Flyers hope to ruin Brodeur's birthday

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VOORHEES, NJBefore the series began against the Devils, there were all sorts of questions, not the least of which this was this: how would Martin Brodeur play against the Flyers?

Scott Hartnell called him a world-class goalie. Which Brodeur is. Wayne Simmonds called him a Hall of Famer. Which Brodeur will be. But Brodeur is also about to turn 40 years oldthat will happen on Sunday, just as the Flyers and Devils are preparing for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in Newark. And so some people wondered how Brodeur might perform given that his career is funneling toward its conclusion.

So far, Brodeur has been good enough to help the Devils take a 2-1 series lead. In 10 playoff games this year, Brodeur has a .917 save percentage and a 2.16 goals against average (comparatively, Ilya Bryzgalov has a .878 save percentage and a 3.54 goals against average in nine postseason games.) Overtime in the playoffs has not always been kind to Brodeurentering this postseason he had a 12-21 record during bonus hockey periodsbut this year has been different. Thanks to Alexei Ponikarovskys goal as the Flyers attempted an inopportune line shift in Game 3, Brodeur got his third overtime victory of these playoffs on Thursday evening. (Overall, it was the fourth time in five games that the Devils went to overtime.) Those three playoff overtime victories are the most in one year for Brodeur in his career.

Hes been a great goalie there for a long time, Simmonds said. Hes going to be a hockey Hall of Famer. Hes a good goalie. If we stick to our game, put pucks on the net and create traffic, everything will fall in place. Hes still a good goalie. He makes unbelievable saves at times. Hes like any other good goalie in this league. If you get to him and take his eyes away, he can be beat.

That may be true, and it has certainly happened at times during the series, but it has also been true that the Flyers have gone long stretches of certain games (Game 2, for instance) without putting pressure on Brodeur. Jakub Voracek said the other outstanding issue is that the Flyers forecheck has not been great during the series, and Brodeurs ability has served to frustrate them further on that front.

Youve got to be smart with the dumps, because Marty Brodeur handles the puck very well, Voracek said. If you give it to him, its hard to get a forecheck if you give the puck to him behind the net. Those little things, weve got to be better.

The Flyers will try to do that on Sunday. Simmonds said he wouldnt mind giving Brodeur a goal (or two) as a birthday present. For his part, Brodeur joked about his age before Game 4.

Do they allow 40-year-olds on the ice? Brodeur asked.

E-mail John Gonzalez at jgonzalez@comcastsportsnet.com

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