Devils 1

Flyers 0

PHILADELPHIA – From such lessons, Devils become disciples.

It was a match of wills, a test of Pat Burns’ preaching of patience, particularly when his so-similar counterpart owns the reputed game-breakers.

It took a measure of trust from the Devils to wait, wait and wait last night, and when that trust was repaid by Jamie Langenbrunner’s game-winner with 7:43 left, it could only reinforce Burns’ message.

“It’s a tough way to play, but it’s a winning way to play,” Langenbrunner said after snapping the Flyers’ six-game winning streak with last night’s 1-0 Devils victory.

“We’re learning that. The games that get cutesy, we lose. The games we play tight, we’re coming out on top,” Langenbrunner said.

The Devils stand 8-3 this season, but this victory serves notice around the league that they are a force, winning on defense against one of the league’s powers of this young season.

“It was a great game to play this early in the season,” Langenbrunner said. “You see what guys will be like at crunch time.”

While Langenbrunner became the scoring hero with his left-wing wrister, there were stalwarts aplenty in keeping the Flyers off the board, starting with Martin Brodeur and Scott Stevens.

“It was a game to see how we match up against the best team, and we did real well. Defensively, we were awesome. And we stayed disciplined,” said Brodeur, 17th all-time with 56 shutouts. This was his first this season, after yielding one goal five times.

“When we’re scared to get beaten, weird things happen. We play a lot better,” Brodeur said. “We really got up for this, a big game, and that’s important to know.”

The sides fenced more than 52 minutes, each seemingly afraid to make a mistake. Brodeur was stalwart, particularly in breaking up dangerous passes to the goalmouth, especially during a third period 5-on-3.

Flyers goalie Roman Cechmanek bit when John Madden pulled up to fake a left-circle shot, and was well out of his net as Jay Pandolfo received the pass, only to half-flub his shot. Cechmanek’s stick went flying across the crease, which could have resulted in a penalty shot, except Pandolfo’s shot was blocked by Dennis Seidenberg. In the second, Jeff Friesen faked Cechmanek to the ice on a breakaway, and just before Friesen put his backhand into Cechmanek’s left pad, his right skate kicked the net off the mooring.

The decisive play came just after Brodeur rejected Simon Gagne’s 2-on-1 right wing shot. As the teams changed, Langenbrunner leapt on the ice and pilfered the puck from Eric Desjardins at the left boards, cutting to the circle for a wrister that beat Cechmanek’s glove, high on the long side. It was the 46th shot of the game, and 25th by the Devils.

“Yeah, I like these games,” Burns said. “It’s fun to go on the road and come into the room after the first and say ‘It’s 0-0 in somebody else’s barn,’ and then come in after the second and say ‘Hey, it’s still 0-0.’

“You can feel that energy.”

And you could feel Devils beginning to wonder if Burns just might be right about playing so very, very tightly.