NEW YORK — Not long after Jaromir Jagr put himself into the game, the New Jersey Devils took him and the New York Rangers right out of it.

After nine years of futility, the Broadway Blueshirts' long-awaited return to the NHL playoffs is on the verge of an early flameout.

Jagr shook off the pain in his injured left shoulder and tried to hoist his slumping teammates onto his back with one arm. But that wasn't nearly enough as the Devils scored twice in the first 10 minutes and went on to a 3-0 victory Wednesday night.

New Jersey leads the best-of-seven matchup 3-0 and can finish off its first postseason series with a win over the Rangers on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. If necessary, Game 5 would be Sunday back in the Meadowlands, where the Devils outscored New York 10-2 in the opening two wins.

"We have to keep the next game close," said Jagr, who returned after a one-game layoff. "We have to be able to score and not make any mistakes. We have try to get one win and then you never know. Anything is possible. We have nothing to lose. We are almost dead."

Today, Ottawa will take a 2-1 series lead into Tampa Bay; Calgary will do the same at Anaheim; San Jose will try to make it 3-1 at home against Nashville; and the host Edmonton Oilers can move within one win of knocking out top-seeded Detroit.

When the Rangers got the odd scoring chance Wednesday, they either missed the net, struck a post, or were turned aside by Martin Brodeur. They aren't the first to meet that fate as Brodeur posted his 21st postseason shutout, just two shy of Patrick Roy's NHL record.

"He never ceases to amaze me," said Devils forward Jay Pandolfo, who resumed his role of Jagr's shadow.

The goaltender's job got a lot easier when Patrik Elias wrecked the Rangers' playoff party just over a minute in. Brodeur stopped 25 shots, and Elias had a goal and assist as the Devils grabbed a 2-0 lead on only four shots.

Elias set up Jamie Langenbrunner 68 seconds after the opening faceoff and then scored his third goal of the series 8 minutes later. Brodeur did the rest in making Jagr's return insignificant.

"He is a tremendous hockey player, so you've got to know if he is going to play or not," said Brodeur, who carried the Devils to their 14th straight victory. "Regardless of him being there 100 percent or not there, it doesn't change the approach of our game."

Flyers 4, Sabres 2

At Philadelphia, Peter Forsberg scored two goals and Robert Esche made 26 saves to give the Flyers some home-ice tonic.

The Sabres still lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 with Game 4 on Friday in Philadelphia.

Alex Kotalik gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead 3Z\x minutes in, but the Flyers scored the next three goals. Brian Savage tied it in the first period with a short-handed goal.

Hurricanes 2, Canadiens 1

At Montreal, Eric Staal scored a power-play goal 3:38 into overtime to help Carolina avoid falling into an 0-3 hole.

Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour tied it 11:27 into the third period with his third goal in two games.

Avalanche 4, Stars 3

At Denver, Alex Tanguay scored 1:09 into overtime for his second goal of the game and the Avalanche's second in a two-minute span as they rallied for their second straight overtime win.

Marty Turco stopped 25 shots, but fell to 1-7 in the playoffs against the Avs.