BY JON LESNIK

NEWARK – Long consecutive games played streaks can mean many things. It means a player has been lucky enough to avoid injury. It means that he is good enough to play at a high level of play for a long time.

Devils center Travis Zajac had another way of describing it.

“Humbling,” Zajac said after the game.

The Devils center tied a Devils record playing in his 388^th straight game. Zajac tied former Devils defensemen Ken Daneyko for the honor. Daneyko accumulated his streak from November 4, 1989 through March 29, 1994. Zajac has played in every Devils game since October 26, 2006 of his rookie year.

“Pretty humbling to be tied with Dano, considering the type of player he was in this league, “ Zajac said.

Zajac will break the record Thursday night when the Devils travel to Ottawa to play the Senators.

With that game still two days away, Zajac was still focused on the Devils play Tuesday night against Atlanta. The Devils center’s 13^th goal of the season was a turning point for the Devils who found themselves down 2-0 in the first period. Zajac’s goal stopped the bleeding, and gave the Devils some momentum at the end of the first period.

“It’s always nice to contribute when you win.” Zajac said. “Going into the second period, it helped not being two down. We came out in the second period, played better, got our chances and took advantage of them.”

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Defensemen Mark Fraser and Adam Mair were scratched for the Devils. Defensemen Noah Welch, center Patrice Cormier and center Ben Maxwell were scratched for the Thrashers.

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Martin Brodeur is less than two months away from his 39^th birthday, but he is not showing any signs of slowing down.

In Brodeur’s last 17 games, he is 15-1-1 with a 1.81 goals against average. Brodeur’s 3-2 overtime victory Saturday night against the New York Islanders set an N.H.L. record with his 62^nd career overtime victory.

Tuesday night, Brodeur stopped 22 of 24 shots, many from point blank range to continue the Devils improbable rise in the standings and keep New Jersey in the playoff hunt.

“Its pretty amazing what we have accomplished but it is a fun situation,” Brodeur said. “We’re still a bit away (from the playoffs), but it is exciting to play where every game counts.

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New Jersey won the season series with Atlanta 3-1