For better or worse, the New Jersey Devils are going with loyalty and nostalgia in net. Despite being pulled about two minutes into the second period during the Devils’ 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers, Tom Gulitti reports that Martin Brodeur will get the nod instead of Johan Hedberg in Game 4.
Technically speaking, Hedberg received the “L” because he allowed the deciding goal. Still, Brodeur gave up three on 12 shots before being pulled, so many will blame him instead.
(Then again, Patrik Elias also accepted some blame for taking a penalty that eventually resulted in a goal as he tried to track down an icing puck, so there’s plenty to go around.)
Honestly, I think Hedberg probably deserves a shot to roll with the No. 1 job. His numbers have generally been better than Brodeur’s during the last two seasons, and with Zach Parise’s future up in the air and much-needed money in more playoff games, it might be worth risking the future Hall of Famer’s feelings.
What do you think, though? If you were Peter DeBoer, would you go with Brodeur or Hedberg?