Rangers' 26 blocked shots frustrate Devils

So, Martin Brodeur, what did you think of your counterpart's performance?

"Well, from my view, I saw him [only] about 10 minutes of the game because there were so many Ranger players in front of him,'' the Devils' goaltender said, smirking. "But he played pretty well.''

No offense to Henrik Lundqvist, whom the Devils uniformly praised after he shut them out, 3-0, Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

But as indicated by Brodeur's little crack, the dominant theme in the visitors' locker room at Madison Square Garden was the way Lundqvist's teammates continually threw themselves in front of pucks headed in his direction.

The Rangers blocked 26 shots, five each by Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, compared to Lundqvist's 21 saves. It was an exasperating experience for the team doing the shooting.

"That's the way they play,'' Devils captain Zach Parise said. "They play very defensive and block a lot of shots. We expect that for the rest of the series.''

Said Patrik Elias: "The goalie played well, but they block shots and make it tough on you. We just have to stay with it.''

SEE PHOTOSTop 10 Rangers playoff moments

The Devils had the better of the play in the second period, including a couple of intense flurries, to no avail.

"I could be wrong, but it felt like we had the majority of the play and some good offensive zone time and just could not put the puck in,'' said Parise, who got it past the Rangers' skaters more than any of his teammates, totaling five shots on goal.

He said he tried to beat Lundqvist high, as per the conventional wisdom on how to do it, but that it didn't work.

So how will the Devils deal with this?

SEE PHOTOSHit or miss: Rangers first-round picks since 1991

"Try and find ways to get more pucks at Lundqvist,'' Brodeur said. "Try and make his life a little harder than what we did today.''

Brodeur joked that it might take a couple of injuries to Rangers who give themselves up to get them to think twice. But probably not.

"They're paying the price to win,'' he said, "and that's what playoff hockey is all about.''

Not that the Devils didn't make sacrifices, too. Brodeur and his teammates had their defensive moments, notably when Staal had a wide-open net and Brodeur dived to make a backhanded glove save.

"I saw there was a guy there,'' he said. "I didn't know if he had the puck or not. I jumped anyway and he shot it at the same time and I got a little lucky.''

SEE PHOTOSLong Island in the pros: NHL edition

The mood in the Devils' locker room was far from panicky. They also lost Game 1 to the Flyers in the previous round and went on to win four in a row.

But now they must find a way to solve a team that not only is standing in their way but literally falling in their way.

"You can't get frustrated by something you expect,'' coach Peter DeBoer said. "We know that's what they do. You've got to find a way around it.''