NEWARK, N.J. - The only two retired numbers hang to the right of the three Stanley Cup banners. The numbers, Ken Daneyko's 3 and Scott Stevens' 4, await others from the New Jersey Devils' dynasty of the 1990s.

In time, Scott Niedermayer's No. 27 will among those raised to The Prudential Center rafters, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello vowed. One wonders if the New Jersey fans who jeered him during the Ducks' 2-1 win Friday night will boo the defenseman that night.

"It was a good break for Prongs. I'm glad to chip in like that when I can," Niedermayer said with a grin in referring to Ducks captain Chris Pronger, who receives the brunt of the jeers on the road. "In some ways, you can take it as bit of a compliment. They didn't want you to leave.

"It was a little different from when we played them back in Anaheim. Here, there were people in the stands that I knew. I was excited. It was a special night, for sure."

Ryan Carter scored his first NHL goal with 9:42 remaining in the first, beating Martin Brodeur with a blast to the stick side to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead.

Not coincidentally, Niedermayer was instrumental on the play, starting the rush from behind the Ducks' goal before dumping a quick pass to Francois Beauchemin, who threw a gorgeous cross-ice pass to Carter.

Seven minutes and thirty-five seconds later, Carter added his second goal in spectacular fashion. Chris Kunitz intercepted a Jay Pandolfo pass in the neutral zone and back-handed the puck off of Corey Perry's stick and into the Devils' end.

Carter picked it up just over the blue line, outraced Devils defenseman Johnny Oduya, made a slick inside-out move on Devils defenseman Paul Martin and then slipped the puck under Brodeur's pads for the winning goal.

"He's a good goalie, maybe one of the best ever. It's good to score the first against Marty Brodeur," Carter. "It's a little cliche , but when you get the first one, the floodgates open. Maybe that's the case here."

Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller stopped 34 shots to earn his fifth win of the season.

The Devils' only goal came off of Pandolfo's deflection of Vitaly Vishnevski's slap shot with 4:24 remaining in the second. After that, Hiller and the Ducks' defensive corps turned away New Jersey shots, including 15 in the final 20 minutes.

"I think the whole team can be happy with that game," Hiller said. "We played pretty well (and) kept the lead to the end."

Also ...

Sammy Pahlsson and Travis Moen did not play Friday night for the Ducks, but coach Randy Carlyle hopes that both are in the lineup Sunday in Detroit. Carlyle noted that Moen had lost 10pounds from the flu, but was "doing much better." ... Ducks enforcer George Parros, who attended Princeton University, said he believed there were "35 to 40" family members and friends at last night's game.


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