NHL Update: New Jersey Devils win against New York Islanders, 5-2
Rod Pelley and Mattias Tedenby both lit the lamp and added a helper, as New Jersey Devils rolled to a 5-2 win over New York Islanders, at Nassau Coliseum on Monday.
Ilya Kovalchuk notched a goal for New Jersey, which has registered a point in four consecutive contests (3-0-1). Vladimir Zharkov and Dainius Zubrus each also tallied a goal for Devils, which
twice recorded a pair of goals less than a minute apart.
Martin Brodeur turned aside 27 shots in the win, the first for New Jersey in three play-offs with Islanders this season.
P.A. Parenteau and Michael Grabner found the net for New York, which has dropped four of its previous five games. Islanders have been torched for 23 goals during the past five contests. Kevin
Poulin gave up five goals on 22 shots in the losing effort.
Zharkov opened the scoring of the game for Devils to take 1-0 lead, 4 ½ minutes into the first period.
The play was set up when Zharkov slid a pass from behind the net to Tedenby in front. Tedenby cut around defensemen Bruno Gervais and Milan Jurcina and snapped a shot between Poulin’s pads
off the right post. Meanwhile, Zharkov had come out from behind at the left side of the net and shovelled the puck into the empty side of the net.
After just 55 seconds, while Islanders’ Jack Hillen was serving a hooking penalty, Kovalchuk’s power-play goal provided Devils a 2-0 advantage. Just 13 seconds after the penalty, Andy Greene
threw a pass from the centre of the blue line to Kovalchuk in the left circle. Kovalchuk then fired a straight shot high over the right shoulder of Poulin for his 13th goal of the season.
Tedenby increased Devils edge to 3-0 in seventh minute of the middle period. He managed a saved shot in the left circle, rushed to the slot, deked a shot, then skated to the right side of
the crease and chipped a backhander home.
New York showed some life approaching the middle of the second period and netted two goals in a span of 54 seconds to pull within one.
Islanders crept within a goal to make it 3-1 game. The play was set up when Blake Comeau raced around Devils’ defenseman Mark Fraser at the blue line, moved toward the cage and sent a pass
atop the crease for Parenteau, who rifled a backhander past Devils' netminder for his 11th goal of the season.
New Jersey came in action again after the face-off to cut the deficit to 3-2. It started when Josh Bailey gave a pass from the top of the slot to Grabner, who had slipped behind Devils’ defence.
Grabner swept on his shot from in close, but the disc still managed to flutter under Brodeur and into the net.
Devils responded with two goals in a 54-second span to recover a two-goal margin.
With three minutes left to play in the second period, Pelley made it 4-2 game by knocking in a rebound for his third goal of the season.
Then after a few seconds, Zubrus staked Devils to a three-goal edge 5-2 by slipping in a rebound of a drive by Brian Rolston that first went in off the body of Patrik Elias.
New York got an opportunity in the last minute of second period and put the disc in the net when Parenteau tipped a shot over a straggling Brodeur.
The play was reviewed and officials determined that Grabner had incidentally contacted with the goaltender, though it seemed that New Jersey defenseman Mark Fayne had pushed New York forward
into the crease.
Brodeur made 10 saves he faced in a goal-less final period to preserve the win.
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