NEWARK, N.J. — NEWARK, N.J. — Glum, sullen, blue ... pick an adjective. Any would sum up the Avalanche's collective mood these days.

The prospect of missing the playoffs for the second time in three years became even more real Thursday night with a 4-0 loss to goalie Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils before 16,107 at the Prudential Center.

"Another frustrating loss," is how a dejected Milan Hejduk put it, speaking softly in a quiet locker room.

"Things are not going our way, definitely, pretty much the whole year. We were eight points out of a playoff spot before this, and it's an uphill battle and it's frustrating."

Already struggling with 13 losses in 19 games since Jan. 13 and trying without success to escape the Western Conference basement, the Avalanche had the misfortune of facing Brodeur, who made his first appearance since suffering a torn biceps tendon Nov. 1, an injury that necessitated surgery.

Brodeur hardly looked rusty in turning aside 24 shots while posting his 545th career win — six short of Patrick Roy's all-time record — and 99th shutout, four short of Terry Sawchuk's mark.

"It was an exciting night to get out there and perform," Brodeur said. "I was really anxious all day, more nervous than I thought I was going to be. We pulled it off. I didn't get much work. It was a nice game to play."

Brodeur played well, but the Avalanche didn't make him work hard enough.

"We weren't good enough," Avalanche coach Tony Granato said. "Marty was good, but I don't think we did enough to generate any sort of consistent pressure on him or put traffic around him or get enough pucks at him.

"They played a very good game. I know why they're in first place; they have a heck of a team. They played extremely well and we didn't play well enough."

Only 19 games remain in the season, and Granato acknowledged time is running out on his team to make what would have to be a miraculous turnaround to contend for a playoff position.

"I think that's safe to say," he said. "We put ourselves in a very bad position, that's for sure. I don't think there's any way of hiding that, the fact that we're in a tough spot.

"What you're looking for is for guys to step up and play hard all the way through this. It's not easy. It's the toughest time in anybody's career when you're in a position you don't like being in, but there's nothing you can do except try and work out of it.

"We have to stay in the frame of mind where the only thing that matters is how we perform in our next game."

While Brodeur was pitching his shutout, Avalanche goalie Andrew Raycroft was having a more difficult time at the opposite end.

Jamie Langenbrunner scored on the Devils' opening shot of the game, launching the puck between Raycroft's pads at 4:38 from the right faceoff circle.

Zach Parise and Travis Zajac each collected a goal and an assist, and Patrik Elias scored a goal, converting Paul Martin's ricochet off the end boards.

"They have tons of offense," said Raycroft, who faced 32 shots. "They're dangerous. When you give them opportunities, they can put them in the net."

The Avalanche power play, a misnomer if ever there was one, went 0-for-3 and has been outscored — two goals to one — in 19man advantages over the past four games.

"We had some chances, but not many dangerous ones," Hejduk said. "Definitely, Brodeur made some saves, and, obviously, he hadn't played for a long time. We couldn't put anything by him."

Raycroft was impressed.

"He goes out and he makes a couple saves and they keep (shots) to the outside," Raycroft said. "He didn't give up anything easy. He did a great job again. But that's what he does."

The loss was the Avalanche's third in a row after opening its six-game trip with an impressive win in Washington.

The New York Rangers are next on Saturday, followed by the Islanders on Monday.

"We got to work hard and we got to work smart," Raycroft said. "(The Devils) are a good team and they make you make mistakes, but we're still making a few here and there that seem to be biting us. We need to get away from that. We need to work hard and commit to it every night."

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