The Devils return from a three-day holiday vacation as they host the Sabres (18-14-4) at the Prudential Center for the first time this season.  Martin Brodeur continues to shine as he leads New Jersey (20-13-3) to three-point first-place margin in the ultra-tight Atlantic Division.  The last-place Islanders are separated from the Devils by five points.

Tomas Vokoun, who blanked the Devils back in October, and Brodeur have 18 wins, good for second place in the league.  With a 2.23 goals against average, Brodeur ranks sixth.

This is a major improvement from the beginning of the season for Brodeur and the Devils, when they adjusted to new head coach Brent Sutter.

They started the season with nine straight road games before the Prudential Center was finished.  They completed the month of October at 4-6-1, including three shutout losses and people were asking questions.

The beginning of November was not much different, until Jamie Langenbrunner returned from his offseason surgery in mid-November.

The Devils continued to win less than fifty percent of their games.  They went 3-4-1, losing to the archrival Rangers three times during the first month and a half of the season.

Then Langs came back, the Devils lost two more, and the tide finally turned for Sutter’s team.  The Jersey Boys won nine consecutive games, which included two more shutouts for the Hall-of-Fame-bound Brodeur and Brodeur’s 500th career win.

The Devils have required Brodeur’s proficiency between the pipes since they have not been able to score consistently.  With 87 goals scored, they rank in the bottom of the league, only above the Rangers, Coyotes, and Oilers.

However, they score when it matters.

Just 25 seconds into overtime, Patrik Elias one-timed a feed from linemate Brian Gionta in the Devils’ 1-0 overtime win over Calgary right before the break.  Even though Elias has only manufactures eight goals thus far, five have been game winners.

And they have Brodeur in net.

Brodeur recorded regular-season shutout No. 95 against the Flames, as he passed George Hainsworth for second place all-time.  He needs eight more to tie Terry Sawchuk’s all-time record of 105 regular season shutouts.

Elias and Gionta also teamed up in the decisive third period in Edmonton three days earlier.  They managed two goals and two assists in the third, as the Devils defeated the Oilers 3-1.

They were not as successful on the first game of the road trip.  Vancouver spanked them 5-0.

In the meanwhile, Jay Pandolfo has missed the last 12 games with pubic bone ligament injury.

He will not play tonight and there is no timetable for his return to the rotation (TG).

Zach Parise, who did not play in Calgary due to the flu, will return to the lineup.

Similar to the Devils who lost two vital players in their system, including the traitor Scott Gomez to the Rangers, Buffalo went through a transformation in the offseason.

Leading scorer Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, and Dainius Zubrus departed as free agents after losing the Eastern Conference finals to Ottawa.

All three offensemen cashed in with Atlantic Division teams.  While Briere went to Philadelphia, Drury signed with the Rangers, and Zubrus with the Devils.

Nevertheless, the Sabres have managed to stay in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, even with a struggling Thomas Vanek, who signed a seven-year $50 million extension to remain in Buffalo.

After finishing last season with 43 goals and 41 assists, he has 11 of each thus far in 35 games.

At this point last year, Vanek had already scored 18 times.

Jason Pominville has carried the team in Briere’s place with 9 goals and 22 assists, while Derek Roy and Johan Hecht lead with 13 goals apiece.

U.S.-native Ryan Miller has done a fantastic job in net and is on pace for another Brodeur-esque 40-win season.

Brodeur is the only goalie in history with six 40-win seasons and Miller is on pace for his second consecutive 40-win campaign.

Despite the fact that the Sabres are one of the hottest teams in the NHL having won six straight before an untimely 5-3 loss to Ottawa on Wednesday, they do not enjoy the stench of the Turnpike.

Or the former Continental Airlines Arena either for that matter.

The Devils have won nine of ten against the Sabres at the former Continental Airlines Arena, but have since moved to their new downtown Newark arena,

Brodeur is 10-3-0 with two ties and a 2.11 GAA in his last 15 starts against Buffalo.

Notes:

• Buffalo has won four consecutive road contests, including a 6-5 victory decided in the shootout.
• The Sabres were 3-1 against the Devils last season.
• Despite the loss of Briere and the others, the Sabres are among league leaders in goals scored with 112 (fifth) and an average of 3.17 per game (third).
• The Devils have played a league-high 22 road contests.  They are 11-8-3 away from home after opening the season 3-4-1.
• They play three of the next four at home.

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