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Brodeur happy for another chance vs. Flyers; Devils trying to fix team defense, Ruutu visits family

These are type of games Martin Brodeur has always enjoyed playing in.

As the Devils head to Philadelphia for Tuesday night’s game at Wells Fargo Center, they trail the Flyers by four points for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

They Devils are two points behind Columbus for the last playoff spot in the East, but the Blue Jackets visit Dallas tonight and that’s a game the Devils have no control over. They can, however, make up some ground Tuesday on the Flyers with a win and strengthen their playoff chances in the process regardless of what Columbus does tonight.

“That’s what you play for,” said Brodeur, who is 1-1-1 against the Flyers this season, including a 3-0 win on Nov. 7 in Philadelphia. “You wish it would be just a stroll to the playoffs, but it’s not. It comes to be games that are important for the psyche of the team and for the standings, for a lot of different reasons. So, it’s definitely nice to be part of it.”

Brodeur has won all three of his starts since the Olympic break and will start consecutive game for the first time since Dec. 31 (2-1 win over Pittsburgh) and Jan. 3 (5-3 loss to Chicago)

Going into the Olympic break, Brodeur wasn’t sure if he’d get a chance like this again. Cory Schneider started the Devils’ last six games before the break – following Brodeur being pulled in a 7-3 loss to the Rangers at Yankee Stadium.

“If you asked me that question before the break, I didn’t think it was going to happen,” Brodeur said. “After the break, not necessarily, but I think my mind was a little more clear about my situation, about what I was thinking about, if I was going to get starts compared to after the outdoor game. It was a little tougher for me mentally just not to have a chance to redeem myself and get back playing. But that disappeared and I tried to make the best out of the situation.

“There’s not much I can do about it. It’s just me when I get a chance to play, play well. That’s it. Just my attitudes been a little better about the whole thing. I didn’t expect to play more. I was just more open-minded about the situation.”

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3-on-3 overtimes? Devils' Martin Brodeur, Jaromir Jagr say bring it on

NHL general meetings are discussing adding 3-on-3 hockey into overtime during their annual meetings this week. If Devils players had a vote, it might be unanimous. They're for it.

NEWARK – Devils goalie Martin Brodeur spent part of his Sunday night watching hockey. He enjoyed it until the end.

"Minnesota's playing a great game against St. Louis and the game goes to a shootout," Brodeur told NJ.com after Monday's practice. "St. Louis has unbelievable shooters ... bang, bang, game over, move on."

Brodeur never has been a fan of shootouts, so he's hopeful change is coming to reduce them with NHL GMs discussing adopting 3-on-3 overtime hockey at their annual meetings this week in Boca Raton, Fla.

"I'm all for that if you ask me,” Brodeur said. "I don't know if it's because we're struggling so much in shootouts. Our team is probably going to be pro change."

They sure are.

“Well, for us, any change is good!” right wing Jaromir Jagr said as he broke into a laugh. “We cannot get any worse!”

The Devils have played eight shootouts this season and lost them all. They've been much better in games decided by the 4-on-4, five-minute sudden-death overtimes that precedes shootouts, winning eight of 13.

“At least 3-on-3 is still hockey, not a special skill like the shootout is, and it can only benefit us, especially this year,” center Travis Zajac said. “You get to decide it in the game, which is nice, and it’s still entertaining for the fans. You'd still get your breakaways and odd-man rushes. That's part of the fun in it, too.”

Through play Sunday, 14 percent of NHL games this season - 136 of 968 - were decided in shootouts, up slightly from last season's 13.5 percent and 13.3 percent since shootouts were first added in 2005-06. Also, 40 percent of this season's games going to OT ended up being decided in a shootout.

Brodeur heard that GMs, who began three days of meetings on Monday, would be discussing 3-on-3 overtime from a recent conversation that he had with NHL goalie supervisor Kay Whitmore.

“I knew they were going to bring it up and they have tapes to show everybody how it could work,” said Brodeur, who will be in goal for Tuesday night's game in Philadelphia. “Instead of having 40 percent of games finish in overtime, you might get 65 or 80 percent. You're still going to have shootouts, but at least you're getting more odds to win as a team."

If GMs want 3-on-3 added to overtime, decisions still need to be made on whether 4-on-4 completely will be abandoned. One possibility being discussed is expanding overtime to 4-on-4 for three or four minutes, then 3-on-3 for three or four minutes.

Nothing can be finalized until June when both the NHL's Competition Committee and Board of Governors would need to approve any changes during separate meetings.

Bring it on, the Devils say.

“For me, 3-on-3 is not a whole lot of a different than a shootout,” left wing Ryane Clowe said. “It’s gimmicky, but still better a shootout.”

Like most if not all goalies, Brodeur wishes the NHL went back to the format used before the lockout canceled the 2004-05 season – five minutes of 5-on-5 hockey with games ending in a tie if no one scores.

“I played a 0-0 tie against Dominik Hasek one time and I could leave the game and be happy about my performance,” Brodeur said. “But there’s one I lost 1-0 in a shootout. You feel like crap because you lost the game. That's what bothers me about the shootout. You can play really, really well. You could give that point to your team, but you're giving up an extra point.

“For coaches, for GMs, for the moral of the team, that tie is a lot better than the loss in overtime even though it's worth the same and could be a point you’ll never see again against a Western team."

Brodeur wasn’t in the net when the Devils played in Los Angeles this season, but says it was exciting watching from the bench earlier this season when the teams played 3-on-3 for two minutes of overtime after Jagr and Dustin Brown went sent of for coincidental minutes. The Devils won 4-3 in OT when Jagr scored a 4-on-4 goal after exiting the penalty box.

"Three-on-three is wide-open hockey," Brodeur said. "It's exciting. Somebody gets a chance. If you don't score, then there's another chance and another chance. You're with three players and a goalie doing your thing.

"Let 'em play 3-on-3. Make a big hit, make a line change ... something. You want to win or lose as a team."