NHL

GOALIE SITS; JERSEY BLANKED BY SABRES

The Scare Quotient rose again last night when Devils GM Lou Lamoriello would not speculate whether Martin Brodeur’s injury is major or minor.

“I couldn’t answer that right now,” Lamoriello said before heroic replacement Kevin Weekes couldn’t help his team score, too, in New Jersey’s 2-0 loss to the Sabres in Newark.

“We want to be as straightforward as we can be,” Lamoriello said. “Any information given could be misleading or misinterpreted at this point.”

New Jersey was further crippled last night by the absence of top defenseman Paul Martin, idled with “upper body soreness,” according to Brent Sutter. They were already without Brian Rolston, Bobby Holik, Andy Greene and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond.

“I don’t believe our guys used it as an excuse,” Sutter said, before allowing, “It plays with your mind. Maybe that’s part of the reason we started [poorly], maybe it’s human nature to sense that. It’s out there, let’s not kid ourselves.”

Not playing in front of a starting Brodeur for the first time in 51 regular season games, his longest streak, and missing so many regulars, the Devils were lifeless in the first. Facing a 20-3 shot disadvantage, each Devils season-worsts, Weekes allowed only a power play goal to Jason Pominville.

“I had no choice,” Weekes said of holding the fort in the first. “We did a good job after the first period. We were in position to win it.”

Weekes kept the had-to-improve Devils in the game until Patrick Kaleta scored insurance on a tip at 7:41 of the third.

“We just didn’t score,” Sutter said.

On the Brodeur front, Lamoriello said an MRI and X-rays of the franchise goalie’s left arm were delayed from Sunday until yesterday, and he had no further information to impart.

“He’s still going through tests and evaluation,” Lamoriello said. “This is what you go through. You shouldn’t read anything into it.”

Brodeur left Saturday’s 6-1 victory over Atlanta in Newark in the second period, holding his left arm. The injury was initially described as an elbow bruise, but Lamoriello Sunday said the problem was in the elbow area.

The Devils may be seeking second opinions on the injury to the franchise cornerstone. Weekes said he traded texts with Brodeur Saturday night about Brodeur’s symptoms, and Weekes described to Brodeur his ailment, initially termed an elbow bruise, that required summertime surgery to reattach the lower biceps tendon.

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Last night was only the 21st time in 15 seasons Brodeur did not dress for a Devils game, last idled six games in 2005 with a knee injury. He stands 6-2-2 this season, playing every minute until leaving Saturday’s game, and has two shutouts. He is seven victories behind Patrick Roy’s record 551 and five shutouts short of Terry Sawchuk’s mark of 103. With 978 games played, he is 51 behind Roy’s record.

The Devils were blanked for first time this season after suffering a team record 11 last season. . . . The Devils recalled Anssi Salmela to take Martin’s spot on defense and Scott Clemmensen to back up Weekes. . . . The Giants’ Plaxico Burress took in the tilt as did Shaquille O’Neal, swelling the paltry crowd announced at 10,567.

mark.everson@nypost.com

Sabres 2 Devils 0