EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Unless they are on the verge of writing the greatest story in franchise history, the Devils will not be lifting the Stanley Cup this year.



Only one team in NHL history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the finals to win the Cup and that happened 70 years ago when the Toronto Maple Leafs did it during World War II.



But no matter what happens, including the possibility of being swept by the Los Angeles Kings, it will not taint the pure joy Devils goalie Martin Brodeur has experienced this season and it will not change his mind about wanting to come back next season.

“Not at all. This is great. This is what we play for, to have a chance to be in the Stanley Cup finals. I wouldn’t trade that for anything, even though we’re down, 3-0,” Brodeur said today as the Devils prepared for Game 4 Wednesday night at the Staples Center.

"It's not fun, don't get me wrong, but I'm enjoying the experience of being back here (in his fifth finals). We have to be really proud of ourselves to have achieved what we've achieved with what we had to go through last season and to be in a spot like this. Definitely we feel we deserve a little better, but we're playing a team that is playing really well. It won't change the attitude I have about the game of hockey, that's for sure."



Brodeur said he will cherish this season whether or not the Devils defy the odds in coming back. Teammate Zach Parise couldn't bring himself to feel the same way.



"I'm not thinking about the end right now," Parise said. "Hopefully we have a few more games in us."



Brodeur undoubtedly feels the same, but he also knows this could be his last serious run at a fourth Stanley Cup. He is 40 and there are no free passes back to the finals no matter how close a team comes.



"That's why I'm enjoying this, because I know it could be the last time," Brodeur said. "Regardless of the position we're in, it's not going to take away the fun that I have being here. This is what we play all year for and all your life for. To have a chance. I'm fortunate to have a chance late in my career like this. You're not going to win them all, though. We're still alive and we're going to try to make this a series."



Coach Pete DeBoer acknowledged that the mental aspect of climbing such a mountain will be the hardest. He described the mood of his players as "a little disheartened. That's natural. It's human nature. Today was the kind of day you have to get that out of your system. You come back ready to work.

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"It's our responsibility as coaches to look at the positives, look at the good things we're doing, look at the chances we're generating, show them that success is that close. We just have to stick with it."



He is not worried about his goaltender.



"Marty Brodeur bouncing back is the least of my concerns," DeBoer said.



Brodeur is 12-8-3 with a 2.09 goals-against average and .919 save percentage. If his stats don't measure up to 1995, 2000 and 2003, remember that those were much more defensive-minded Devils teams.

In fact, Brodeur feels his level of play in these playoffs is close to what it was when he was winning his three championships.



"I think so. I feel real good. It's probably one of the playoff runs where physically and mentally I've been as sharp as I've been since maybe '95. I was so young I didn't have time to have any wear and tear back then," he said with a laugh.



This entire season has been something of a surprise for the future hall of Famer.



"A little bit. Because it was so hard last year I came in open-minded and tried to get myself to have fun again because it was probably the worst season I had last year. Personally and as an organization," he said. "So for me to hope that we accomplish what we did this year would've been a little far-fetched… Now we're here in the Stanley Cup finals. I didn't expect that, that's for sure, when I started the season."



He also didn't expect to be down, 3-0, to the Kings.



Shock?

“A little bit. The first two games we lost in overtime, tight games that could’ve gone both ways,” Brodeur said. “Now we’re in a huge hole. I didn’t expect that, that’s for sure, but this is what we’re facing.

“We need something to happen, regardless of what it is. A big hit. A nice goal, a weak goal. Something. They’ve been finding ways of winning. We have to find the same for us because there is no tomorrow for us.”

Even if it ends Wednesday night, there will be a next season for Brodeur unless a labor stoppage wipes out the 2012-13 schedule. That is also in the back of his mind.

“I just don’t want to taste retirement before I need to,” he said.

Or the end of a memorable playoff run before he needs to.

Rich Chere: rchere@starledger.com; twitter.com/Ledger_NJDevils