In a surprising move, Devils head coach Brent Sutter shifted sophomore Travis Zajac from center to right wing for tonight's home contest versus Tampa Bay.  Devils beat writer Tom Gulitti broke the story yesterday, reporting that Dainius Zubrus will move into the center slot and Mike Rupp the left wing.  Gulitti added that Sutter might revert to Zajac at center and that his plan is definitely not final.

Meanwhile, the Devils welcome the Lightning for a 7:00 p.m. showdown at the Prudential Center with one thing on their mind: First Place.  Pittsburgh fell to Florida last night and Montreal earned an impressive come-from-behind win at San Jose, leaving the Penguins and Canadiens tied atop the Eastern Conference with 83 points apice.  The Devils remain in fourth place, yet manufactured 82 points thus far.  A win tonight would advance them into the driver’s seat.

On the opposite end, the Lightning maintain the spoiler role for the rest of the regular season.  With 59 points, the Lighting are headed towards a lottery pick in the 2009 NHL Draft.  They managed to rid themselves of Brad Richards, highly overpaid, prior to the trade deadline, acquiring goalie Mike Smith, centre Jeff Halpern, winger Jussi Jokinen and a a 4th round draft pick in 2009.

Tampa's offensive weapons remained past the deadline, including Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier. They also signed defenseman Dan Boyle to a 6-year contract extension.

But the Devils, who made a small trade, maintain goalie Martin Brodeur, who's on pace for another 40-win campaign. He's anchored New Jersey and will make his 27th consecutive start in net this evening, according to Gulitti.

“If you were a man in Vegas and put your money down on Marty, you would probably win,” Sutter told TG after practice.

Nevertheless, the Devils must continue to generate quality chances, as they accomplished in the 4-1 effort over Toronto and provide Marty with a sustained and balanced offense.  Zach Parise, Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta stepped up against the Leafs and will hopefully carry the Devils into the postseason.

Worst case scenario: The Devils still maintain Martin Brodeur, a pretty good netminder.

Notes: Vishnevski, Greene, Pelley and Martin remain out of the lineup.  Martin injured himself last week and will hopefully return on Tuesday, while the others remain sidelined as healthy scratches (TG).

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