Metro Pucks: Brodeur Aches, DiPietro Returns and Lundqvist Shines

All three marquee goaltenders of the New York metropolitan area N.H.L. clubs made news on Wednesday.

Martin Brodeur will be sidelined 7-to-10 days as he rehabilitates a shoulder injury he sustained in the Devils’ 2-1 shootout win over Los Angeles on Thursday. According to a statement released by the team, Brodeur will not need surgery. In the absence of the 39-year-old Brodeur, Johan Hedberg — who won in relief in the game against the Kings and beat Nashville on Saturday — will start when the Devils host San Jose at Prudential Center Friday.

Rick DiPietro has resumed practicing with the Islanders and accompanied the team on its two-game trip to Florida. DiPietro sustained a concussion last week when a shot by one of his teammates, Brian Rolston, struck him near the temple and shattered his goalie mask. The Islanders have received strong goaltending from Al Montoya and Evgeni Nabakov, their other two experienced pros on one-way N.H.L. contracts. In the team’s first four games of the regular season, the Islanders (3-1-0) allowed just 6 goals. They play the Lightning in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday and the Panthers in Sunrise, Fla. on Saturday.

If league custom would have allowed it, Henrik Lundqvist would have been named the first, second and third star in the Rangers’ 4-0 victory in Vancouver Tuesday night. Lundqvist made 40 saves for the shutout, keeping the game scoreless through two periods while his teammates were badly out-played by the speedier Canucks. Mike Rupp, Brian Boyle, Ryan McDonagh and Marian Gaborik scored in the third period to give the Rangers (1-1-2) their first victory of the season.

“Henrik gave us an opportunity and we found a way,” Rangers Coach John Tortorella said after the game. “Hank was outstanding. That’s the way it works. I was watching a game earlier today where a team was getting spanked and they ended up winning the hockey game. So hopefully we can at least find something good and try to regain some of our confidence here, with just a little bit more juice. That’s what we’ve been lacking.”

Hedberg Replaces Brodeur and Saves Everything

NEWARK – The backup Devils goalie Johan Hedberg knew for days that he would not be starting on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings, but he always tries to be ready just in case. The preparation paid off when Hedberg replaced an injured Martin Brodeur, stopped all 16 shots he faced in regulation and two more in a shootout to give the Devils a 2-1 win.

Brodeur, 39, left the game at Prudential Center after the first period with an injury that the Devils called “upper body soreness.” He appeared to injure his shoulder when he lunged across the  crease to make a save on Los Angeles defenseman Alec Martinez midway through the first period. After the victory, Brodeur said team doctors advised him to be cautious and sit out, but he said he was not concerned about the severity of the injury.

Devils fans could exhale over the not-so-bad news, and the praise belonged to Hedberg for saving the night. With 2 minutes 40 seconds left in overtime, Hedberg slid across his crease to stop a slap shot by defenseman Drew Doughty. In the shootout, he responded to goals by teammates Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise with stops on Simon Gagne and Anze Kopitar to earn the Devils the extra point awarded for the victory.

“I always try to stay focused on the bench,” said Hedberg, who acknowledged that playing Monday in the Devils’ 4-2 win over Carolina also helped.

It cannot be easy for a goaltender to enter a game with little time to stretch and no opportunity to warm up by facing a few shots. Hedberg began mentally preparing in the first period, when he saw Brodeur wince in pain during an injury timeout. Hedberg got the call to enter the game a few minutes into the first intermission. Surprisingly, Hedberg didn’t spend a lot of time in the dressing room stretching.

“No, for me, it’s more about preparing mentally,” he said. “I have this little routine I go through, and then I warm up. I get a little nervous, the adrenaline starts creeping in and I get ready to play the game. It felt like it was going to be a close one, so I just went out and tried to have fun.”

Brodeur stopped 15 of 16 shots in the first period, keeping the Devils in the game after they played sluggishly in the opening 10 minutes.

“We’d like to throw that out,” Devils Coach Peter DeBoer said of the poor start. “We talked through a couple of things during the injury timeout while the trainers were looking at Marty. I thought from that point on, we played a better game.”

As for Hedberg, DeBoer said, “To come in cold in that situation and pitch a game like that — both goalies did a great job for us tonight.”

Despite his strong play, Hedberg would have been tagged with a loss if the Devils had failed to win the shootout. Gagne showed Hedberg a few dekes, but Hedberg stayed with him from post to post. When Kopitar lined up at center ice for his one-on-one, Hedberg had a flashback to an earlier encounter with him.

“I remembered Kopitar beating me in L. A. and making me look really bad,” said Hedberg, who has stopped more than 80 percent of his shootout chances in his N.H.L. career. “I wanted to get him back.”

This is Hedberg’s 11th season in the league, yet he had no trouble remembering the details of Kopitar’s one-on-one goal three years ago.

“I try to keep a book on all of the shooters,” he said. “It’s funny. Sometimes I can barely remember anything, but I do remember that. I like the shootout. It’s a fun challenge.”