Devils make things easy for Brodeur in rout of Panthers

There was no shutout in Martin Brodeur’s second game back from injury, but with the way his New Jersey Devils teammates played in front of him it wasn’t necessary.  Brodeur racked up his 546^th regular season victory as the New Jersey Devils exploded for a 5-0 lead against Florida before coasting to a 7-2 win.

The Devils are currently in third place in the NHL Eastern Conference, but with their performance on Saturday they made a statement that the battle wouldn’t simply come down to Boston and Washington.  In perhaps their best all around game of the season, New Jersey was simply dominant on both ends of the ice.  The Devils scored seven goals on 46 shots while limiting the Panthers to only 17 shots on goal in return.  Zach Parise was the big hero on offense, scoring the Devils first two goals and adding an assist later in the game.  Afterwards, he reaffirmed how well his team is playing heading into the postseason:

"We played well. We're not giving them great scoring chances, not giving them the second and third rebounds. It just feels like everything is coming together at this time of the season."

Brodeur made his second straight start after missing 50 games of the season with a torn bicep.  The victory left him five games behind legendary Montreal Canadiens goalie Patrick Roy’s record for regular season victories.  He also remains four shutouts behind Detroit Red Wings’ Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuck for the top mark in that category.  After the contest, he commended his team’s effort on both ends of the ice:

"That's how you want to be successful, going into the playoffs with good habits defensively. It shows. If you play well defensively you can still score four goals and seven goals. Our coach wants us to play well defensively in our own zone because that will make us better offensively."

Brian Rolston put the rest of the NHL on notice that the Devils will be a factor during the Stanley Cup playoffs:

"I think we have a great hockey team in here and everybody is finding their role. Obviously, Marty being back gives us that much more confidence. This was a great win against a good hockey team. Everyone is pulling on the rope and it's just nice now."

New Jersey will host the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday before heading north for a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.  They’ll play the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday.  Florida will travel to Washington, DC for a game against the Capitals on Sunday and play the Atlanta Thrashers at the Phillips Arena on Tuesday.  They’ll head back to south Florida on Thursday for a home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.