NHL

Devils’ Brodeur back at practice

Martin Brodeur, who has missed the past 11 games for the Devils with a back injury, skated with his teammates yesterday in practice for the first time since Feb. 24. The veteran goaltender began skating on his own last week.

Brodeur suffered the injury while participating in pregame warm-ups on Feb. 24, a game he was supposed to start. He missed that game before being placed on IR two days later.

“I didn’t feel good,” Brodeur said. “I didn’t feel right. Not that I was in pain much, I was for a while when we left Winnipeg. We did a lot of different things and saw a lot of different doctors to see that there was nothing where I could hurt myself. They wanted me to take it easy for a long time. I didn’t like that, but you have to follow the advice of the people who know what they are doing.”

Brodeur took some medications to reduce the inflammation and stayed off the ice. He said he has not had symptoms for about seven-to-10 days.

Brodeur said he had suffered a pinched nerve in his neck and upper back, and that he would not start tonight when the Devils face the Rangers at Prudential Center, but he could serve as Johan Hedberg’s backup. “It’s definitely the best I have felt on the ice so far,” Brodeur said. “We’ll see how my body reacts and we’ll go from there.”

Devils coach Pete DeBoer said last week Brodeur would need at least one practice before returning to game action, meaning he could return Thursday when the Devils visit the Hurricanes. Hedberg has started all 11 games with Brodeur sidelined, posting a 3-6-2 record

— With AP.