NHL
Gionda leads Devils to 4-3 win over the Flyers EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Brian Gionta came up big once again for the New Jersey Devils.
Gionta scored the tying goal with 20.8 seconds remaining in regulation and had the only goal in the shootout to lead Devils to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
With goalie Martin Brodeur on the bench for an extra attacker, the Devils threw everything at Antero Niittymaki and the Flyers in the closing seconds. Niittymaki turned back Jamie Langenbrunner, Zach Parise and Paul Martin but was helpless as Martin took another shot and Gionta knocked in the rebound for his team-leading 21st goal.
“I was just hanging around the net, trying to be desperate,” the 5-foot-7 Gionta said. “Sometimes the puck just has to come to you. It’s as much position as luck. I was trying to box out and get position in front. It bounced off somebody and laid right at my toe and I jammed it in.”
Niittymaki was under siege during that Devils flurry.
“The puck was going everywhere,” Niittymaki said. “The shot hit a skate and a stick and hit me a little bit. The next thing I know, Gionta is there for a tap in. Those are the kind of things, you can’t control.”
Gionta prevailed again in the shootout. First up for the Devils, Gionta whipped the puck past Niittymaki to cap New Jersey’s comeback.
Simon Gagne, first for the Flyers in the shootout, fired wide and Brodeur made saves on Peter Forsberg and Mike Richards.
Scott Gomez and Langenbrunner also scored for the Devils in regulation. New Jersey has won 10 of the last 13 and enters the All-Star break with a 13-point lead atop the Atlantic Division.
“We’ve had a good run since Christmas,” Devils coach Claude Julien said. “We’ve played some pretty good hockey. There are a lot of good things that still have to be done.”
Ryan Potulny, Kyle Calder and Gagne scored for the Flyers, losers of eight straight.
Philadelphia fought hard, but again came away with nothing.
Thrashers 3, Rangers 1
NEW YORK – Niclas Havelid scored his second goal of the season 4:09 into the third period to snap a tie and lift Atlanta past New York.
The defenseman, who hadn’t netted a goal in 10 games, took the puck at the right point – after Steve Rucchin won an offensive zone faceoff – skated all the way down to the right post and flicked a short backhander that pinballed off goalie Henrik Lundqvist and found its way between his pads.
That was enough to give the Southeast Division-leading Thrashers their third win in four games and send them into the All-Star break well on the way to their first playoff berth in seven NHL seasons.
Marian Hossa scored his NHL-leading 30th goal, and Ilya Kovalchuk also scored for Atlanta.
Jaromir Jagr scored for New York, which limps into the hiatus having lost four of five and 11 of 16.
Predators 6, Blackhawks 3
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – David Legwand scored three goals and assisted on another and the Nashville Predators extended the Chicago Blackhawks’ losing streak to nine.
The hat trick was Legwand’s first. Martin Erat, Jean-Pierre Dumont and Kimmo Timonen also scored for Nashville.
Martin Havlat, Craig MacDonald and Duncan Keith scored for Chicago.
The first period was a flurry of scoring. Nashville started it off when Legwand shot the puck across the goal mouth from the left side and Erat put it in off Nikolai Khabibulin’s left pad at 7:14.
Twenty seconds later, Dumont gave Nashville a 2-0 lead when he beat Khabibulin to the glove side.
Panthers 4, Capitals 1
WASHINGTON – Martin Gelinas scored twice, and Ville Peltonen added a goal and an assist to give Florida a victory over Washington.
Florida snapped a two-game losing streak overall and a five-game slide on the road in the teams’ last game before the All-Star game. Washington, limited by several recent injuries on defense, has lost four of its last five.
Sabres 4, Canucks 3, SO
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Ales Kotalik scored the decisive shootout goal that rallied the Buffalo over the Vancouver.
Chris Drury tied the score with 39.1 seconds left in the third period. Jason Pominville and Paul Gaustad also scored in regulation for the Sabres. Ryan Miller stopped 25 shots and allowed only one goal on four shootout attempts in helping Buffalo defeat one of the NHL’s hottest teams.
Senators 3, Bruins 0
BOSTON – Dany Heatley scored his team-leading 29th and 30th goals, and Ray Emery stopped 18 shots for his fourth shutout to lead Ottawa, which has won five straight road games and six of seven overall.
Chris Phillips also scored for Ottawa. Heatley’s second goal was a short-handed, empty-netter.
The Bruins matched their lowest shot total this season in being shutout for just the second time. Hannu Toivonen stopped 36 shots, but couldn’t win consecutive starts for the first time this season.