Brodeur returns with a victory

Martin Brodeur scored his third career goal and made 17 saves in his first game in a month, leading the visiting New Jersey Devils to a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. Brodeur had been out since Feb. 21 with a pinched nerve in his upper back and neck. Brodeur got credit for the game’s first goal when Carolina’s Jordan Staal passed the puck back to the point from behind the net with a delayed penalty call pending against New Jersey’s Marek Zidlicky. The pass missed intended target Tim Gleason and bounced off the boards near center ice. Ellis had already skated toward the bench because of the delayed penalty and couldn’t get back in time to prevent the puck from sliding into the net. Because he was the last Devils player to touch the puck, Brodeur got credit for the score. – AP