That goal should have tied the game, but Devils' leading goal scorer David Clarkson banged a rebound off the post with the net wide open minutes earlier.
But the Devils episode, called "The Face Painter, " has enjoyed an especially long reach.
But the Devils couldn't hold the lead and lost past regulation for the third straight game.
Hedberg stopped 27 of 28 shots Tuesday against Boston, but the Devils lost in a shootout.
Construction was due to be completed by October, but the Devils were then told the venue would not be ready until 2 December.
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David Clarkson deprived Reimer of his second shutout in three games with a goal with 8:23 left, but the Devils fell to 0-3-3 in their last six games.
The Rangers, who hadn't scored two goals in regulation in their previous four games, scored twice in the first period, but the Devils tied it on goals by slumping players.
But whatever the Devils (5-1-3) have right now, the Rangers (4-5), Kings (3-3-2) and Coyotes (4-4-2) simply don't.
It may not have been a blowout against 15th-seeded Albany, but the Blue Devils (28-5) held a comfortable lead throughout and will play seventh-seeded Creighton, which beat Cincinnati 67-63, in the third round Sunday.
All their matches so far have been on the road, but despite that the Devils have impressed by winning four, drawing one and losing one of their opening six matches.
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Shares in Manchester United might be a nice piece of merchandise for lifelong fans of the Red Devils, but history suggests that there is little reason to believe that it is actually a good investment.
Though he did not offer Suter a contract, Lamoriello said he did reach out to him to gauge his interest in playing for the Devils, but Suter was committed to remaining within the Western Conference.
But thus far the Red Devils are bucking history.
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Ilya Kovalchuk got Miller down, but shot over the net on the Devils' first shootout chance.
The Lions actually outhit the Sun Devils 12-5, but stranded 13 runners, including seven in scoring position.
The Islanders and seventh-place Devils each have 39 points but New Jersey has a game in hand.
But the real star for the Blue Devils was junior faceoff man Brendan Fowler, who won 13 straight at one point to give Duke possession for long stretches.
The Devils remained unbeaten in regulation but fell to 3-0-2.
Brodeur, who made his eighth straight start since returning from a back injury, didn't have much work but he kept the goal-challenged Devils in the game with an in-close stop on Kessel.
He played in 61 games in his first two seasons with the Devils, winning 32, but the starting position will belong to Brodeur until he quits, if ever, and when the Stanley Cup playoffs begin and if the Devils are in them, the backup finds the bench.
Kovalchuk appears close to returning to the lineup, but it might be too late for the Devils.
Martin put the Giants ahead in the first period but Mike Prpich and Jason Silverthorn replied for the Devils.
The Devils also have to move on, but they need to change direction after losing their third straight (0-2-1) and for the 10th time (3-8-2) since goalie Martin Brodeur went down with a pinched nerve in his back.
There was widespread speculation in the media that some United players had been angered by the protracted events surrounding Rooney's contract talks but the England international, who joined the Red Devils in August 2004, was quick to reject the claims.
The Blue Devils failed to score on their first 11 shots but closed out with 10 of the game's last 13 goals.
Steve Bernier, a grinder, scored twice and David Clarkson added an empty-net goal in the last 4 minutes for the Devils (4-1-3), but Hedberg, playing only his second game of the season, made the difference against the Islanders (4-3-1).
It was Johan Hedberg's turn to save the Devils, who had opened the season with three victories but then lost four games.
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