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's tied with Los Angeles's Drew Doughty for the most points among defensemen, and his second-period goal Saturday was the game-winner in a Devils' 2-1 victory that extended the Stanley Cup Finals to a Game 6 on Monday.
Before Wednesday, he had allowed two goals or fewer in 12 of his previous 18 games, and he authored his finest performances in the three games that he faced his highest shot totals: a 39-save shutout against Ottawa, a 45-save effort in a triple-overtime victory over Washington, and a 36-save shutout of the Devils in Game 3.
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This was the first meeting between the teams since the Devils eliminated the Panthers in double overtime in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series last season.
After the Rangers' 3-2 loss to the Devils on Wednesday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Tortorella spoke fewer than 40 words in answering six questions or, in some cases, not answering them.
Right wing Dainus Zubrus's 16 goals are the most he's scored in five years, and the Devils' rate of 2.57 goals per game through Saturday was the 17th-best in the league, a precipitous jump from where they had been.
The Kings lost to the New Jersey Devils 3 to 1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals Wednesday, in a game that could have clinched L.A's improbable run to its first ever Stanley Cup Championship.
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And with the New Jersey Devils ousting the New York Rangers in the sixth game of the Eastern Conference Finals last night, there is no Stanley Cup action on Sunday.
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The win was the second straight and third in four games for the Devils following a six-game losing streak that dropped them close to the eighth-place cutoff for the playoffs.
By beating the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Saturday in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the New Jersey Devils have done what seemed so improbable just five days ago.
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Despite outshooting the Senators 23-9 in the opening 40 minutes and getting an early two-man advantage for the second straight game, the Devils trailed 2-0 heading into the third period.
On Monday night, in a loud reprise of the famous Rangers-Devils 1994 conference final, he shut out New Jersey 3-0 in Game 1.
Peter DeBoer, the Devils' coach, actually pulled Brodeur in one playoff game last year after he gave up three goals on 12 shots in a loss to Florida, but DeBoer quickly stifled a goaltender controversy by naming Brodeur his starter for the next game.
For most of the game, the Devils and the Kings remained in a tight scoreless battle.
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Brodeur, now 40, was the winning goalie in Wednesday night's 3-2 Devils win in Game 2.
Curry hit his first seven shots during Duke's torrid start, helping the Blue Devils cruise to a 69-53 victory Saturday night in a game that was never in doubt.
The Devils entered the game having scored three or more goals only twice in 11.
The Devils (15-12-9) stayed in seventh place because they have played one fewer game than the Islanders.
The Devils tied the game after Loktionov was able to find the puck during a scramble in front of Bishop, but Greening regained the lead, scoring with just 17 seconds remaining in the period.
This much seems safe to say, then: If a similar sequence plays out in Game 3, if a Devils player is measuring a clean look at Lundqvist and the Rangers' net, Gaborik had better drop to the ice, and he had better not hesitate.
The Islanders and seventh-place Devils each have 39 points but New Jersey has a game in hand.
Washington was seemingly out of the game, trailing 2-0, until the Devils took a couple of penalties in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Devils captain and fellow defenseman Bryce Salvador missed the game because of a wrist injury sustained in the same game after he was hit by Zdeno Chara's shot.
Twenty minutes after the game, Brodeur was in a suit and digging into boxes of pizzas that had been delivered to the Devils' dressing room.
The Blue Devils topped Kentucky in the 1992 East Regional final on Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater in perhaps the greatest game and shot in the tournament's 75-year history.
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).
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