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NEWARK, N.J. -- Standing on the podium after what might have been his final game of his record-setting, 20-year career with the New Jersey Devils, Martin Brodeurs eyes welled with tears when he was asked to explain his emotions. Just 15 minutes earlier, after a season-ending 3-2 win over Boston on Sunday, the soon-to be 42-year goalie stood at centre ice and gave a stick salute to the crowd as his teammates stood in front of the bench and tapped their sticks to honour him. As he was interviewed the sellout crowd chanted: "Thank You Marty! Thank You Marty!" "It was a little emotional," said Brodeur, the NHLs career leader in wins (688) and shutouts (124). "I have spent my life here. All the fans out there know me. They think they know me by my name, and I feel they know me. "They have been calling my name for 20 years. Every time they stop me and talk to me, they are great. Its a relationship that an athlete has with people. It was definitely fun, but it was emotional." Brodeur is in the final year of his contract and is likely to test the free-agent market now that he has become the backup to Cory Schneider. He clearly indicated he wants more playing time after going 19-14-6 in 39 games. It is clear that the 28-year-old Schneider is the Devils goalie of the future. "Its not out of the question that the Devils will be in the running for me to come back," Brodeur said. "I havent talked to Lou (Lamoriello) about what he wants to do with backing up "Schneids," Brodeur said. "Again, if I am mentally ready to do that job, I am going to look for the Devils a little bit. "Right now Im keeping everything open. Well see what he feels is the best for the organization. Its not about me anymore. Im free. Hes not stuck with me anymore." Brodeur made 16 saves against the Bruins, who rested many of their stars in preparation for the playoffs. Loui Eriksson and Brad Marchand scored for Boston. Travis Zajac, who put the Devils ahead 2-1 early in the third period, said the Devils goal was to send Brodeur out a winner. "It just seemed like the right ending for everything he has done for this organization," Zajac said after the Devils missed the playoffs for the second straight season after making the finals in 2012. "Whatever happens, it just seemed right to get him that win." Defenceman Marek Zidlicky scored twice for New Jersey and Jaromir Jagr earned two assists, giving him 1,050 and moving him past Gordie Howe for eighth on the NHL career list. "He did something that no one is ever going to do again," Jagr said of Brodeur. "I would say its comparable to Wayne Gretzkys numbers." Boston rested eight starters, including Zdeno Chara and No. 1 goalie Tuukka Rask. "We had a real tough opponent, and for the most part I thought we handled it OK," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "For us it was just about playing a solid game." While Brodeur didnt have a lot of work against the Boston lineup that included four players called up from the clubs Providence AHL affiliate, this was a love fest for the player who led the Devils to three Stanley Cup titles and five appearances in the championship round. He was cheered from the opening introductions, and every save brought chants of "Marty! Marty!" Toward the end, the crowd just chanted his name. Zajac broke a 1-all tie at 3:52 of the final period. He got inside position on Matt Bartkowski in front of goalie Chad Johnson and redirected a pass from Jagr into the net. Zidlicky stretched the lead to two with a power-play goal that Jagr also helped set up. Boston managed to take some of the enjoyment out of the closing seconds when Marchand scored a power-play goal to make it a one-goal game. "If this is his last game, it is (cool) to have scored," Marchand said. "I should have (grabbed) the puck." The Devils outshot the undermanned Bruins 24-9 in the first two periods, but the score was tied 1-1. Zidlicky gave New Jersey the lead 7:12 into the game. The defenceman joined a rush late and took a pass from Zajac entering the Bruins zone. He skated down the right side, went around the net and beat Johnson with a wraparound inside the post for his 11th goal. Boston only had five shots in the period but the last one tied it on a power play. Marchand sent a pass from the right circle to Carl Soderberg in the opposite circle. He quickly found Eriksson with a pass at the right corner of the net for a slam dunk. The Devils announced during the game that coach Pete DeBoer will return next season. NOTES: Marchand played in his 300th game with the Bruins. ... The Bruins, the Presidents Trophy winner for the best regular-season record also rested Jarome Iginla, Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Daniel Paille and Chris Kelly. They recalled forwards Craig Cunningham, Justin Florek, Alexander Khokhlachev, and Matt Lindblad from Providence. Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, With a lot of playoff games this year already going deep into overtime, weve all heard talk about how no player wants to be the one who makes a mistake prompted by exhaustion that leads to the game-winning goal. But to what extent does all this extra play time affect the officials? How much do they feel the physical and mental fatigue caused by a game heading into its second or third overtime period, and is this related to the perception - real or imagined - that officials tend to "swallow their whistles" in OT? Best,Mark Hill Mark: Fatigue was much more of an issue to contend with in the one referee system when we chased the play from end to end and didnt get much of an opportunity for a rest. A refs best friend can be a moving puck. Whenever possible, I attempted to force players to "move it"! Aside from enhancing the entertaining value of the game another upside of sustained action was that players gave and received hits with less likelihood of retaliation and scrums developing. On occasion I wore a heart monitor and during three to five minute runs without a whistle the readings would be sustained between 165-175 bpm. By comparison the highest my heart rate ever got in the two referee system was 98 bpm. There should be no reason (in the two-ref system) where physical fatigue might negatively impact the decision making process for an official regardless how many overtime periods are played. The mental aspect of a referees performance is a whole different kettle of fish! While players dont want to become the "goat" by making a bad play or mistake, the referees internal struggle is all about rendering a decision that might be perceived as a game ending bad call. (You notice I said perceived.) The best remedy in dealing with this pressure is for the official to maintain a rock solid focus of concentration by remaining in the moment and react to call penalties whenever they occur. Once a ref stops refereeing and puts his whistle away he becomes a spectator instead of an enforcer of the playing rules. Each referee can feel intense pressure to make sure any call he makes is viewed as a "must call" in the late stages and overtime. The referees best work is done well in advance of the late stages of a game by maintaining the expected standard of enforcement and to keep the players in check throughout the entire game.dddddddddddd The best deterrent against infractions being committed is "fear" a ref can instill in players that he will call the penalty whenever it is committed. When that is achieved players tend to play much more disciplined. The onus is placed more squarely on the players not to commit infractions once the referees enforce the rules more consistently and when expectations are met. I notice a difference in these playoffs as to which referees the players respond to and those they take full liberties with. Once the penalty standard slides and obvious infractions are let go it is extremely difficult for the referee to make a call in the late stages unless it involves a scoring opportunity, a puck over the glass or a major infraction. At times such as this the referee crew become spectators and fly on a wing and a prayer in hopes that the players will not do something really stupid that might force a call. If the referee chooses to turn his whistle into a fossil the worst thing he can do is upset the apple cart with a penalty call that doesnt have a direct bearing on the play or is of less quality than what he previously has let go. We saw a prime example of this with fewer than two minutes remaining in Game 4 of the Habs-Lightning series. While it is difficult to deny that the trip by Cedric Paquette on Michael Bournival was a legitimate foul, given the countless infractions that were not penalized, the referee(s) were subjected to justifiable ridicule for calling a trip in the corner of the rink at that time of the game. It is important to note there have been some real solid performances by the zebras in games thus far. The officials we notice most however are ones that stop refereeing the game and employ a standard of enforcement that resembles shifting sand. This isnt a result of fatigue; physical or mental. There is an answer to this dilemma. The referees have to be given clear direction by the Officiating Management to know and maintain the expected penalty throughout the entire game. In this regard the officials need to be better coached and held accountable when the expected standard is not met. Finally, when the officials do the job and make the tough calls they need to know they will be supported. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '