Devils Recap (Game 3)- Devils 4 – Lightning 3 (SO)

by Carlos Figueiredo
Watching the game last night between the Devils and Tampa Bay went something like this: The Devils look great! The Devils are in trouble. At least the Devils are still winning. I can’t believe the Devils blew this game. I can’t believe the goal I just saw! What a great win for the Devils.

I know this was only game three for the Devils, but the way the game went, from dominating early to blowing a lead in the 3rd, it could have been a huge blow to the team’s confidence if it resulted in a loss. Instead, Zajac’s goal with 0.7 seconds left in the game to tie it, combined with the much improved play of Brodeur and the eventual shootout win, there is reason to think the Devils might have shaken off the early season rust and could ride the high of this win into the next few games.

Devils Goals:
1st(4:46) Zach Parise (PPG)(1) Assists: Travis Zajac (1) Paul Martin (1)
2nd(18:09) Jay Pandolfo (1) Assists: David Clarkson (3) Rob Niedermayer (1)
3rd(19:59) Travis Zajac (2) Assists: Andy Greene (1) Parise (2)
Shootout: Parise (Goal), Langenbrunner (Goal)

Special Teams:
PP: 1 for 2
PK: 3 for 4

Goalies:
Brodeur (W) (1-2) 44 shots – 41 saves

The Good:
The Devils scored yet another power-play goal, giving them three in three games. Martin Brodeur made 41 saves in the game and faced 25 shots, stopping 24 of them, in the 2nd. Zajac’sgoal with under a second left in the game shows that, even after losses in the first two games and letting the lead in this game slip away, the team knows it can win these games and will keep playing until the final horn blows. Clarkson continues to play great early in the season, and now has three points (3 assists) in three games.

The Bad:
The Devils looked strong in the 1st period, but couldn’t keep that momentum going the whole game. They went from being up 2-1 to start the 3rd, to being down 3-2 just 5:41 into the final period. They never got much going in the 3rd, getting only 6 shots on goal. In reality, the team was under a second away from starting the season 0-3. Dainius Zubrus taking a bad penalty with the team fighting to come back, with under 10 minutes left in the game, is not something you want to see.

Record:
1-2-0
Home: 0-2-0 Away: 1-0-0 GF: 8 GA: 11 Streak: Won One

Next Game:
at FLA Panthers, Saturday night. 7:00pm.

Tags: David Clarkson, Lightning, Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils, NHL, Zach Parise