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 He never showed that on the ice.
Jagr made the most of a milestone occasion, supplying a goal and an
assist as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1
on Monday night at PNC Arena.
"I didn't feel very well," the veteran right winger said. "I told
(coach Peter DeBoer) at 4 o'clock, don't play me. I feel strange.
One hour to go, I started feeling better."
Devils center Adam Henrique scored with 13.4 seconds left in the
second period -- and five seconds before a Carolina penalty expired
-- to give New Jersey its first lead.
Jagr carried the puck around the net and sent a pass to Henrique,
who skated in unchecked to take the puck and flip it past Carolina
goalie Cam Ward.
Jagr, who notched his fifth goal of the season, has 710 goals and
1,062 assists during his career. He passed Marcel Dionne to move
into fifth place with 1,772 NHL points.
"I played a lot of games," Jagr said. "I try to stay healthy. That's
what it takes."
 New Jersey center Scott Gomez provided two assists, including a pass
that set up Jagr's goal.
"It's kind of easy when you try to find that guy and he knows what
to do with it," Gomez said. "The guy knows how to get open and he
can dominate a hockey game."
Five players in Carolina's lineup weren't born when Jagr began his
NHL career. He didn't look like he had lost a step and he's
masterful at controlling the puck.
"When he has it, it's his," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "He
still knows how to play and he's a dominant player."
Goalie Cory Schneider made 39 saves for the Devils, who are 2-4-2
across their last eight games. He stopped all 17 shots in the third
period.
"They were coming at all different angles," Schneider said. "I had
to be sharp at all times."
Ward stopped 14 shots.
Carolina defenseman Justin Faulk opened the scoring with a
second-period goal before the Devils went to work.
The Hurricanes produced only one victory during a five-game
homestand.
"We're going to look back on this and regret it, for sure," Peters
said. "We make too many mistakes. We need guys to dig in."
Carolina held a 13-0 edge in third-period shots across the first 16
minutes of the final period. The final-period margin in shots ended
at 17-1.
"Hanging on, but I don't care at this point," DeBoer said. "We're
not looking for pretty. We just need points."
The Devils (11-13-4) have been sputtering amid lineup changes
because of injuries.
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"It's December now, and we've got to start putting it together,"
Gomez said.
Early in the game, Carolina continued to rack up shots and finally
scored.
After the Hurricanes took the puck in tight, center Andrej Nestrasil
delivered the puck out to Faulk, who powered a shot past Schneider
with 12:49 to play in the second period.
Faulk's goal came on Carolina's 13th shot of the game, giving the
Hurricanes only their second goal in their last 48 shots.
It was Faulk's fourth goal, giving him a team-leading 16 points this
season.
New Jersey drew even less than eight minutes later when the Devils
reversed the puck and Gomez's pass found Jagr, who had a clear shot
on the net.
For Gomez, playing in his fourth game of the season, it was his
first assist of the season. Gomez added another assist on the goal
by Henrique.
Gomez has 336 assists with the Devils, marking the fifth-most in
team history.
NOTES: RW Jaromir Jagr of the Devils played in his 1,500th NHL game.
He turns 43 years old in February. ... New Jersey's lineup changes
included RW Martin Havlat coming off injured reserve after missing
three games. But LW Patrik Elias (groin) and LW Mike Cammalleri
(muscle pull) didn't make the trip. ... D Adam Larsson of New Jersey
was placed on injured reserve with the flu. ... Carolina regulars D
Tim Gleason and RW Alexander Semin were scratched as the team played
on back-to-back nights. ... C Jordan Staal of the Hurricanes has
resumed skating after a preseason broken injury. He's targeting a
January return. ... The Devils are right back in action Tuesday
night at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. ... The Hurricanes
begin a three-game road stretch Thursday night at Tampa Bay.
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