NEWARK ? Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur will start his 40th consecutive game tonight in Philadelphia.
And don't be surprised if he finishes off the regular season Sunday afternoon against the Rangers, too ? even if the game is meaningless.
The Devils still have something to play for tonight. They need a win over the Flyers to lock up the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
If they take care of that business tonight, they'll have nothing on the line ? in terms of the standings ? Sunday against the Rangers.Although that game might turn out to be a preview of a first-round playoff series and it will be the Devils' last chance to beat their Hudson River rivals this season after going 0-4-3 in their first seven meetings, they'll have nothing tangible to gain.
The Devils sat Brodeur for the final game in a similar situation last season, but, in retrospect, he's not sure if that was the best thing for him.
"I missed that last game there and looking back I don't know if it was the greatest thing for me to miss it," he said Thursday. "You want to play well going in. It's just the time factor, depending on when we start, the 10th or the 9th. It will be a long time [between starts] if I skip the Ranger [game]. I don't know. We'll figure it out."
Devils coach Brent Sutter wasn't too interested in hypotheticals Thursday.
"He's definitely playing [tonight]," he said. "Right now, I'm just taking it game to game and day to day. A lot of different dynamics go into it. It's not just whether he's playing or not. It's how many days between games. What does he feel most comfortable with?"
Brodeur has said several times this season that he believes he plays better when he plays more often. Long layoffs, such as the one for the All-Star break this season, seem to take him out of his rhythm.
As a result, backup Kevin Weekes hasn't started a game since Jan. 5. Sutter admitted it would be nice to "reward him" for handling the situation "like a true pro."
"Yet, in another sense you've got the playoffs starting the middle of next week," Sutter said. "So, it has to be thought through and you've got to do the right thing for who's going to be your starting goaltender come Game 1 of the playoffs."
BRIEFS: D Bryce Salvador (left foot contusion) hopes to resume skating this weekend and said he is confident he'll be ready to play by the start of the playoffs. He revealed that he had been wearing an immobilizing boot. Salvador said his foot was not broken, but "we just needed to kind of immobilize the leg for a little bit. ... [Thursday] was the first day without the boot, just working out, riding the bike and the symptoms I had before are gone, so that's really encouraging." ... Brodeur on the Devils having three goals disallowed in their last four home games: "It's funny because here we are battling for home-ice advantage and it hasn't been an advantage with all of the calls against us the last few weeks."
And don't be surprised if he finishes off the regular season Sunday afternoon against the Rangers, too ? even if the game is meaningless.
The Devils still have something to play for tonight. They need a win over the Flyers to lock up the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
If they take care of that business tonight, they'll have nothing on the line ? in terms of the standings ? Sunday against the Rangers.Although that game might turn out to be a preview of a first-round playoff series and it will be the Devils' last chance to beat their Hudson River rivals this season after going 0-4-3 in their first seven meetings, they'll have nothing tangible to gain.
The Devils sat Brodeur for the final game in a similar situation last season, but, in retrospect, he's not sure if that was the best thing for him.
"I missed that last game there and looking back I don't know if it was the greatest thing for me to miss it," he said Thursday. "You want to play well going in. It's just the time factor, depending on when we start, the 10th or the 9th. It will be a long time [between starts] if I skip the Ranger [game]. I don't know. We'll figure it out."
Devils coach Brent Sutter wasn't too interested in hypotheticals Thursday.
"He's definitely playing [tonight]," he said. "Right now, I'm just taking it game to game and day to day. A lot of different dynamics go into it. It's not just whether he's playing or not. It's how many days between games. What does he feel most comfortable with?"
Brodeur has said several times this season that he believes he plays better when he plays more often. Long layoffs, such as the one for the All-Star break this season, seem to take him out of his rhythm.
As a result, backup Kevin Weekes hasn't started a game since Jan. 5. Sutter admitted it would be nice to "reward him" for handling the situation "like a true pro."
"Yet, in another sense you've got the playoffs starting the middle of next week," Sutter said. "So, it has to be thought through and you've got to do the right thing for who's going to be your starting goaltender come Game 1 of the playoffs."
BRIEFS: D Bryce Salvador (left foot contusion) hopes to resume skating this weekend and said he is confident he'll be ready to play by the start of the playoffs. He revealed that he had been wearing an immobilizing boot. Salvador said his foot was not broken, but "we just needed to kind of immobilize the leg for a little bit. ... [Thursday] was the first day without the boot, just working out, riding the bike and the symptoms I had before are gone, so that's really encouraging." ... Brodeur on the Devils having three goals disallowed in their last four home games: "It's funny because here we are battling for home-ice advantage and it hasn't been an advantage with all of the calls against us the last few weeks."
