MacLean played for the Devils and has been an assistant with the team as well, with his goal to one day become the head coach.

MacLean said the news was a bit surreal and reminded him of the way he felt when he was drafted into the NHL.

He coached one of the team’s minor league affiliates last year, which was the missing piece on his resume.

The team said that once MacLean got the head coaching experience, they thought he was a top candidate.

The Devils were just eliminated in the playoffs in the first round for the third straight year, which could be part of the reason he decided to step away.

Lemaire said that he simply lost the energy to continue to coach, which is why he made the decision.

The coach said it was simply time for him to move on, but had a hard time delivering the news to his players.

The team has not yet considered who might be a good candidate to replace the legendary Lemaire.

Tied at 3-3 with time getting late in the third period of a game they really needed, the New Jersey Devils found a way to take the lead and tie the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

Dainius Zubrus stuck home a loose puck with 4:04 to go Friday night, sending the Devils to a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series in Newark.

The win evens the series at one win apiece. Game 3 is Sunday in Philadelphia, and Game 4 will be there Tuesday.

After losing Game 1 Wednesday, the Devils started quickly, getting a short-handed goal from Zach Parise just 2:45 in to stake New Jersey to a 1-0 lead. New Jersey gave up two goals later in the period to fall behind 2-1.

The Devils answered in the second. Colin White tied the game at 2-2 3:44 into the period, and Andy Greene’s poer-play tally pushed New Jersey ahead 3-2 at the 13:25 mark.

Philly fought back to tie the game late in the second, but Zubrus pushed home the game-winner with 4:04 left. Ilya Kovalchuk added an empty-netter with 33 seconds to go, and Martin Brodeur made 26 saves in the victory.

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Maybe the distraction of playing in the Olympics has gotten to the New Jersey Devils.

The Devils closed the pre-Olympic portion of their schedule with another loss on Saturday night, a 5-2 defeat at Carolina that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. New Jersey trailed 4-0 before getting on the board in the third period, dropping its fourth game in its past five and falling 13 points behind Washington in the Eastern Conference.

Goaltender Martin Brodeur was pulled after giving up his fourth goal on just 22 shots. Brodeur will play goal for Team Canada in the Olympics in Vancouver. Several other Devils will play in the Olympics, including U.S. team captain Jamie Langenbrunner and newly acquired winger Ilya Kovalchuk, who will play for Team Russia.

Zach Parise put the Devils on the board at the 7:26 mark of the third period, pulling New Jersey within 4-1. Brian Rolston scored a power-play goal later in the third for the Devils.

New Jersey opens the post-Olympics part of its schedule March 2 at San Jose.

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Trying to chase down the red-hot Washington Capitals for the top spot in the Eastern Conference won’t be easy for the New Jersey Devils.

Especially if the Devils keep coughing up leads.

New Jersey started strong Monday night at Philadelphia, opening up a 2-0 lead. But the Flyers rallied against Martin Brodeur, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 3-2 victory.

The Devils get their chance at revenge on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. With the loss, New Jersey remains 14 points behind Washington in the Eastern Conference standings. The Devils lead Pittsburgh by two points in the Atlantic Division race.

Zach Parise gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal seven minutes into the first period. Anssi Salmela made it 2-0 with a short-handed tally 61 seconds into the second. But that was it for the New Jersey offense. Newly acquired Ilya Kovalchuk, who came to New Jersey last week with Salmela from Atlanta, took nine shots but did not score.

Kovalchuk still seeks his first goal as a Devil.

James van Riemsdyk and Jeff Carter scored the first two Philly goals. Mike Richards netted the game winner, a power-play goal at 12:02 of the third period.

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It’s not time to push the panic button. But three losses in a row has the New Jersey Devils concerned.

The Devils’ mini-skid continued Monday night, losing their third in a row in regulation in a 4-0 shutout defeat to the New York Islanders.

And it started early: The Islanders scored just 1:07 into the game and never looked back. It was 2-0 just four minutes into this one. New Jersey mustered just 11 shots on goal in the first two periods. Future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur was yanked after two periods, and a shaky defense could be blamed just as much for the poor showing by New Jersey.

The Devils remain atop the Atlantic Division, four points ahead of Pittsburgh and in third place in the Eastern Conference standings. But a 5-5-0 mark in their past 10 games and the three-game losing streak isn’t the way the Devils wanted to surge going into the weeks leading up to the Olympic break.

New Jersey looks to right the ship Wednesday when the Devils play host to Florida.

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