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 Martin Brodeur stopped Bruins shooters Glen Metropolit, Phil Kessel,
David Krejci and Marco Sturm in the first four rounds, setting up Parise's
duel with Tim Thomas.
Parise skated slowly down the middle, make a deke and lifted a backhander
over the glove of Thomas, who had stopped Brian Gionta, Patrik Elias and
Jamie Langenbrunner on the Devils' first three shootout attempts.
The Bruins inched closer to a playoff spot, earning a point for the sixth
straight game (3-0-3) on goals by Dennis Wideman and Milan Lucic. It gave
them 92 points, tying Boston with Ottawa for sixth place in the Eastern
Conference -- one point ahead of eighth-place Philadelphia. All three teams
have two games to play.
New Jersey's win assured that the Devils won't finish lower than fifth in
the East, but it wasn't enough to keep them alive in the Atlantic Division
race. The Pittsburgh Penguins captured the crown with a victory over
Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Boston's loss came a year to the day after current coach Claude Julien
was fired by the Devils with three games left in the regular season and
replaced behind the bench by general manager Lou Lamoriello.
Dainius Zubrus and David Clarkson scored for the Devils, with Clarkson's
goal with 5:28 left in regulation forcing an entertaining overtime that
featured 10 shots.
Brodeur made two good saves on Zdeno Chara, and Thomas had a nervous
glove save on Mike Rupp, snapping his head around to look at the net after
the play.
Rupp, who set up both Devils goals, skated behind the goal line and
backhanded a pass in front. It went past several players and right to
Clarkson for his ninth goal.
While the Bruins dominated play for most of the first two periods, they
were lucky to have a 2-1 lead.
Tied at 1 with 7:38 left in the middle session, Zubrus appeared to net
his second of the game with a wrap-around.
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There was no call by the officials, but Thomas reacted in a way that
indicated the puck went across the line into the corner of the net. His pads
also seemed to be well behind the goal line.
After several seconds the horn sounded for a goal, and the Devils
celebrated.
The played was reviewed in Toronto for what several minutes, during which
time Zubrus skated over to Thomas and said something that made the goalie
smile. Referee Paul Devorski eventually signaled no goal.
A little more than 4 minutes later, Lucic ended an 18-game goal drought
by backhanding a shot in front past Brodeur.
Boston had tied it early in the second period when Wideman ripped a shot
from the top of the right circle past Brodeur with the Bruins enjoying a
two-man advantage.
Zubrus had given the Devils the lead, putting the rebound of Rupp's shot
past Thomas 3:14 after the opening faceoff. Thomas failed to control Rupp's
shot from the left circle, and Petteri Nokelainen whiffed trying to clear
the puck in front.
Notes: Bruins D Andrew Alberts returned to the lineup for the first time
since being sidelined 3 1/2 months ago with a concussion and neck problems.
... Boston C Mark Savard missed his fifth straight game with a back injury.
... Rupp's two-point game was the sixth of his five-season NHL career.
[Associated
Press; By TOM CANAVAN]
Copyright 2008 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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