The Devils got off the schneid with a dominating defensive effort Thursday against the Capitals, allowing nine shots against the likes of Jaromir Jagr and Robert Lang for Martin Brodeur’s 69th career shutout.

“Defensively, we were awesome,” Brodeur said. “That’s as good as a team can play.”

The 3-0 win snapped a four-game winless slide, and gets the Devils back on the horse for tonight’s rematch of last spring’s Eastern Finals in Ottawa.

However, Brodeur’s counterpart at the other end from that seven-game thriller, Patrik Lalime, has been sidelined with the flu the last three games. His replacement, Martin Prusek, has allowed two goals through all three of those victories, most recently a 4-1 win at Tampa Thursday.