Devils end four-game losing run

After one of the shortest outings of his career, netminder Martin Brodeur had to put in a little overtime as the New Jersey Devils snapped a four game losing skid with a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. David Clarkson notched his second of the game 2:40 into overtime and Ilya Kovalchuk chipped in with a goal as the Devils held on for the win after squandering a 2-0 first period lead.Brodeur was back in net after giving up three goals on four shots in a little more than eight minutes in a loss to Minnesota on Friday but the future Hall of Famer was back in good form handling 31 shots.The NHL’s all-time leader in wins (631) and shutouts (116), Brodeur’s start against the Wild was the second shortest of a 20-year career that features a 1,146 games and the Devils 39-year-old netminder did not mind putting in a little extra against the Leafs.“It was a bounce back game for me,” Brodeur told reporters.Brodeur faced only four shots in the opening period put was called on to make a couple of big saves, including a spectacular sprawling pad save on the National Hockey League’s (NHL) leading scorer Phil Kessel.“He (Brodeur) was really solid and I knew he would be,” said Devils coach Peter Deboer.The Devils were out of the gate quickly, Kovalchuk and Clarkson converting power play chances before the opening period had reached the midway point.Toronto immediately began chipping away at the New Jersey lead, Kessel getting credit for the second period’s only goal when Joffrey Lupul’s centering pass ricocheted in off his leg.Realignment planThe NHL board of governors approved a radical realignment plan on Monday to give the league four conferences rather than the current six divisions in two conferences.The plan was approved on the opening day of the board’s meeting, but will not be implemented until NHL commissioner Gary Bettman discusses it with the NHL Players’ Association. Realignment became an issue after Atlanta moved to Winnipeg earlier this year. The NHL could have switched one team from the Western Conference but decided to make a bigger change.The NHL said the four conferences are designed to alleviate geographic concerns among several current Western Conference teams that had been unhappy about their extensive travel through one, two, and sometimes even three time zones. Some of those teams argued that the late start of road games in the Pacific time zone were affecting fan interest, especially among younger fans.