The Devils have suffered some serious on-ice losses over the past few years, with many of their most important contributors departing for greener pastures. And with the latest defector, Scott Gomez, outscoring the Devils through Games 1 and 2 of their first round series with the Rangers, the pendulum of power in the Hudson River Rivalry appeared to have swung decisively in the Blueshirts’ favor.

But counting out this Devils team would be foolhardy, for two of the most important characteristics that made the Devils this decade’s only two-time Cup winner — and only three-time Cup Finalist — remain key components of their current identity. Unflappable and disciplined, the Devils are able to ignore distractions and remain focused on the team objective. On Sunday night, they did just that, stealing a critical overtime victory in Game 3 to prevent the Rangers from taking a probably insurmountable 3–0 series lead.

Heading into this series, one of the most compelling storylines looked to be the simmering feud between Devils All-World netminder Martin Brodeur and Rangers agitator Sean Avery. The sparks have certainly flown between the bitter rivals. But rather than allowing the antagonistic Avery to throw him off his game, Brodeur kept his cool.

At one point during the second period of Game 3, Avery parked himself in front of the Devils’ goal while the Rangers had a 5-on-3 advantage. That Avery was attempting to wreak havoc and block Brodeur’s sight lines was no surprise whatsoever, but the manner by which he did it was truly unique. Rather than facing out toward the action, perhaps with an eye toward deflecting a shot, Avery instead faced Brodeur, maximizing his capacity to infuriate and distract the Devils’ netminder. At one point, he actually waved his stick in front of Brodeur’s face, doing anything within his power to get under the goalie’s skin.

Not long after Avery conducted his unorthodox shenanigans, he one-timed a Gomez pass past Brodeur to give the Blueshirts a 2–1 lead; it appeared at the time that Avery had single-handedly neutralized the Devils’ greatest asset. But to presume that the unsportsmanlike — if creative — Avery had the war won would be to underestimate Brodeur in particular and the Devils in general. The Devils are never more dangerous than when they’re underestimated. They came back and won the game, and are a very serious threat to regain control of the series.

Yesterday, NHL head of discipline Colin Campbell took decisive action to prevent Avery (or anyone else) from repeating his distraction tactics, issuing this official statement:

“An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty (Rule 75) will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender’s face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play.”

Perhaps it’s a bit dicey for the NHL to change the rules in midstream — a la Brett Hull’s controversial 1999 Cup-winning goal and the consequential evaporation of the previously enforced “in the crease” rule — but by publicly pronouncing a defined policy, the league did a nice job of defusing what could have easily turned ugly had Avery been allowed to continue.

On paper, the Devils without Brodeur would look no better than a lottery team. But hockey games aren’t won on paper, and just as NFL scouts would be wise to look past 40-yard dash times when evaluating prospects for the upcoming draft, so too would it be prudent for the Rangers to ignore their seemingly substantial on-paper edge in this series. They must remain true to the game plan that enabled them to take a 2–0 series lead, for when they stray as they did on Sunday night, the consequences are disastrous.

In the second period of Sunday’s game, the Rangers took four separate undisciplined penalties, two of them resulting in Devils power play goals. By the time overtime arrived, the Rangers were dragging their feet a bit, in part to their having spent nearly one-fourth of the game attempting to kill off New Jersey power plays.

What the Devils lack in goalscoring power forwards, they make up for with their tic-tac-toe passing around the perimeter, and chasing the puck wore down the Rangers. Put simply, if New York can’t be more disciplined in Game 4, the Rangers are a good bet to fully squander what should have been a commanding 2–0 series lead.

Another story line to watch is the Rangers’ development of rookie defenseman Marc Staal. Head coach Tom Renney did a masterful job managing expectations for Staal this season, nearly always putting the young defenseman in a position to succeed. But Renney’s mentoring skills will be put to the test in the wake of Sunday’s loss, especially given the Garden crowd’s impatience with Rangers defensemen.

Midway through the second period, Staal’s failed clearing attempt was intercepted by Patrik Elias and buried past Henrik Lundqvist to give the Devils their second goal. In overtime, John Madden’s shot caromed off Staal’s skate and between Lundqvist’s pads to give New Jersey the victory. Neither goal was fully Staal’s fault, and with experience, those rookie mistakes will become but a distant memory. But no doubt, both gaffes will stick in the youngster’s craw.

On the positive side of the ledger, Staal’s 26 minutes, 33 seconds of ice time on Sunday night led the Rangers. For most of the game, he distinguished himself with cool, calm, and collected play that belied his lack of experience. Staal was arguably the Rangers’ best defenseman on Sunday night, and though the growing pains will sometimes be painful, the potential rewards far outweigh the short-term risks. Staal is already one of the best young rearguards in the entire NHL … imagine how good he’ll be with a few dozen playoff games under his belt?

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.