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Brodeur, Devils host Senators in conference semifinal opener

Apr 26, 2007 - 1:20 PM Ottawa at New Jersey 7:00 pm EDT Eastern Conference semifinals Game One

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Martin Brodeur faces a high-powered offense on Thursday when the New Jersey Devils host the Ottawa Senators in Game One of their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup on Thursday.

Brodeur has returned to his typical playoff form after some shaky moments early in the conference quarterfinals against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After allowing three goals in each of the Devils' first four games against the Lightning, Brodeur proceeded to post his 22nd career playoff shutout in Game Five to move within one of Hall of Famer Patrick Roy's record. Two days later, Brodeur made 32 saves en route to his 93rd postseason victory, passing Grant Fuhr for second place on the all-time list.

The Senators have the firepower to test Brodeur, as they were second in the regular season with 288 goals. The trio of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley would pose quite a challenge for any goaltender. They accounted for 14 points in the team's five-game quarterfinals victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Though New Jersey clearly has the goaltending edge in this series, Ottawa netminder Ray Emery played well toward the end of the Pittsburgh series. He allowed two goals in Game Three, one goal in Game Four and recorded his first career playoff shutout in Game Five.

Scott Gomez was the Devils' leading scorer against Tampa Bay with two goals and nine points and 22-year-old Zach Parise led the team with six goals and 29 shots.

The Devils won three straight one-goal games over Ottawa this season after suffering an 8-1 beating in the first meeting. The Senators allowed only eight goals in the four games.

These teams last met in the playoffs in the 2003 conference finals, with Ottawa rallying from a three-games-to-one deficit before dropping a 3-2 decision at home in Game Seven. The Devils went on to win the Stanley Cup, while the Senators have yet to return to the conference finals.