Brodeur back in Stanley Cup finals at age 40

Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J.

With Martin Brodeur nearing his 40th birthday and entering the final year of his contract, this season had the look of a last hurrah for the New Jersey Devils’ goalie.

Well, the hurrah part was right.

It’s been one hurrah after another, reaching a high point Friday night. Brodeur made 33 saves to help the Devils defeat the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime in Game 6 to advance to the Stanley Cup finals against the Los Angeles Kings.

After the Devils missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 1996, no one might have been put under the microscope more than Brodeur. Longtime president and general manager Lou Lamoriello certainly had questions to answer after the early-season stumble under new coach John MacLean, but Brodeur was the focal point after a so-so season nagged by injuries.

Now he’s back after outdueling Henrik Lundqvist in the Eastern Conference finals.

“It’s been a lot of fun this season, playing on a really good team, and I’m enjoying this ride,” Brodeur said. “And I know what I can do, try to compete as hard as I can every night and try to give these guys a chance to win hockey games. And they’ve been scoring a lot of goals for me in the playoffs so far, and it’s been great.”

Brodeur was the difference in the Devils’ wins in Games 5 and 6, when the Rangers controlled most of the play in the final two periods.

“He was outstanding, all playoffs,” Devils forward David Clarkson said. “He kept us in games, stood on his head. It’s amazing to see what he’s doing right now and our bench just feeds off it.”

Brodeur refused to compare this Devils team to the ones that won Cups in 1995, 2000 and ’03, or to the one that lost the Cup in seven games to Colorado in 2001.

“Every team writes its own story,” the Montreal native said.