from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

From the Final in 2012 to Finality in 2013.

And when Martin Brodeur was asked if he could define the difference in the Devils from one year to the next in the moments following regular-season Game 45 elimination from playoff contention with yesterday’s 4-1 Garden defeat to the Rangers, the all-time goaltender didn’t hesitate.

“There’s Zach,” he said, meaning captain Zach Parise, the first-line winger who left the Eastern Conference champions behind in July to accept a 13-year, $98 million free agent offer from his home state Wild. “That’s a top-three forward we never got back.”

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