|
 Right winger Jaromir Jagr scored the go-ahead goal early in the
third period, goaltender Martin Brodeur made 30 saves and the Devils
beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Center Travis Zajac also had a goal to help the Devils (29-24-13)
inch closer in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Devils are
just two points behind the Flyers and the Columbus Blue Jackets for
the final two playoff spots.
"We knew we had to come out of here with a win," Devils coach Peter
Deboer said. "We showed up, really battled and left everything on
the ice. It wasn't a pretty game but we got the job done and now
keep moving forward here.
The 42-year-old Jagr and 41-year-old Brodeur led the way.
"Without fun at my age, there's no chance you can play," Jagr said.
"You have to grab the opportunity. I got a chance to play and now
it's up to me what kind of advantage I take of it."
Defenseman Nicklas Grossmann scored the only goal for Philadelphia
(33-25-7). The Flyers went 0 for 6 on the power play and have not
gotten a goal from their forwards in two straight games.
The Devils are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games at the Wells Fargo
Center, including playoffs.
Flyers left winger Scott Hartnell scored the tying goal in the final
minute, but it was waived off by officials because Hartnell fell
into Brodeur before the puck went in.
"Marty fell back and the puck went over the line and it looked like
a scored goal, but there are rules, you can't touch the goalie,"
said Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov, who collided with Hartnell
on the play. "But again these are referees' decisions, and the
referees upstairs said no goal."
The Flyers argued that Hartnell was pushed into Brodeur.
"I think Volchenkov and Hartnell pushed Marty in the net, it's not
just Hartsy," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. "You can see Hartsy
tries to stop. It's a tough call. I'm not going to blame the refs.
That's a tough call for the ref with a minute left."
Jagr, who played for the Flyers two years ago, beat goalie Steve
Mason with a backhander just inside the post to put the Devils ahead
2-1 almost eight minutes into the third period.
"Big goal for Jagr. He's done that all year for us," Deboer said.
It was the 702nd career goal for Jagr, who has 21 this season.
[to top of second column] |
"He was able to kind of just chip it and it snuck through there,"
Mason said. "He's a big body, strong player when he has the puck on
his stick and is able to protect it. He's just a natural goal
scorer, but at the end of the day, gotta make the save."
Zajac gave the Devils a 1-0 lead in the first period off a pretty
pass from Jagr. His centering pass through the crease gave Zajac a
wide-open net to score his 13th goal of the season.
Grossmann tied it at just 47 seconds into the second period with his
first goal of the season and just the fifth in 449 career games. The
goal was one of the worst that Brodeur has allowed in his
illustrious career. Grossmann flipped a seemingly harmless shot
toward the net, but it caught Brodeur off guard and went right
between his legs.
"It's a tough loss," Flyers coach Craig Berube said. "Obviously, our
team battled hard, competed hard. We didn't score enough goals."
Brodeur posted his 50th career win against the Flyers.
"Nothing surprises me about Marty," Deboer said. "When you're around
him, that's why he's one of the best of all time."
NOTES: Flyers D Nicklas Grossmann scored his first goal since Feb.
20, 2013, against Pittsburgh. ... The Devils started a three-game
road trip that will be followed by five straight at home. ... The
teams met for the fourth and final time during the regular season.
... Flyers G Steve Mason started his sixth straight game ... Flyers
LW Scott Hartnell played his 500th game with the team. ... Devils G
Martin Brodeur started consecutive games for the first time in a
month. ... Flyers RW Zac Rinaldo (upper body) was not in the lineup.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
