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Martin Brodeur made 22 saves for his 108th NHL shutout and Travis Zajac scored the winning goal late in the second period as the New Jersey Devils snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.

Dean McAmmond added an small-handed, empty-net goal in the final minute for the Atlantic Division-leading Devils.

Brodeur (30-14-1), the league’s career leader in wins and shutouts, earned his seventh blanking of the season and the fifth in 14 games. Brodeur earned his 30th win of the season in New Jersey’s 48th game.

It was one of his simplest as Brodeur outdueled Florida’s Tomas Vokoun, who was 4-0-1 with two shutouts in his previous five games.

Vokoun made 30 saves.

Florida had few scoring chances as the Devils played airtight defence. Brodeur cleaned up the few opportunities the Panthers got as Florida fell small of achieving its first four-game winning streak of the season.

The Panthers pressed for the tying goal in the closing seconds after Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner was whistled for hooking and the Florida pulled Vokoun for an extra skater. Even with the 6-on-4 advantage for the final 1:23, the Panthers didn’t come close to scoring.

Zajac broke the scoreless deadlock with 90 seconds remaining in the second period. Following passes from Zach Parise and Nick Palmieri — in his NHL debut — Zajac beat Vokoun between the pads with a shot from the right circle.

Both teams had brilliant scoring chances earlier in the period. Brodeur stopped Gregory Campbell on a point-blank shot before making sharp glove saves against Cory Stillman and Rostislav Olesz. New Jersey came close when Parise bunted a shot into the crease that bounced off Vokoun.

The Devils outshot the Panthers 12-5 in the first period. New Jersey’s best chance came when Brian Rolston hit the post with eight minutes remaining during a power play. Rolston fired a shot that deflected off Vokoun’s glove before clanging off the pipe.

Windsor Spitfires forward Taylor Hall, left, is the No. 1 prospect available in the NHL draft. (Greg Plante/Canadian Press)

The son rings his dad nearly on a daily basis.

While most teenagers avoid their parents at all costs, Windsor Spitfires sensation Taylor Hall dials up his father, Steve, to share how his day has evolved.

Even on Wednesday, the younger Hall was busy preparing to strut his stuff in front of a bevy of NHL scouts and a capacity crowd in the annual CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at the Family Credit Union Centre in Windsor, Ont. But he found the time to pick up the phone.

“One thing we often talk about is energy,” Steve said. “I can tell Taylor is pretty tired right now. He hasn’t had a break since the world junior tournament. He’s eventually going to run out.

“But he says to me that kids are running around Haiti right now trying to stay alive and compared to that his problems aren’t terrible at all.”

It’s this sort of solid-citizen way of thinking that has Hall at the top of the NHL prospect rankings. He has his feet firmly on the ground and isn’t unnerved by all the attention he’s been getting on the way to the 2010 NHL entry draft in Los Angeles in late June.

Steve and his wife, Kim, deserve the credit for their son’s demeanour. Taylor gets his cool-under-fire manner from Kim and his athletic ability and competitive spirit from his father, a former CFL slotback with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Rough Riders as well as a former national team bobsledder.

“You have to have a fighter mentality in sports, but you also need calmness to get focused,” Steve said. “When push comes to shove, he gets the work ethic and competitiveness from me and his calmness from his mother. She would be cool and cool in a hurricane.”

Seeks counsel from parents

Steve was born in Australia but raised in Canada. Kim grew up in Northern Ontario. Her heritage is Slovakian and that’s why the couple’s only child was named Taylor Strba Hall. Strba is Kim’s maiden name.

When Taylor calls his dad, he seeks counsel on the mental side of being an elite-level athlete and they talk through any life or sport matters that need to be addressed.

“I’ve learned so much from him, especially mentally,” Taylor said.

Steve doesn’t expect the daily calling routine to last.

“Taylor will want to one day go off on his own,” he said. “But I reckon, right now, he likes to bounce things off me because I see him from a different angle. When you play sports, you often don’t get the full picture when you’re right in the thick of things.

“I know that was the case when I was in bobsled. You need the feedback.”

Learned hockey on backyard rink

The younger Hall was born in Calgary. He learned the game on the family backyard rink and it was there his passion for hockey was forged.

“It’s always nice to have that rink in the backyard,” said Taylor, whose best ability is his swiftness and ability to shift gears with the puck. “I really reckon that’s where I developed all my skills as a player.”

Before the family went to Kingston, Ont., when Taylor was 13, he was chosen from his minor team to attend a Calgary Flames game with a pair of Calgary Hitmen junior players. He had a puck signed by Hitmen player Jordan Krestanovich, a fifth-round NHL pick who played 22 games for the Colorado Avalanche and now plays in Cortina, Italy.

From this experience, Taylor learned the importance of making himself available to fans. He regularly visits children at Windsor hospitals because appreciates how they look up to him, even though he’s the ripe ancient age of 18.

“I thought it was the largest deal back then,” said Taylor, as he recalls the Hitmen experience a decade ago. “They were only 19-year-ancient kids. But I remember how I felt hanging out with them, and so I reckon it’s vital to give time to young kids, even though I’m young myself.”

Brendan Taman recently returned to the Roughriders following a productive stint as general manager of the Blue Bombers. (Joe Bryksa/Canadian Press)

It seems the Saskatchewan Roughriders didn’t have to look far to find their new general manager.

Two CFL sources requesting anonymity said Wednesday night that the Roughriders are expected to promote Brendan Taman to the position.

He will replace Eric Tillman, who resigned from the post earlier this month upon receiving a full discharge after pleading guilty to sexual assault.

Taman, 43, has previous experience as a GM with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers but left the club following the 2008 season.

He has also worked previously with B.C. and Ottawa and also served as a player-personnel assistant with the Riders.

He re-joined the Roughriders this season as the club’s director of football operations.

Taman, a Saskatoon native, was also in the running to return to Winnipeg as director of football operations.

He reportedly was offered the post but opted to remain with the Riders.

The football-operations director post is one of a few positions the Bombers are looking to fill this off-season.

Winnipeg is still minus a president and chief operating officer following the resignation of Lyle Bauer, who has since assumed a similar role with the Calgary Stampeders.