Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game 4 (Series tied 2-2)
Devils 4, Panthers 0
After getting benched on Tuesday in what was the shortest outing of his playoff career, Martin Brodeur bounced back on Thursday night by stopping all 26 shots he faced to record the 24th shutout of his postseason career in a 4-0 win for the New Jersey Devils.
Brodeur had to make a couple of key saves early in the game when it was still scoreless, but we'll go with the opening three minutes of the third period as the Devils scored a pair of goals just 1:33 apart to take a commanding three-goal lead. Before that quick outburst it was still only a one-goal game and very much up for grabs, but that was pretty much the knockout punch for Game 4. It was the same lead the Devils had on Tuesday, but this time they were able to hold on to it.
More of what we expected this series to be from the start as one of the lowest scoring teams in the league goes up against one of the better defensive teams. The Panthers have put together a much better performance than many expected coming into this series but didn't seem to have much on Thursday, and they struggled to generate many scoring chances. Most of the chances they did create came in the first period and they were few and far between after that.
Scott Clemmensen received the start in goal against his former team, replacing Jose Theodore, and surrendered four goals on 27 shots.
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