“It’s never pleasant,” Weekes said of being pulled. “We were on our heels the whole second period. ... They were making plays and their power play was hot.”

Not counting the game when Brodeur got hurt, the injury-ravaged Devils are 1-4 without him. Clemmensen, who took the 3-1 loss to Edmonton on Sunday, started the third period. Weekes finished with 21 saves.

“We’ve got to find a way to stay in the hunt,” Sutter said. “We’re not going to use excuses. The easiest thing to do is say it’s injuries. The bottom line is, the guys who are playing have to be rock solid.”

Things looked good for the Devils, who took a 1-0 lead 7:04 in on Travis Zajac’s second of the season. Jamie Langenbrunner scored 4:19 into the third, but by then it was 4-2.

The Devils paraded to the penalty box in the second period, swinging momentum to the Rangers. Mike Rupp and Bryce Salvador went off 31 seconds apart, leading to Rozsival’s hard shot that hit the right post and caromed in off Weekes’ right skate at 7:45.

Drury then ripped a drive from above the right circle that beat Weekes inside the far post at 9:24, and Korpikoski scored 29 seconds later. He ripped in a one-timer from one knee after he tapped his stick on the ice to call for the puck from linemate Dan Fritsche, who was on the goal line.

“We’re playing hard and doing a lot of good things, but we’re making too many mistakes,” Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner said. “They’re killing us and we’re not capitalizing on our opportunities.”

Lundqvist robbed Dainius Zubrus in the second period from point-blank range with his pad while using defenseman Dan Girardi’s stick — one with the wrong curve — and New York trailing 1-0. He finished with 29 saves and has allowed fewer than three goals in 14 of 16 games.

Notes: Gomez is day to day with a leg injury. ... Devils RW Brian Gionta and D Salvador both returned after missing one game. ... Korpikoski scored his only other NHL goal in Game 5 of a playoff series versus Pittsburgh last season. ... Fritsche, Dan Girardi and Nigel Dawes all had two assists for the Rangers, who recorded 43 shots.

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