The Bruins should enjoy Sunday’s result.

I’d just hold off on ordering the rings quite yet if I were them.

(Cue the Debbie Downer jingle).

Yes, the Bruins played better than they have been recently in beating the surging Devils, 4-1, at the Garden. No doubt about that. Coming off a truly horrific loss Thursday against Los Angeles, the B’s stopped the bleeding with what was arguably their most important win of the season. First place in the conference and needed momentum heading into the playoffs are once again strong possibilities.

We can only hope the Bruins won’t spend the five days before their next game gazing up at their Northeast Division banner and thinking they’ve arrived — because their play Sunday wasn’t quite as impressive as the final score.

You can make the argument that all four of the B’s goals fell in the fluke/uncharacteristic category. And even though the individual in the Devils’ net was wearing a No. 30 Martin Brodeur jersey, I’m not convinced that was actually him.

I refuse to believe that was the NHL career wins leader who allowed a wraparound, backhand goal to Chuck Kobasew from behind the net in the second period. The other Bruins goals were hardly Brodeur’s fault, with all three coming as the result of deflections of one type or another — Mark Recchi’s first-period pass caromed off the skate of the Devils’ Paul Martin for a 1-0 lead; Marc Savard beat Brodeur to make it 3-0 in the second after a Matt Hunwick shot from the point was blocked directly to Savard; and Milan Lucic’s backhand flip trickled between Brodeur’s legs after it deflected off Devil Zach Parise. But while Brodeur couldn’t be blamed for those strikes, he also wasn’t his usual stand-on-his-head self. It took the B’s just 30 shots to get those four goals. That’s not the Brodeur we know.

So while the B’s put up a big number, it’s a bit misleading. I don’t want to say they were lucky. ... But they were kind of lucky.

And here’s another bubble that I hate to burst. A lot of Bruins-types were talking after the game about how the B’s finally gave a 60-minute effort and played better in the third period, especially after they coughed up a major fur ball against the Kings. In this one, the B’s took a 4-1 lead into the third and made it stand up.

Yet the Bruins were still outplayed over those final 20 minutes, with the Devils racking up a gaudy 17-3 shot advantage. The Devils also carried the play over the first 10 minutes of the first stanza, even though the Bruins fully acknowledged they were the more desperate team.

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So, to sum up: The Bruins beat one of the hottest teams in hockey despite coming out slow, finishing on their heels and somehow managing to put four choppy pucks past one of the best goaltenders to ever play the game on 30 shots.

God bless America. I just wouldn’t to rely on that formula every night come playoff time.

Now, I’m not blind. There were a lot of good things to say about the win. Tim Thomas was playoff-sharp, turning away all but one of New Jersey’s 42 shots. He was the best goaltender on the ice, which is what he’s going to have to be on a consistent basis come April.

It was also a good day for coach Claude Julien, who decided not to crack the whip after the Kings debacle and instead had his team scrimmage at practice the next morning, finishing off the session with a spirited shootout. The players said it loosened them up. Then, come game time, he tweaked his lineup (Milan Lucic to the fourth line; PJ Axelson to the first) and reset his power play (Matt Hunwick and Dennis Wideman as the top point men and Zdeno Chara and Andrew Ference on the second unit; also Patrice Bergeron down low with Chuck Kobasew and Phil Kessel with the second forward group).  Lucky breaks or not, the moves paid off on the scoresheet, with the B’s netting two power play goals and Lucic getting credit for his first goal since the second week of February. (Debbie Downer time: I still can’t stand Axelson on the first line).

Best of all is what the win did to the standings. The B’s are now five points clear of New Jersey for first place and the Devils’ game in hand comes off the board Monday night, when they have to face a tough Flyers team just a night after going down to the B’s. Again, first place for the Bruins means not having to face Brodeur and the Devils (I don’t care what he looked like Sunday; I want no part of him in a playoff series) or Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals until the Eastern Conference finals. It also means those two teams will have to face each other in the second round should they both advance.

We’ll find out what Sunday’s win meant for the Bruins in short order. They’ve been a shadow of themselves since a Feb. 10 showdown loss to San Jose, and their lack of confidence had begun to show. They can only hope the Kings loss was the nadir and the Devils win was their first step on the road to recovery. Who knows? Maybe we’ll look back at the game and say it was the one that sent them on their way.

Sometimes a puck off a skate can do that.

Felger can be seen nightly on Comcast Sportsnet. He can be reached at mfelger@weei.com.