NHL

Devils’ Brodeur defends NHL for Rangers suspension

During the preseason, Martin Brodeur criticized NHL disciplinary czar Brendan Shanahan for giving the league a black eye. Now the Devils goalie is backing Shanahan’s efforts to keep a lid on these boiling-over playoffs.

Brodeur said he’s surprised at partisan criticism of Shanahan’s verdicts, such as the veiled slap by the Rangers over Carl Hagelin’s suspension.

“It has to be done, regardless of whether it’s good [for the game] or not. It has to be done,” said Brodeur, who was pulled after allowing three goals in the Devils’ 4-3 loss to the Panthers in Game 3 Tuesday night at the Prudential Center. “You have to clean up some of the hits and some of the actions. They’re dangerous. It’s not a good thing. I think he’s doing a good job, considering.

“But I’m surprised at the media. Look at the Rangers’ statement. ‘We accept everything, but…’ ”

Brodeur referred to the Rangers’ reaction to Hagelin’s three-game suspension for elbowing Daniel Alfredsson out of the Senators’ lineup.

“When you get to this point and you see what’s going on, [Shanahan] has got to stick to his guns and do what’s right, what he or the league believes has to be done,” Brodeur said. “People are really tough on him as far as comments. Every team has their own people talking about it. On national TV, one guy supports him, another doesn’t. For the fan watching, which at the end of the day is what I am, it’s weird to hear that.

“You’re getting ‘Why this guy who never did anything, and what’s the reasoning behind it?’ ”

Brodeur said crossing the line is part of the playoffs and has to be patrolled.

“There’s a lot at stake,” he said. “With the regular season we had and all the incidents we had, I thought we wouldn’t have to deal with this as quickly as we have. But you see it all over, guys getting hurt, guys getting suspensions, all over the place, from instigating, coaches getting fined. It’s pretty chaotic.”

mark.everson@nypost.com