Even from the other end of the ice, Martin Brodeur had a pretty good feel for the plight of his offensively challenged Devils teammates yesterday at Prudential Center.
Brodeur watched as shot after shot bounced off mountainous Senators 6-foot-7 goaltender Ben Bishop, to the tune of 30 saves and another during the shootout in a 2-1 Ottawa victory.
“He played pretty good,” Martin Brodeur — who made 29 saves — said of the Senators backup. “I couldn’t see any net, so I don’t think these guys could see any net.”
The Devils looked to be in cruise control, scoring 1:19 into the game when Stephen Gionta put a rebound past Bishop on the Devils’ second shot of the game for a 1-0 lead. But that was the only goal they would score, despite 17 shots in the first period and dominating most of the action.
“I thought we had a great start to the game, a great first period,” Brodeur said. “And they just played really sound hockey and we just played to their level. We didn’t push the pace up and it just came back and backfired on us.”
All of which cost the Devils in the third period when Daniel Alfredsson tied the game with a backhand that went over Brodeur’s left shoulder.
Just a week ago, the Devils were viewed as serious Stanley Cup contenders after reeling off a five-game winning streak. Suddenly, they have lost three of four with the Rangers close on their tails. But Brodeur said this is no time to panic.
“In a shortened season like that, you can’t dwell too much on some of the things you did in the past, you have to get ready for the next game,” he said. “It’ll be important for us to get back on track and play the type of hockey that we are capable of. We’re showing signs of it, but for whatever reason, the 60-minute effort is not there most of the night as of late.”
Defenseman Bryce Salvador agreed, but admitted yesterday should have ended with a Devils victory.
“We came, we played 65 [minutes], we just fell a little short there,” Salvador said. “We got a point. I think both teams had chances to score. Rarely do you dominate a team 60 minutes straight. But I think maybe we left the point on the table.”
The Devils used Ilya Kovalchuk (miss), and Patrik Elias (save) in the shootout, while Alfredsson hit the post for the Senators before Jakob Silfverberg scored. That left it all on the stick of former Senator Bobby Butler, who missed the net. Devils coach Pete DeBoer chose Butler because he spent the past three seasons in Ottawa.
“Obviously I wish it went the other way but I’m glad I got a chance,” Butler said. “I just tried to freeze [Bishop] him a little and just missed my shot.”
The Devils frustration boiled over at the end of regulation. David Clarkson received a 10-minute misconduct and Patrik Elias was in the box for most of overtime with two successive double-minors, which meant two of their best shooters were not available in overtime, and Clarkson — who has a team high 10 goals — could not be used in the shootout.
“Those are two of your top six guys [out] so, that hurt,” DeBoer said.
Devils fourth-liner Ryan Carter, on the ice for the game’s first goal, left with an upper body injury in the second period after getting hit by two Ottawa players. Carter did not return, but said after the game he “felt all right” and will rest the next few days. The Devils’ next game is Thursday in Washington.