Brodeur scores as Devils top Hurricanes 4-1

Raleigh, North Carolina: Martin Brodeur scored his third career goal and made 17 saves in his first game in a month as the New Jersey Devils downed the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Thursday.

Brodeur had been out since February 21 with a pinched nerve in his upper back and neck. Peter Harrold, Adam Henrique and Andrei Loktionov also scored to help the Devils end a three-game losing streak.

Brodeur got credit for the game’s first goal when Carolina’s Jordan Staal passed the puck to the point from behind the net after a delayed penalty call against New Jersey’s Marek Zidlicky.

The pass missed intended target Tim Gleason and bounced off the boards near centre ice. Ellis had already skated toward the bench because of the delayed penalty and couldn’t get back in time to prevent the puck from sliding into the net.

Because he was the last Devils player to touch the puck, Brodeur got credit for the score. With Carolina’s Alexander Semin in the penalty box, it counted as a power-play goal.

Jeff Skinner had the Hurricanes’ lone goal while Dan Ellis made 19 saves in Carolina’s fifth consecutive loss.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Brodeur is the first goalie to score a power-play goal since Evgeni Nabokov for San Jose in 2002.

Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney scored 4:22 apart in the third period for Dallas, lifting the Stars over the Los Angeles Kings for their fourth straight win at Staples Centre.

The 41-year-old Jagr and 40-year-old Whitney scored in the same game for the second time this season. On January 19 against Phoenix, they became the fourth pair of teammates age 40 or older to score in the same game since 1942-43.