David Clarkson (17) took the puck straight off the boards off an Andy Greene dump in and sent the puck careening past Martin Biron with 47 seconds left in the third period to force overtime against the New York Rangers.Clarkson's goal came with six skaters on the ice with Martin Brodeur leaving the net to create a man advantage offensively.
The Devils then used a Ilya Kovalchuk goal to start the shootout and three Martin Brodeur saves to earn a huge 4-3 comeback win over the Rangers.
The Devils never held the lead in the game until the Kovalchuk shootout tally.
Kovalchuk (20 power play) and Zach Parise (16) scored the remaining goals for the Devils.
New Jersey hosts Montreal tomorrow night before a big four day run inside the division featuring games against the Flyers,Penguins and yes,these same New York Rangers.
Hell Raisers
1) Martin Brodeur was to blame for the Rangers taking a 3-2 lead in third period action with a bad read on a Michael Del Zotto shot,but give Brodeur credit for stepping up in the shootout and in overtime,where he made a great save on Derek Stepan.
Stepan still should have been able to slide the puck around Marty,but Brodeur cut the angle off enough to cost the Rangers the win.
Brodeur may not be the greatest of all time on a nightly basis anymore,but he is still pretty damned good.
2) The goal by David Clarkson was not a designed play,but one of the home ice breaks that you get from time to time.
Andy Greene was keeping the puck in the Ranger zone on a dump in and the rebound hit an odd partition on a board and bounced right to a surprised Clarkson in front of the net.
Lucky?Sure,but these things happen in a rink that is never shaped perfectly and I am glad to take it!
Especially after a similar play against Buffalo last week allowed the Sabres to score their only goal of regulation and eventually win in the shootout.
3) Ilya Kovalchuk also had a strong night.
As important as his game winner was,his power play goal in the third was almost as important at the time as it tied the game at two and Kovalchuk's emotion after the goal sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Kovalchuk could have had more offense though,he was stopped on two occasions,where the puck just didn't catch the sweet spot of the stick.
4) Andy Greene was the story in his return from injury and added a badly needed defenseman to the lineup with Henrik Tallinder being place on the injured reserve,but the real story was Adam Larsson,who was pounding the Rangers with a surprising amount of physical play.
If Larsson can continue to add that type of physicality to his game with his skills,Larsson is going to be one of the best in the league eventually..
5) Steve Bernier made his Devils debut after being called up from Albany with Peter Harrold being returned to the junior Devils.
Bernier is a player that has NHL experience and has always been a tantalizing player with the ability to be a solid contributor,but never quite putting it all together.
The talent is there as is the need on the third or fourth line,here is hoping Bernier can take advantage of the opportunity..
6) Wow! What a night!
The hated Rangers fall and spending the evening watching and screaming with Rachel for every moment.
Put aside the huge win over the despised rival,these are the type of evenings that you never seem to get enough of as a parent and move along way too quickly when you have them.
I never had a connection with a team with Ryan that I have with this team and Rachel and I am enjoying every minute of it.
Thanks Rachel for sharing it with me.
Back later with the Cavaliers loss to the Celtics.
Photo Credits:AP Photo
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