SUNRISE, Fla. — These two signaled Zach is back.
Devils captain Zach Parise had been finding his way after missing most of last season to knee surgery. He found it on this two-game, two-night, two-victory trip to the Sunshine State.
Parise again looked like the player who was the first Devil to notch four straight 30-goal and back-to-back 80-point seasons, their leading point-getter three consecutive campaigns before knee surgery KO’d him last year.
Parise is hitting his stride just as usual partner Travis Zajac is ready to start his season, probably Friday, after Achilles tendon surgery. The Devils, winners of 4 of 5 since a four-game skid, could become formidable again.
Parise had a goal and an assist in the Devils’ 3-2 shootout victory over the Panthers here last night, following a 1-2-3 performance in their 5-4 triumph in Tampa Monday, his first three-point game since April 10, 2010.
The Devils’ captain had been warming up, with seven points in seven games before compiling five during this Florida pair. But more than the scoring figures, he was again a buzzsaw in the offensive zone, giving foes no time to make plays. He was stopped in the shootout, but he was a major reason the Devils gained anything after a two-goal deficit.
“Outstanding. Really finding his form. He was a dominant guy in both games,” said coach Pete DeBoer, downplaying the idea of getting any personal revenge on the team that fired him in April.
Last night, Martin Brodeur was again perfect in the shootout, lifting New Jersey’s breakaway contest record to 7-1 this season, 9-1 after regulation. Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias ensured Parise’s miss didn’t matter.
“Those guys have been money all year,” DeBoer said.
The Devils have made a ritual of either overcome deficits or blowing leads. Last night was the former. Prize draftee Adam Larsson committed a brutal giveaway to Stephen Weiss, who handed right to Kris Versteeg for an open net 15:10 into play.
Freshly arrived defenseman Kurtis Foster made his Devils debut and moved straight onto the point on the first power play, adding an impressive shot. Henrik Tallinder, however, coughed up New Jersey’s NHL-worst ninth short-hander of the season, pickpocketed by Versteeg for a breakaway goal at 7:29 of the second, his 15th.
Patrik Elias started the comeback with his second goal in 12 games to halve New Jersey’s deficit 56 seconds later. Ilya Kovalchuk freed a puck in the left corner and centered to the circle, where Parise knocked it right, giving Elias an open side for his 10th.
“Lucky bounce,” Elias said.
Tallinder atoned for his earlier error by assisting on Parise’s tying goal at 7:40 of the third. Tallinder’s blue-line shot caromed off the end boards and Parise was charging from the left side to match Elias for the team lead with his 10th.
* Zajac did not skate in yesterday’s morning workout, but DeBoer said the team’s top center had not suffered a setback in his comeback from Achilles tendon surgery. “Just maintenance. No red flags,” DeBoer said. “We’re still looking at his return potentially Friday [vs Dallas]. He’s been pushing pretty hard and he’s getting a little stiff.”