Devils’ Stevens Bounces Back

Scott Stevens showed how much he means to the New Jersey Devils.

Returning to the lineup two nights after being hit in the left ear with a puck, Stevens scored a goal and anchored another strong performance by the NHL’s top defense.

The Devils beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-1, Wednesday night to move within one victory of the Eastern Conference finals.

Scott Gomez and Patrik Elias also scored for New Jersey, and Martin Brodeur had nine of his 25 saves in the third period. The Devils return home with a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Friday night.

“[Stevens] didn’t play like a guy that was trying to protect an injury. He did everything,” New Jersey Coach Pat Burns said.

Stevens missed all but 77 seconds of Game 3 Monday night after Pavel Kubina’s slap shot hit him in the side of the face, opening a cut that required 15 stitches.

Gomez scored on the Devils’ first shot. The Devils are 5-0 in the playoffs when they score first.

Stevens scored from the slot following a faceoff, making it 3-1 on a power-play goal with 6:47 remaining in the game.