected the puck with two defenders providing heavy pressure while Elias circled back. Gionta then slid a backhand pass right to Elias, who was left all alone at the top of the left circle to take a full windup.

The Hurricanes didn’t support Ward defensively or at the other end, mustering just 13 shots through 40 minutes and five shots in the second period.

Carolina cut it to 3-1 on Ray Whitney’s goal 9:22 into the final period. Whatever intrigue the Hurricanes generated dissipated quickly when Parise picked up his second point of the night, assisting on Langenbrunner’s hard shot in the slot that re-established a three-goal lead 29 seconds after Whitney’s marker.

“It’s step one,” Parise said. “It’s a long series but you have to start somewhere. The effort was there from everyone tonight.”

Both goalies entered the series boasting impressive track records. Brodeur’s playoff ledger would be considered a decent career record for most goaltenders. Entering Game 1, the future Hall of Famer claimed 95 postseason victories and 1.96 goals against average in hockey’s most pressure-packed games.

But while Ward can’t match Brodeur’s overall body of work, he can claim a resume matched by few goaltenders engaged in the NHL’s tournament.  The 25-year-old picked up a Stanley Cup ring in his rookie season, going 15-8 in the 2006 playoffs, which included a series win against Brodeur’s Devils before culminating with the Conn Smythe Award.

Brodeur set a new record when he earned regular season victory No. 552 and doesn’t look close to retirement. While Ward is barely old enough to rent a car at a reasonable price, the Saskatoon native already claims 120 regular season victories. Since 2006, he has averaged almost 65 games played per season and almost 35 victories, giving me him more wins than Brodeur at the same age.

Regardless of future milestone, the records are re-set once the playoffs start. Brodeur and Devils lead 1-0 in the most important category: the best-of-seven series count.

“We were solid in our own zone and the neutral zone,” Brodeur said. “Offensively, guys had a lot of jump. We had a lot of good chances.”

Notes: Brendan Shanahan left the ice with 3:19 left in the first period after getting hit by the puck in the Carolina zone. He returned to start the second period…Despite the announced sellout crowd of 17,625, there were many half-empty rows at center ice in the lower level and pockets of empty seats in the upper levels…The Devils allowed Carolina just two power play chances and killed off both…Game 2 is Friday and will feature a 7:30 p.m. faceoff time in Newark.