by By RICH THOMPSON , The Boston Herald

The Devils have shed plenty of players and coaches during Recchi's 21 years in the NHL. But the stifling neutral zone trap installed by former coach Jacques Lemaire in the early 1990s has remained a New Jersey staple over the years.

To reinforce that discipline, Lemaire was brought back in as coach after eight seasons leading the Minnesota Wild. There are two basic reasons why the Bruins will need to play a strong first period: The Devils are a difficult team to come back against; and future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur remains the goalie.

``It's just their style and structurally they have always been disciplined,'' Recchi said. ``Their core guys have been there over the years and they really play well defensively. They know how to play and what they need to do to win games. There have been a few changes now with Jacques Lemaire coming in with a much more defensive-aligned system. But, they always seem to thrive on that.''

Bruins coach Claude Julien coached the Devils in 2006-07, but was fired a week before the playoffs started and with New Jersey in first place in the Atlantic Division. Julien has known Lemaire for a long time and respects his limitless Hockey intelligence.

``He really put in a system where they play stingy defense being hard to get through,'' Julien said. ``That trap really somehow stuck to him. I haven't seen a team yet that doesn't try and trap you in the neutral zone, but they just do it in different ways. They wait for you and try to bring you to one side of the ice and make you run out of space.''

Brodeur has been the Devils mainstay since winning the Calder Trophy following his rookie season in 1993-94. The league's all-time wins leader is a 10-time NHL All-Star, has won four Vezina trophies and is the only goalie to have seven 40-win seasons.

Brodeur has started nine games this season and is 6-3-0 with a 2.42 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.

``On top of (the Devils' defensive system) you have Marty at the end,'' Recchi said. ``He's not a bad guy to have back there if you do have a breakdown. He's so smart the way he plays the game. He's obviously been the best goalie for a number of years and he's a tough goalie to play against. The thing with Marty is you don't know what he's going to do.

``You don't know if he's going to butterfly or stand up. He kind of keeps you off guard that way. He's very intelligent and very aware and obviously knows how to play.''

Recchi has 33 goals and 43 assists against the Devils, with Brodeur in goal for the majority of the points.

Tonight, Recchi will skate on the B's reconfigured first line alongside center Davis Krejci and across from right winger Marco Sturm. Beating Brodeur requires a coordinated attack by all five skaters, and a sprinkling of luck is always welcome.

``Just like with any goalie, you've got to get traffic,'' Recchi said. ``You have to find a way to get pucks on the net and create rebounds. You are not going to beat him too often with wrist shots, you've got to create a lot of traffic. . . . Like with any top goalie, you have to work for every goal.''

- rthompson@bostonherald.com

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