Zach Parise assured the Devils that first place in the Eastern Conference belonged to them for at least a second consecutive night.  Parise scored the decisive tally with 48.3 seconds left in regulation, lifting the Devils to a 2-1 win over the Leafs.  In fact, he also scored New Jersey’s first goal, giving him five in the last three games, while Martin Brodeur backstopped the Devils to victory, making 41 saves.

For the second straight game, Parise opened the scoring, burying home Langenbrunner’s shot on the man advantage.  Parise beat Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala at 11:19 of the first period.  Karel Rachunek added the secondary assist, his first helper since Feb. 13.

During Friday night’s 2-1 win over visiting Tampa Bay, Parise tallied the Devils lone goal in regulation, also in the first period, before Patrik Elias won it in overtime.

Tonight, Nik Antropov and Mats Sundin came awfully close to tying the score and possibly capturing the lead, hitting the goal post in the early stages of the first period.

The Devils also killed off two penalties in the first, taking a 1-0 lead into the middle stanza despite being outshout 15-10.

In the middle frame, both teams maintained several good scoring chances, yet Brodeur and Toskala combined to make 22 saves, leaving the contest at 1-0.

But the Devils committed three penalties in the final frame and the Leafs finally found the back of the net.

Twenty-one ticks into John Madden tripping infraction, Sundin manufactured the Leafs lone goal, sending a wrister by Brodeur, who was screened on the play by Alexander Steen.  Tomas Kaberle and Steen assisted on Sundin’s 31st at 13:44 of the third.

But, Brodeur’s armor did not crack before or after Sundin’s effort.  He made 40 saves in his 28th consecutive start, earning victory No. 532, only 19 behind Patrick Roy for the all-time record.

On Tuesday night's contest in Toronto, Brodeur denied 41 shots, allowing just one goal.  That's 83 saves in two contests. Fuck controversial finishes.  Honor, credit and praise Martin Brodeur (not as a deity of course). But, give him credit where credit is due. He's relentless even in his 14th professional season, even at age 35, even after a controversial personal life that left him divorced.  Despite the low-scoring offense the Devils provide, he did it again last night.  He stopped over 40 shots on net.  Did he seem tired, exhausted and worn down afterwards?  Eh, not really. Why? Simply put- he's Marty.

LAST MINUTE:

Then, Zach Parise stormed the crease in the final minute, punching the puck by a fallen Toskala.  Replays deemed inconclusive whether Jamie Langenbrunner interfered with Toskala.  However, Leafs fans expressed strong opinions about the no-call, saying how it should not have counted.  I vehemently disagreed, though I have admitted that Langenbrunner may have interfered but the Leafs defenseman closest to the play may have pushed the Devils captain into his own goalie.  

Langenbrunner and Patrik Elias assisted on Parise’s 30th, with less than 50 ticks left in the game. Parise has now scored 30 or more for the second consecutive year. He also increased his team-leading plus minus rating to +22.

For the first time since the 1998-99 campaign, the Devils swept a season series with the Leafs, capturing all four meetings.

More importantly, the Devils retained the conference lead and now have 86 points. They lead Montreal, who won earlier in the day, by one point and the Atlantic's second-place Pittsburgh by three.

The Penguins and Capitals face off tomorrow in front of a national audience (NBC) in what’s expected to be an incredible battle between some of the league's future superstars. Sidney Crosby and league-leading Alexander Ovechkin will compete for an important two points. The Capitals enter the meeting four points behind the Flyers for the final playoff spot.

Perfect Attendance:

Brian Gionta, Dainius Zubrus, Sergei Brylin (314 consecutive appearances) and Travis Zajac have competed in every game thus far for the Devils. That streak continued tonight in the Devils 68th game of the season.

INJURIES:

With defensemen Paul Martin and Colin White sidelined with their respective day-to-day injuries, Mike Mottau stepped up in their place. He led the team with 24:23 minutes of ice time, and blocked one shot in an expanded role. Mottau played for a season-high 26:30 the night before, eclipsing his previous high of 25:56.

Meanwhile, Vitaly Vishnevski and Rod Pelley sat out as healthy scratches.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

The Devils visit Montreal on Tuesday night in the second part of their five-game road trip. I derided the referees the last time the Habs welcomed the Devils to Canada. I am hoping the league will replace those officials with more objective-minded officials.

With the loss, the Leafs fell into 13th place in the east, 8 points behind eighth-place Philly. Their season has slowly begun to slip away at the worst possible time.

• ‹ previous
• 427 of 431
• next ›