Zach Parise planted the puck between the posts for the first time in exactly a month to start the scoring for the Devils last night in Newark. Parise’s pair of goals Monday were enough to lift New Jersey to a very physical 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. The 25 year old team leader in goals and points the past two seasons snapped a 12 game scoring drought to give New Jersey their fourth straight victory at The Rock. It is imperative for Parise to fluster the foes in order for the Devils to deliver. Atlanta took 20 hits on New Jersey but fought off early shakiness to make it a closely contest meeting. The Devils own a 27-9-1 record and bounced back from a pre-Christmas spiritless loss to Washington. New Jersey returned to their winning ways with their best skater recapturing the spotlight. The Thrashers dropped their fifth straight game, despite fighting to trim the home lead to one goal with 7:28 remaining in the contest.
Parise slipped by Atlanta defenders 10:46 into the first period to beat badly-screened goalie, Johan Hedberg. The winger broke through and knocked in his own rebound over Hedberg’s pads for the first Devils’ tally. His 16th goal of the season tied the game at 1-1. Niclas Bergfors and Andy Greene each earned an assist on the goal. A minute earlier in the quarter, Ilya Kovalchuk recorded Atlanta’s initial goal with a blast from the left circle past Martin Brodeur. Kovalchuk’s extended his point-scoring streak to ten with his 23rd goal. Marty Reasoner and Tobias Enstrom picked up the assists on the score. Devils’ defensivemen, Collin White, chipped in a first period goal to put the Devils ahead 2-1 at 16:34. It was the long-time Devil’s second goal of 2009. The ten year veteran was on the ice for nearly 23 minutes Monday. Bergfors notched his second assist of the night on White’s slapper.
Atlanta was rewarded for their enduring effort after neither team scored in the sloppy second period. New Jersey failed to move the puck and often allowed Atlanta clear shots up the ice. The Devils got on board first with the super speedy Parise’s second of two scores. Patrik Elias swung a cross-ice pass to Parise .59 seconds into the third period. The power play goal was Parise’s 17th, and put New Jersey up 3-1. A two goal lead is usually suffice for the game’s most dominant netminder, Brodeur. Marty allowed Atlanta to best him once more, but finished with 24 saves. Reasoner gave the redshirts a reason for concern by blitzing Brodeur from the high slot after a two-zone Atlanta rush. The 19-15-4 Thrashers wouldn’t get any closer. A solid road effort turned into another loss for John Anderson’s Thrashers. Luckily for the Devils, the defense held up well in advantageous Atlanta situations. New Jersey’s goalie fended off a flurry of attackers and snared shots to the ice to preserve the edge. Brodeur was playing in his first game at the Prudential Center since his historical shutout. The three time Stanley Cup goaltender hung tough behind net, and Parise stepped up with surging, skillful, shining statement to thump the Thrashers.
Parting Points: Are the Vikings caving? Cutler connected in crunchtime to overcome the Favre mystique.
These Mike Leach allegations are disturbing, to say the least.
Tracy McGrady is requesting a trade. I can’t blame the All-Star Rocket for wanting more minutes. Does Houston exchange an expiring contracts or a young shooter?
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