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Devils celebrate Cup anniversary before battling Flyers

Mar 8, 2015 - 2:56 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The New Jersey Devils are running out of time in the Eastern Conference playoff race, but the club is hoping a celebration of past glory can inspire them in Sunday's home clash against the rival Philadelphia Flyers.

Before the Metropolitan Division foes take the ice at Prudential Center, the Devils will honor the 20th anniversary of the franchise's 1995 Stanley Cup win, the first of three titles for the club. New Jersey beat the Flyers in the '95 conference finals before sweeping Detroit for the Cup.

Recently retired goaltender Martin Brodeur, who anchored all three of New Jersey's championship teams, will take part in the pre-game ceremony. Brodeur spent over two decades playing for the Devils before parting ways with the club after last season. He signed with St. Louis in December and appeared in seven games for the Blues before announcing his retirement in January.

The 42-year-old is currently working in the St. Louis front office, serving as the senior advisor to the Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.

The legendary netminder will be joined at the ceremony by his teammates from the 1994-95 squad, including Hall of Fame defensemen Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer. Jacques Lemaire, head coach of the '95 team, also will take part in the festivities.

The Devils enter Sunday 10 points behind Boston for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers, meanwhile, are five points in back of the Bruins after suffering a heartbreaking overtime setback Saturday afternoon in Boston.

Boston rallied for two big points Saturday against the Flyers. Brad Marchand tied the game with a power-play goal late in regulation and scored the winner with 68 seconds left in overtime to help the Bruins earn a 3-2 victory.

Philadelphia was less than 15 seconds away from pulling within two points of Boston for a playoff spot, but Marchand scored on a pretty deflection in front of the net with 14.1 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 2-2.

Then, after Philadelphia's Sean Couturier turned the puck over in the neutral zone late in OT, Marchand took a pass from Max Talbot and headed in on goal for the winning play. Marchand cut to the middle of the ice and sent a backhand on net that hit off defenseman Michael Del Zotto's skate and changed direction before fluttering past Steve Mason and into the goal.

It was the sixth straight loss against Boston for the Flyers, marking their longest stretch of futility against the Bruins since dropping 15 consecutive decisions in the series from Oct. of 1970 through Dec. of 1972.

Jakub Voracek and Chris VandeVelde each tallied a goal for the Flyers, who have recorded at least one point (2-0-2) in four straight games. Mason stopped 34 shots for Philadelphia, which allowed Boston to score twice on four chances with the man advantage.

"There's still time. I mean, there's games. But it's getting down there," VandeVelde said of his club's playoff chances. "We've got to start winning games and doing the right things and holding onto wins."

Voracek reached the 20-goal mark for the third consecutive season. However, he had an excellent chance for his 21st tally with a clean breakaway moments before Marchand's game-winner, but Tuukka Rask got a piece of the puck and sent it wide.

New Jersey, meanwhile, lost for the third time in five games on Friday, dropping a 3-2 regulation decision against Columbus. The Devils have split the first two tests of a three-game homestand and are 16-10-8 as the host.

The Blue Jackets led 3-1 after 40 minutes, but the Devils cut the deficit to one goal early in the third period on a goal by Peter Harrold. New Jersey nearly sent the game to overtime as Mike Cammalleri put the puck into the net at the end of regulation, but not before the final horn sounded.

Jordin Tootoo also scored for Jersey, while Cory Schneider allowed all three goals on 24 shots in the loss.

"We made some mistakes and I wasn't able to come up with that one extra save," said Schneider.

Schneider is 2-2-0 with a 2.75 goals against average in his career against the Flyers. Brodeur's replacement as the franchise's top goaltender is 24-24-6 with a 2.18 GAA this season.

It's unclear if Mason will start again Sunday or if backup Ray Emery gets the call. Mason is 0-5-0 with a 3.57 GAA in his career versus New Jersey, while Emery is 8-5-2 with a 2.01 GAA in this matchup.

New Jersey hopes to win the season series versus the Flyers when the clubs meet for the final time in 2014-15. The Devils are 2-1-0 against Philly and have taken three of the last four encounters.

The Devils boast a 5-1-1 mark in their last seven home games against the Flyers.