Bruins at Devils
Martin Brodeur will be in net for potentially his last start with the New Jersey Devils when the Boston Bruins pay a visit to the Garden State in Sunday's regular-season finale. The future Hall-of-Famer is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and is looking to continue his career in 2014-15. The Devils intend to turn over the reins to Cory Schneider, leaving the 41-year-old Brodeur to examine his options.
While Brodeur has three Stanley Cup rings to his credit, New Jersey won't be making any playoff plans this time around. Boston, on the other hand, secured the second Presidents' Trophy in franchise history after breezing to a 4-1 triumph over woe-begotten Buffalo on Saturday afternoon. The top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins are expected to rest plenty of their regulars as they await postseason play.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), MSG (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE BRUINS (54-18-9): Patrice Bergeron scored his 30th goal to extend his career-high point streak to 13 games on Saturday afternoon. Bergeron has collected 11 goals and six assists during his run but did not return to the ice for the third period and is expected to sit out the finale. Chad Johnson will make his second career start versus New Jersey after turning aside 22 shots in a 4-2 win on March 18.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (34-29-18): Although New Jersey is eliminated from postseason contention, the contest still will have meaning for Brodeur. "I'll just take everything in," the veteran told NorthJersey.com. "I'm going to go out there and try to do my best and enjoy playing the game and have fun out there. It’s kind of hard. I’m just going to go out and play like it’s another game, but definitely knowing in the back of my mind it might be my last one I’m going to play here." Brodeur also admitted that he'll have friends and family in attendance in case it's his last game in New Jersey.
OVERTIME
1. Boston C David Krejci tallied twice on Saturday to increase his point streak to four games.
2. Devils RW Jaromir Jagr defended coach Peter DeBoer, saying he deserves to come back next season. "And if he doesn't, 10 teams are going to grab him," Jagr told NorthJersey.com. "Trust me, I know."
3. Bruins RW Jarome Iginla recorded two goals and two assists in two meetings with the Devils this season.