NHL Playoffs 2012: Devils Back in Driver's Seat with Game 4 Win over Panthers

Well, that wasn't too hard.

Four goals from four different players later, along with 26 saves and an assist from goaltender Martin Brodeur, and the New Jersey Devils are knotted once again with the Florida Panthers.

New Jersey's 4-0 win on Thursday night in Newark evened the best-of-seven series at two games apiece, with Game 5 set for Saturday in Sunrise, Fla. The rematch in the Garden State is slated for Tuesday at the Prudential Center, where one team will be trying to wrap things up and advance to Round 2 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In the process of rediscovering both their offensive game and penalty-killing prowess after a frustrating collapse from a 3-0 lead in Game 3, the Devils also finally found a way to beat former teammate Scott Clemmensen. Starting with a double deflection by Travis Zajac and then Zach Parise on the power play, the Devils took control for good in the second period.

"Zach is the heartbeat of our team, something I've said all year," said Devils head coach Pete DeBoer at NHL.com. "He sets the tone, leads and everyone follows when your captain is your hardest working player, he drags people with him and it's a great situation to be in as a coach."

Clemmensen (23 saves) had been previously unbeaten in five decisions against his first NHL club. He had 19 saves in relief in winning Game 3, but was tagged for four goals in his first-ever playoff start on Thursday, including three in the third period, as all three shots went high to the glove side.

Steve Bernier made it 2-0 early in the third following a neat setup by waterbug Stephen Gionta, who was seemingly everywhere and hitting everyone, and also just missed scoring his second goal of the playoffs when he shot wide on a partially open Florida net off a pass from Bernier.

Zajac (four points on the night) and Ilya Kovalchuk (power-play goal) then closed out the scoring to shift the series momentum back to the Devils.

New Jersey also killed off all six Florida power plays after surrendering three power-play goals in Game 3, and six man-advantage markers in the series thus far.

"Special teams have been the difference in most of the games in the series, so both coaches are spending a lot of time on those areas in film work and I knew our penalty-killing would bounce back and it did," said DeBoer.

The Devils likely also got a boost from their home crowd. The Prudential Center (capacity 17,625) has been sold out the last three Devils home games, including a 4-2 win over Ottawa on April 7 in the regular-season finale.

"Our fans, especially the last two games, have been unbelievable," said Brodeur.

The veteran backstop, who was pulled from his previous outing early in the second period after surrendering three goals on just 12 shots, turned back the clock several years Thursday in recording his 24th career Stanley Cup playoff shutout, setting a new NHL standard.

“He was great. That’s vintage Marty Brodeur,” said Coach DeBoer. “We’ve come to expect that around here.”

Brodeur outdueled former backup Clemmensen and also got a little help from his posts, especially on a Sean Bergenheim shot. He still came up with several stellar pad and glove saves of his own to pick up personal playoff win No. 101.

Now, Brodeur and Co. are back in the driver's seat heading south Saturday night.