New Jersey Devils beat Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in O.T.
Mattias Tedenby scored twice, including the game-winner in over time, to lift the New Jersey Devils to a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes at Prudential Centre on Tuesday night.
Nick Palmieri also lit the lamp for New Jersey, who have won eight of their previous 10 play-offs overall. Meanwhile, Johan Hedberg gave up two goals on 22 shots in the winning effort.
Devils forward Travis Zajac praised his team-mates effort in the game. He said, "We always seem to play with more desperation when we are losing. It wasn't our best game, but we got the job done."
Jeff Skinner found the back of the net twice on power-plays for Carolina, who have dropped their fourth consecutive road game against New Jersey. Cam Ward turned away 31-of-34 shots in the losing effort.
After a goalless first period, Skinner put Carolina ahead at 1-0 just before the midway point of the middle stanza. Racing on the man advantage, Skinner skated down the left-wing and out-muscled Devils blue liner Andy Greene for position. From a sharp angle
near the bottom of the circle, Skinner then banged a wrist shot that sailed through goalie’s legs and into the net.
However, the Devils managed to tie the game at 1-1 with eight and a half minutes left in the period. Colin White wound up from the centre point as if to shoot on net, but apparently missed wide on purpose to get a positive bank off the rear boards. The puck
landed directly onto the stick of Jason Arnott, who backhanded it behind him into the goal mouth area for Tedenby, who blasted a successful one-timer into the net.
Skinner restored the Hurricanes lead at 2-1, with his second power-play tally of the game in the ninth minute of the final frame. Eric Staal set up the goal, after he released a one-timer from above the right circle, which made its way through traffic in
front. Skinner, from the top of the crease, grabbed the puck and stuffed it past Hedberg.
New Jersey then tied the game at 2-2 with three minutes left in the third period. Ilya Kovalchuk brought the puck across the blue line, rushed in between a couple of defenders and snapped a wrist shot from the right circle. Ward stopped it but was unable
to control the rebound and Palmieri roofed the puck into the back of the net from near the right post.
A disappointed Skinner said after the game, "We have a one-goal lead with a few minutes left to play, we are supposed to win the game. Unfortunately we weren't able to close it out. They kept putting pressure on us and finally got (the tying goal)."
In overtime, Zajac drifted with the puck into the Carolina zone, dealt a drop pass to Tedenby and raced toward the net to force Hurricanes’ Tim Gleason to follow him. That gave Tedenby room to set himself up, and he hammered a wrist shot into the net from
the slot as the home crowd celebrated.
Devils Head Coach Jacques Lemaire was critical of his players after the game. He said, "I don't think the effort was there and I didn't like the way we played. I didn't like our top players, I didn't like our defensemen, I didn't like a lot of things (about
this game)."
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