Brodeur won?t start Friday against San Jose

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Devils coach Pete DeBoer said he had no update so far today on goaltender Martin Brodeur?s right shoulder injury.

?No, not yet,? DeBoer said after today?s practice. ?Lou (Lamoriello) will give you guys an update when you talk to him, hopefully, later today.?

DeBoer did say that Brodeur will not start in Friday?s game against the San Jose Sharks, though, because he did not practice again today. Brodeur hasn?t been on the ice since he injured his shoulder in last Thursday?s 2-1 shootout win over Los Angeles and left the game after the first period.

?If he didn?t skate today, the plan was that we wouldn?t play him Friday,? DeBoer said.

DeBoer didn?t rule out Brodeur dressing as the backup on Friday, but that will depend on what the doctor Brodeur visited Tuesday has to say about his shoulder.

?I guess it depends on whether he?s capable of backing up,? DeBoer said. ?So, we?ll know more about that later.?

With Brodeur unavailable to start, Johan Hedberg will make his third start of the season and fourth consecutive appearance. Hedberg has been very good so far this season, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.41 goals-against average and .945 save percentage.

Dating back to last season, Hedberg is 13-2-1 in his last 16 decisions, including a personal-best seven-game winning streak from Feb. 8 to Feb. 22.

?He?s been very good,? DeBoer said. ?(He?s) exactly as advertised. He?s a great pro, a great person. Right now, he?s at the top of his game and that?s what we need.?

Hedberg?s strong play makes it easier for the Devils to be patient with Brodeur and make sure they are taking the right course with his recovery.

?Obviously, when you?ve got a guy like Marty you want to take a cautious approach and a long-term approach anyway in that he?s with you for you the entire year,? DeBoer said. ?But it definitely makes it easier when you?ve got a guy that?s capable of coming in and playing like Heddy has.?

Hedberg was already preparing as if he was going to start Friday, just in case.

?I?m not sure what the story is with how my partner is doing yet,? Hedberg said of Brodeur.

Hedberg, 38, has said a few times already that he enters each season with no expectations as far as how many games he?ll play. So, though he might be playing more often already than some might have projected, he?s not thinking of it that way.

?It?s such a long season,? he said. ?A lot of things happen, so you?ve got to stay ready?I?m ready for whatever situation I get put in. I?ve been in all of them, I think, in my career. I just try to keep an open mind, be prepared and keep focused and then you just see what happens.?

Hedberg credits the way the team has been playing in front of him for his success so far this season.

?I think we?re playing well as a team,? he said. ?That really helps me out. My teammates are playing some strong hockey in front of me, which is really encouraging. It helps me be aggressive in my play and, hopefully, we can keep going.?

 

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Working the Corners
DAVID POLLAK ON THE SAN JOSE SHARKS
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OCT
21
10:46 AMCoaches? preview tonight?s game, how Havlat (who expects to be hit) will alter second line ? and more(5)
By David Pollak
NEWARK, N.J. ? Lots of additional motivation for the Sharks tonight in New Jersey ? Joe Thornton?s 1,000th game, Colin White?s homecoming, Marty Havlat?s return.

But Todd McLellan said none of that should be required.

?It should be getting a win and playing properly for a full 60 minutes,? he said. ?We?ve played well in a lot of the games, but not for a full 60. We?ve made some errors that have cost us. It?s been on our tape and on their tape and into the net so we have to clean that up a little bit. I?d like to see us get a little more determined around the opposition?s net. With the amount of opportunities we?ve created, not many have come on second or third chances.?

Here are the lines McLellan plans to use to accomplish all that (and there won?t be any surprises in the defense pairings with White a sure thing).

Marleau-Thornton-Pavelski
Clowe-Couture-Havlat
Ferriero-Handzus-Mitchell
Winhester-AMurray-McGinn

*****New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer says he expects the Sharks to be dangerous tonight.

?Obviously one of the best teams in the league and not where they want to be, which tells you there?s going to be desperation in their game tonight, which makes them very dangerous,? he said. ?We have to be prepared for that.?

McLellan said that four games into a season isn?t too soon for desperation, but then indicated that wasn?t just because his team was 1-3.
?I don?t believe desperation should creep out when it?s not going well,? he said. ?I think desperation should be there all the time.?

I asked Deboer which team he thought would be the one that might have to weather the potential storm of the opening 10 minutes.

?I don?t know,? he said. ?We just talked about coming out strong, not dipping our toe into the pool to see what the temperatures like, jumping right in here. I?m not looking for a feeling-out 10 minutes.?

*****Marty Havlat says he?s ready to play and fully aware that one of the Devils may try to see just how fully recovered his shoulder is.

?It?s a contact sport,? he said. ?I?m going to get hit right away. I know.?

When Havlat returns to see his surgeon in Cleveland, he takes a strength test. Two weeks ago, it showed he was still short of where he had to be.

?He wanted me to do the strength test again,? Havlat said of his Wednesday return visit. ?He wanted me to get a little stronger two weeks ago and I got much better.?

Havlat said he doesn?t feel any extra pressure to perform because of the team?s struggles to this point ? ?It?s early in the season? ? and it probably will take a few nights to find his game legs.

One of his linemates, however, hopes it doesn?t take a game or two for things to start clicking.

?I don?t think we can afford it to take a game or two right now,? Logan Couture said. ?We?ve got to start winning some games and hopefully we can find it right away.?

Couture says Havlat?s presence should help the line in several ways.

?I think we?ll be quicker on the forecheck, get to the pucks first,? he said. ?In the scrums, he?s got an explosive first couple steps where he can find those loose pucks and his hands are pretty special. He?s a gifted player.?

As for his own early season struggles, Couture isn?t quite ready to accept his coach?s explanation that it?s because other teams are focusing more on him than they have in the past because of his strong rookie season.

?It?s tough to say. It?s been four games ? it?s hard to see if things are different,? Couture said. ?On our team, it?s so hard for teams to focus on someone like me when you?ve got those other guys on the top line.?



*****Here are McLellan?s thoughts on Benn Ferriero?s return from Worcester for tonight?s game:

?Benn had a good training camp. He didn?t leave our team or wasn?t reassigned to Worcester because of a poor one. He was that close,? the coach said. ?We haven?t scored a lot 5-on-5 and he?s shown a knack in the past to be able to do that when called up and put in a pinch.

?I also think he is more of a second and third line player instead of a fourth line player and we don?t need that right now,? McLellan continued. ?We need some production from lines two and three ? one, two and three. We think he could move up a line if he had to, or two lines if he had to.?