SUNRISE, Fla. — This is more than Game 7 with its attendant do-or-die urgency. The Devils believe, fervently, that tonight is their springboard.

Or it’s their face plant.

They think they have a secret weapon, the late addition that makes them so much better than their 102-point selves and, with just a little more rehearsal time, will make them a Stanley Cup contender.

That secret weapon had little effect on that 102-point total, missing 65 games, but Travis Zajac exploded on the Panthers with his overtime winner Tuesday night in Game 6, putting the Devils on the brink of winning a series for the first time since 2007.

“It would be a real shame to lose, because this may be the best chance we get,” one Devil said, not of ending their four-year postseason failure, but of reaching for the stars — and the Cup, that shiny thing happy bearded people hold overhead.

If they’re going to show how good they can be, this team with Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias, with Zajac jumping in, they had best show their best tonight.

“Our best hockey is still ahead of us,” coach Pete DeBoer said yesterday, his Devils tied 3-3 with the Panthers in their best-of-7 first-round series that concludes here tonight.

“This has been a slow build from the beginning of the year,” DeBoer said. “We started out feeling each other out and learning how to play. We’ve gotten better and better.

“The playoffs are another building block. You almost take a step back and start again. It’s another level. Hopefully we’re following the same formula.”

The players have made much of the effect Zajac will have on their team, no offense to Calder Trophy finalist Adam Henrique. Zajac leads them in playoff scoring, 3-3-6 in six, and, lo and behold, they have someone in the league’s top 10.

Zajac came back a second time from Achilles tendon surgery seven games before the season ended. The Devils won the final six. His return makes their forward roster look loaded, an explosion waiting to happen.

“There’s a lot more potential,” Kovalchuk said. “But we have to show it at the right time. [Tonight] is a big one for everyone to step up.

“These games are important, games you’ll remember always.”

Zajac scored on ex-Devil Scott Clemmensen, who lost Games 4 and 6 after winning Game 3 in relief of Jose Theodore. Theodore sat out Game 6 with an injury, suspected to be a knee tweak, but skated in yesterday’s optional practice. The Panthers have made a practice of not divulging their starting goalie until game day.

Martin Brodeur will be playing his 10th (5-4) career Game 7. The last one he won brought them their last Stanley Cup, in 2003. The last one he played was in 2009 against Carolina.

“This is why I enjoy playing the game — to win in overtime last night and going to Game 7. When it’s over, I’ll be watching these things, not living them,” Brodeur said. “You can take a lot of momentum off Game 7, just ask Boston [last year].”

Brodeur, who turns 40 May 6, said the Devils have to avoid letting the drama engulf them.

“Emotions can take over, and sometimes it’s hard to play the game the way you like when you let these emotions go through you,” he said. “You have to keep that in check and use it as just another hockey game. We’ve been through that in two games we had to do that and been successful, and have third one [tonight].”

If they really are a different Devils team, tonight will tell.

* The Devils seek to end a streak of 28 games without consecutive victories. … The Devils are 6-7 in Game 7s, 3-5 on the road, winning in Ottawa in 2003, Philadelphia in 2000, and Washington in 1988. … Florida won its only Game 7 over 1996 Penguins in semis, its last series victory. .. . Devils are 14-5 in series they won opener . . . New Jersey is 11-26 in its last 37 road playoff games. … Zajac joined Stephane Richer, Randy McKay and Jamie Langenbrunner for Devils’ record of two playoff OT goals.