NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -A little blood didn’t prevent a cool Martin Brodeur from getting even with the Carolina Hurricanes and grabbing a piece of another record.
te cut and tied Patrick Roy’s NHL record for playoff shutouts, making 44 saves in the New Jersey Devils’ 1-0 victory over the Hurricanes on Thursday night.
“I think it was one of the good ones that I played,” Brodeur said after his 23rd postseason shutout. “I felt really good. I was on top of it.”
Brodeur was fortunate, too. He escaped serious injury after colliding with Chad LaRose about 20 feet in front of the net going for a loose puck. LaRose’s skate blade hit the back of Brodeur’s ankle and caused a 4-inch cut.
“It cut right through my sock,” Brodeur said. “It was more of a bruise. It’s not like it sliced. It just hit me. At first I wasn’t sure because I could see the blood. When you get cut by a skate, you don’t know what’s going on. I’m not that tough. I probably wouldn’t have continued if I had to take stitches.”
Bloody socks were made famous by Curt Schilling of the Boston Red Sox during the 2004 playoffs against the Yankees. He pitched Game 6 of the ACLS with a seeping wound.
This stage wasn’t as big, but Brodeur was just as good in a bounce-back game. Just 48 hours earlier, he and the Devils lost Game 4 on a last-second goal by Jussi Jokinen on a play in which Brodeur felt he was the victim of goalie interference.
The anger Brodeur displayed after that game was rare, smashing his stick against the boards.
y a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.
New Jersey can eliminate the Hurricanes on Sunday in Carolina. If a seventh game is necessary, it would be here Tuesday night.
Cam Ward was almost as good, stopping 41 shots. David Clarkson provided the only goal with a rare power-play score for New Jersey.
“There was a lot of opportunities both ways – shot for shot,” Ward said. “Marty made the saves, now we’ve just got to find a way. We are down 3-2 here, our backs are against the wall and there is a must win on Sunday. We’ve got to be excited to come to the rink to play on Sunday. We can’t be scared.”
Jokinen came closest to scoring against Brodeur. His deflection in the second period hit off the goal post, bounced off Brodeur’s rear end and was on the goal line when Brodeur got a glove on the puck.
LaRose had three outstanding chances, including two in the final period. He was stopped on a 1-on-1 with Brodeur after skating through the defense with 8:35 left and again in the slot with 4:21 to go.
Brodeur made his last save in the final minute, stopping Whitney on a slap shot.
When the game ended the crowd was shouting “Mar-tee! Mar-tee!”
It makes it difficult to get shutouts.”
Ducks 4, Sharks 0
At Anaheim, Calif., Bobby Ryan scored two goals, Jonas Hiller made 31 saves in his second playoff shutout, and the Ducks took a 3-1 series lead.
Corey Perry had a late goal and an assist, and Ryan Getzlaf added two assists for the Ducks, who moved within one game of becoming the eighth No. 8 seed to win a playoff series since 1994.
Ryan scored twice in a 3:40 span of the second period, giving the rookie star four goals in the four-game series. Anaheim then clamped down on Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and the Sharks’ top scorers, making Hiller’s job relatively easy.
Game 5 is Saturday night in San Jose.
Flyers 3, Penguins 0
At Pittsburgh, Martin Biron made 28 saves, and Arron Asham, Claude Giroux and Mike Knuble scored to help Philadelphia cut the Penguins’ series lead to 3-2.
After winning 2-1 in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, the Penguins were in position to finish off the Flyers in Game 5 on home ice for a second successive season, just as they did by winning 6-0 in the Eastern Conference finals last season.
Game 6 is Saturday in Philadelphia.
Red Wings 6, Blue Jackets 5
At Columbus, Ohio, Johan Franzen scored on a power play with 46.6 seconds left to give Detroit a first-round sweep.
bench minor for having too many men on the ice.
Marian Hossa had two goals, Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom each had a goal and an assist, and Daniel Cleary also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions. Rick Nash, Kristian Huselius and Kris Russell each had a goal and an assist, and R.J. Umberger and Fredrik Modin also scored for Columbus.
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