New Jersey 4, NY Rangers 1

DEVILS 4, RANGERS 1: Zach Parise scored twice and added an assist as New Jersey dominated visiting New York to even the Eastern Conference finals at two games apiece.

The Devils outskated the sluggish Rangers from start to finish, getting first-period goals from Bryce Salvador and Travis Zajac and 28 saves from Martin Brodeur to turn the best-of-seven series into a best-of-three.

Game 5 is set for Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Salvador opened the scoring 8:10 into the game. After the Rangers failed to clear the zone, Salvador unleashed a shot from the left point that glanced off the skate of New York forward Anton Stralman and past netminder Henrik Lundqvist.

It was the third postseason goal for Salvador, who didn't score at all in the regular season.

Carl Hagelin had the Rangers' best chance in the early going, ringing a shot off the post behind Brodeur. Moments later, the Devils struck on a 2-on-1 as Parise blew past Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto at the New York blue line and feathered a pass to Zajac, who wired a slapshot past Lundqvist.

Neither team generated much of anything in a listless second period short on scoring chances. The only excitement of the period came with just under five minutes remaining, when the Devils' Ilya Kovalchuk and the Rangers' Ryan Callahan mixed it up. Both men were given minor penalties.

The Devils extended the lead at 2:41 of the third period, just four seconds into a Derek Stepan high-sticking penalty. Kovalchuk's initial point shot was stopped by Lundqvist but the puck rolled down the front of his jersey and directly onto the stick of Parise, who jammed the puck between Lundqvist's pads

Things became chippy shortly after that, with Rangers forward Mike Rupp skating out from behind the New Jersey net and throwing a jab at Brodeur, knocking him off-balance. Two Devils came to Brodeur's defense as Rupp was given a double minor and a misconduct.

Even the head coaches got into the act, with New Jersey bench boss Peter DeBoer engaging in a shouting match with New York counterpart John Tortorella.

New York finally hit the scoreboard with 5:05 remaining. Ruslan Fedotenko skated down the left side and fired a wrist shot from the top of the circle that handcuffed Brodeur on the blocker side for his first goal of the playoffs.

Parise capped the scoring with an empty-netter with just over a minute remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Lundqvist finished with 26 saves. ... New York's Ryan McDonagh and New Jersey's Adam Henrique squared off in the first fight of the series midway through the opening period. Referees intervened before any damage was done. ... The Rangers registered four of their seven first-period shots in the final 18 seconds of the frame. ... Brodeur recorded an assist on Parise's empty-net goal to give him four in the playoffs, an NHL record for points by a goaltender in one postseason.

• New Jersey will play their next game on the road against New Jersey . The Devils have a W/L % of .604 after a win and .559 after a loss.
• NY Rangers will play their next game at home against New Jersey . The Rangers have a W/L % of .627 after a win and .613 after a loss.