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Brodeur, Devils try to finish off Lightning

Apr 22, 2007 - 1:45 PM New Jersey at Tampa Bay 1:00 pm EDT Eastern Conference quarterfinal New Jersey leads, 3-2

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) - New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur has regained his typical playoff form and that could be bad news for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

On the heels of Brodeur's 3-0 shutout, the Devils have taken a three-games-to-two lead in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup with the Lightning and can close out the series on Sunday.

After uncharacteristically allowing three goals in each of the first four games of the series, Brodeur resembled his usual self in Game Five. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner and three-time Stanley Cup champion made 31 saves for his 22nd career playoff shutout.

Brodeur is within one of Hall of Famer Patrick Roy for first place on the all-time postseason shutout list. He's also one win away from moving ahead of Grant Fuhr for second place on the career playoff victory list - the players are tied at 92.

That being said, Brodeur is just 3-10 in his last 13 road playoff games.

Scott Gomez, Andy Greene and Brian Gionta each tallied in Game Five for the Devils, who have won two consecutive games after falling behind two-games-to-one.

Game Five also saw some action at the benches, as Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella got in a shouting match with Devils assistant John MacLean during an on-ice fight.

With three goals and five assists, Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis leads all players in the series with eight points.

A No. 2 seed has been eliminated by a seventh seed in each of the last nine playoffs. Tampa Bay is the only hope to keep that streak alive since the Minnesota Wild lost Anaheim Ducks in the two-seven Western Conference quarterfinal.