BOSTON – It’s the elephant in the room, the unspoken question that hangs over the Devils’ season.
What do they do when Martin Brodeur comes back? Will he, essentially, have to win his job back?
General manager Lou Lamoriello, who has instituted another cone of silence around Brodeur, brushed off the question. But he can’t laugh it off. Coach Brent Sutter said Brodeur will have to win games right away.
Though the Devils’ focus is on their showdown with the conference-leading Bruins here tonight and tomorrow’s game in Newark against Pittsburgh, Brodeur probably will start facing pucks this weekend, perhaps even tomorrow, in continuing his rehab from left bicep tendon reattachment on Nov. 6.
The issue is a month away, and how it’s handled may determine how much these stunning Devils accomplish this spring.
The obvious need is to get Brodeur back in top form. After all, he is probably the greatest goalie of all time, eight victories short of passing Patrick Roy for the all-time record, winner of three Stanley Cups, four-time Vezina Trophy winner, and his 2.20 goals-against is the lowest of the modern era.
But the season does roll on, even without him, and Scott Clemmensen has won 20 of his past 28 decisions. His first-shot stopping is a major reason the Devils, seeking their seventh straight victory, have thrived and have not merely survived Brodeur’s absence. How Clemmensen would fare in the playoffs is a great unknown, and this team may be too good to gamble on unknowns. But also unknown is how quickly Brodeur regains his old form.
“Right now, we’re just going to stay the course, and let Marty’s thing unfold the way it’s going to unfold,” Sutter said. “When the time comes when he’s able to practice with us, that will be Stage 1 with us.
“Until then, I haven’t really given it much thought, and that’s the truth.”
Nevertheless, Sutter said he does realize this will be important to resolve in the near future.
“We have to get him ready to play without it being disruptive to the team,” Sutter said. “The juggling is going to be important, how we manage that.
“It’s not like this is the start of the season. It’s not like these are exhibition games, and we’re getting guys ready to play.”
The season will be at stake, if not a playoff berth, home-ice for sure.
“In that position, especially, you have to be really careful. Marty knows that,” Sutter said. “We’ll do the best we can.
“Obviously, we have to continue to win, and continue to play well. And whoever’s playing in net has to do the job.”
On-the-job, under-the-gun rehab is risky business. But that’s what the Devils will have to do, or decide to stick with Clemmensen and write the season off for Brodeur.
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The Devils escaped a scare when Zach Parise was struck where it hurts by a shot in practice at Boston University yesterday.
Parise stood doubled over for a minute or two, before rejoining the drills.
“It always scares you when something like that happens,” Sutter said. On the ice, a compassionate teammate told him, tongue-in-cheek, “Toughen up.”
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Jay Pandolfo is expected to be a scratch in his hometown tonight, sitting out his fourth straight.