The Devils will be hard-pressed to replace former captain Zach Parise, who signed with the Wild as a free agent in the offseason, but they still have future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur.
Brodeur did his best to help fans forget about their departed captain Tuesday night as he recorded his 120th career shutout in the Devils’ 3-0 victory over the Flyers in their home opener at Prudential Center.
PHOTOS: DEVILS TAKE DOWN FLYERS
Brodeur chose not to play overseas during the lockout, but he has been sharp to start the season. Before Saturday, the last game he appeared in that counted for anything was Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals seven months ago, when he allowed six goals against the Kings. So far this season, he has allowed just one goal on 43 shots.
“I worked really hard to get to where I am, but … the team is playing well,” Brodeur said. “I’m happy to be back. I’m excited. I’ve been working really hard in practices to get to that point.”
His coach, Pete DeBoer, clearly agreed.
“I think he is amazing. What else can you say?” DeBoer said after the Devils began their season 2-0 for the first time since 2008-09. “He looks like he’s 20 years old in there, all the energy. He was fantastic.”
Brodeur stopped all 24 Flyers shots, the toughest one coming after he made a bad clearing attempt midway through the first period. The Flyers’ Scott Laughton picked it off and fired on net, but Brodeur got back in time to make a nifty glove save.
Brodeur got all of the offense he needed 1:07 into the game when Travis Zajac gave the Devils the lead by hanging around the front of the net. He redirected a Bryce Salvador shot from the left point, and roofed a shot after Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov gave up a rebound.
The Devils added two more goals, the first being David Clarkson’s power-play goal with 25 seconds remaining in the opening period. Ilya Kovalchuk began the play by passing to Clarkson, who banked a shot off Flyers’ forward Ruslan Fedotenko’s skate and then past Bryzgalov.
Kovalchuk sealed the game with a penalty-shot goal at 2:44 of the second period, on a backhander past Bryzgalov’s glove, after he was hooked by Kimmo Timonen.
The Flyers had six power-play chances, but the penalty kill — aided by Brodeur — shut them down, only allowing five shots in the more than nine minutes of being down a man.
“It was Marty for sure,” Zajac said. “He gives us a lot of confidence back there. He can control the puck, he makes timely saves when you need them.
“Obviously he is the key to this team. He is our best penalty killer. I don’t think there’s another goalie who does what he does.”
The 40-year-old Brodeur extended his NHL records for career shutouts and wins (658).
“It shows what good of an athlete he is,” Clarkson said. “He’s one of the best athletes I’ve played with in all my years. It’s impressive to see at that age, doing what he is doing and having fun doing it. He makes us a better team every night.”
The game got ugly in the second period when Clarkson elbowed Timonen and a scrum broke out, sending two Devils and two Flyers to the penalty box. Shortly after that, Brodeur made a glove save on Luke Schenn and was checked by Wayne Simmonds, who was then grabbed by Steve Bernier, sending both to the box for roughing. There were also two fighting majors apiece in the final five minutes of the game.
The loss dropped the Flyers to 0-3 for the first time since the 1994-95 lockout-shortened season. Going back to last season, it was the seventh straight loss for the Flyers, as the Devils won the final four games of the teams’ Eastern Conference semifinals series.