No Marty, No Problem against Tampa Bay

Even after all the injuries the Devils are dealing with they keep pushing forward. Jamie Langenbrunner and Patrick Elias scored in a shootout to help the Devils prevail over the Tampa Bay Lightening 4-3 Wednesday night. Kevin Weekes replaced Martin Brodeur, only allowing one goal during the shootout.








AP Photo/Bill Kostroun (ESPN.com)

The Lightening started the scoring with about three and a half minutes remaining in the first. The first period was evenly matched, with both sides' scoring opportunities shut down by solid goaltending. The only blemish for the Devils was allowing a point-blank shot for Jussi Jokinen, resulting in the goal. Tampa Bay took the 1-0 lead into the second period.

The second period brought about some more action. Again it took most of the period to see any scoring. David Clarkson's wrist shot past Tampa goalie Mike Smith knotted the game up at one. It took only about two more minutes for the Devils to take the lead on a powerplay goal by Patrick Elias. The Devils would enter the third with a 2-1 edge.

The third period picked up right where the second left off. The Devils continued to struggle on the penalty kill, allowing Tampa Bay to tie the game on a powerplay goal by Jokinen. The Devils would answer. John Madden poked the puck free from Smith’s glove while trying to cover it. Jay Pandolfo picked up the loose puck in front of the net and buried it top shelf to give New Jersey the lead once again. After a penalty by Sheldon Brookbank gave the Lightening another powerplay opportunity, Martin St. Louis poked home a rebound to tie the game up at three with only about three minutes remaining in the game. Brookbank cleared the puck accidentally over the glass, resulting in the delay of game penalty. The Devils put forth quite a fury at the end regulation. However, the game remained deadlocked and would need extra time to decide the outcome.

Overtime brought some action on both sides of the ice, but neither team could capitalize. The game was decided in a shootout. Vincent Lecavalier gave the Lightening the early advantage, taking a wrist shot that made it past Weekes. Zach Parise made a beautiful move that left Smith frozen. His backhand shot rang off the crossbar though. Following Weekes’ save on Jokinen, Elias made a nifty move to tie the shootout at one. Weekes’ came up big again, stopping Vaclav Prospals shot to give Jamie Langenbrunner a chance to win it for the Devils. He did just that. Langenbrunner made a similar move to Elias’s goal, and gave the Devils a 4-3 victory.

This was a large win for the Devils. A game after finding out the news that they will be without Martin Brodeur, arguably the best goaltender of all-time, for three to four months, this win brought some confidence in Weekes. The Devils stand at 7-3-2; a very respectable record considering the number of injuries they have suffered to key players. The Devils are still without Brian Rolston, Bobby Holik, and Andy Greene. Add Brodeur and Paul Martin, who has missed the last two games with upper body soreness, to the list.

Notes:

Devils went 1-2 on the powerplay.
Devils shorthanded play continues to struggle, allowing Tampa Bay to go 2-3 on the powerplay.
Weekes won his first game with the Devils since 2007.