There was Jacques Lemaire, all but yelling ‘Stop the Presses’ because the Devils won in Newark.
“That is news,” Lemaire said after the Devils’ 3-2 victory over the Caps last night.
The team that stands 7-0 on the road improved to a still unsatisfactory 2-4 at home. But rather than two-thirds empty, Martin Brodeur chose to regard the recent glass as two-thirds full.
“Now we’ve won 2-of-3 at home,” Brodeur said. “You have to look at the positives.
“We have to start streaking a bit and get over that .500 mark at home that everyone’s looking at.”
The victory was New Jersey’s third straight overall, sixth in seven and ninth in 11, pulling them within a point of the Rangers with three games in hand.
The triumph came with a cost, however, as the Devils lost center Rob Niedermayer to an upper body injury early in the third, and Niedermayer said he was not sure he will be able to play this weekend.
The Capitals took the lead at 17:10 of the first, making the Devils pay for a breakout turnover. Cory Murphy lost the puck to Chris Clark, who was checked by Jamie Langenbrunner. Rookie Mathieu Perreault took over for Washington, however, moving in 2-on-1 with Murphy trapped. A quick feed to left wing gave defenseman Tyler Sloan an unopposed lane to score high on the short side, over Brodeur’s waffle. Perreault’s assist was his first NHL point in his first NHL game.
Lemaire shuffled his lines to start the second, and Brian Rolston responded with his third goal of the season, a centering attempt from behind the net that went in off Caps defenseman Mike Green at 3:33. Jamie Langenbrunner slammed Shaone Morrisonn in the offensive left corner to free the puck for Niedermayer to relay behind the net to Rolston to bounce in off Green.
Nicklas Bergfors put New Jersey in front at 11:20 of the third with the first of his two late power-play goals, beating Semyon Varlamov short side, off the glove, from right wing. Langenbrunner lugged the puck up the middle, shoved it ahead to Travis Zajac, who passed left to Zach Parise to immediately put it on Bergfors’ stick.
Just 3:50 later, the Devils scored a third goal for the first time this season in Newark, Bergfors tipping in Zajac’s power-play point shot.
Varlamov was on the bench for an extra attacker when Tomas Fleischmann brought Washington back within one with 1:37 left. The Caps couldn’t muster another, and Varlamov suffered his first loss against five victories this year, and his first-ever in regulation (9-1-1 career).
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The Devils’ all-time leading scorer Patrik Elias missed the target of last night for his season debut, but he’s expected to play either tomorrow against the Islanders in Newark, or more likely, in Ottawa Saturday. Elias has been practicing with the team since Monday, and still can use time to regain his conditioning.
He underwent hip surgery in June and groin surgery in September. After he returned from a year-long bout with hepatitis in 2006, the team went 30-9-4 in its final 43 games. . . . The Devils continued without defensemen Paul Martin (broken arm) and Johnny Oduya (lower body) and Jay Pandolfo (dislocated shoulder). . . . Because Elias did not play, Devils recalled Matt Halischuk from Lowell, where he was sent Monday. Lowell did not play during his two-day stay.