GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NHL: TORONTO (5-8) at NEW JERSEY (4-7)

NHL: TORONTO at NEW JERSEY

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
TORONTO 0 1 1 --2
NEW JERSEY 1 0 2 --3
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, New Jersey, David Clarkson 1 (Mike Mottau,
Martin Brodeur), 14:17. Penalties: H Gill, Tor (roughing), 20:00; B
Gionta, Njd (boarding), 20:00.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Toronto, Alex Steen 3 (Jiri Tlusty, Tomas
Kaberle), 10:56. Penalties: S Brylin, Njd (hooking), 1:21; T Kaberle,
Tor (holding), 6:27; A Asham, Njd (boarding), 17:08.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, New Jersey, John Madden 6 (shorthanded)
(Andrew Greene), 15:48. 4, New Jersey, Zach Parise 4 (Arron Asham, Rod
Pelley), 17:25. 5, Toronto, Mats Sundin 7 (power play) (Pavel Kubina,
Jason Blake), 19:28. Penalties: M Stajan, Tor (tripping), 1:16; J
Oduya, Njd (boarding), 3:40; A Stralman, Tor (hooking), 6:36; H Gill,
Tor (holding), 10:52; S Brylin, Njd (hooking), 14:40; J Pandolfo, Njd
(tripping), 18:05.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
TORONTO 9 11 8 --28
NEW JERSEY 5 4 12 --21
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: TOR - 1 of 5, NJD - 0 of 4. Goalies : Toronto,
Vesa Toskala (21 shots, 18 saves; record: 4-5-1). New Jersey, Martin
Brodeur (28 shots, 26 saves; record: 4-6-0). A: 16,055. Referees:
Justin St. Pierre, Tom Kowal. Linesmen: Andy Mcelman, Michel Cormier.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

TORONTO NEW JERSEY
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
A Steen 1 0 +1 2 R Pelley 0 1 +1 0
M Sundin 1 0 -2 4 J Madden 1 0 +2 1
M Stajan 0 0 +1 1 B Gionta 0 0 -1 3
T Kaberle 0 1 even 2 D Zubrus 0 0 even 1
C Kilger 0 0 -1 0 S Brylin 0 0 +1 2
J Pohl 0 0 even 0 T Zajac 0 0 -1 2
B Devereaux 0 0 -1 2 V Vishnevski 0 0 -1 1
A Ponikarovsky 0 0 even 3 J Pandolfo 0 0 +1 0
H Gill 0 0 even 1 A Asham 0 1 +1 0
W Belak 0 0 even 0 D Clarkson 1 0 +1 2
P Kubina 0 1 even 3 O Malmivaara 0 0 even 0
A Stralman 0 0 even 0 P Elias 0 0 +1 2
S Gamache 0 0 -1 0 M Mottau 0 1 +1 0
J Blake 0 1 -2 5 J Oduya 0 0 even 0
A Wozniewski 0 0 -2 0 M Brodeur 0 1 -- 0
I White 0 0 -2 2 A Greene 0 1 +2 2
N Antropov 0 0 -2 3 P Martin 0 0 +2 0
J Tlusty 0 1 +1 0 S Brookbank 0 0 even 0
B Battaglia HEALTHY Z Parise 1 0 even 5
B McCabe GROIN K Rachunek GROIN
M Rupp HEALTHY</div>

 

NEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Once again, the so-calledchecking line of the New Jersey Devils helped lead the team tovictory.


John Madden scored a shorthanded goal with 4:12 remaining in thethird period to snap a tie and Zach Parise added somemuch-needed insurance less than two minutes later as the Devilsskated to a 3-2 triumph Friday over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

David Clarkson also tallied and Martin Brodeur made 26 saves forNew Jersey, which has won two in a row following a four-gameslide.


"He played very, very well," Devils coach Brent Sutter said ofBrodeur. "He gave ourselves a chance to get our act together inthe third."


"It was a tough first two periods," Brodeur said. "Both teamshad chances on the power play before we scored that shorthandedgoal. I thought we played an excellent third period to comeback and win."


On Wednesday, Jay Pandolfo recorded his first career hat trickand added an assist in a 6-1 win over Tampa Bay. Madden alsoscored a goal and set up three others in the rout as the duogave the Devils an abundance of unexpected offense.

"They've been awesome," said New Jersey defenseman Andy Greene,who recorded an assist on Madden's tally Friday. "They've beenleading the charge for us."


"Right now, they're hot," Brodeur added. "That goal (tonight)was really amazing."


One goal behind Pandolfo for the team lead, Madden pulled evenwith his linemate late in the third with his sixth of theseason. With Sergei Brylin in the penalty box for hooking,Madden picked up the puck at his own blue line, skated around adefender in the neutral zone and unleashed a wrist shot from theleft faceoff circle that beat goaltender Vesa Toskala to giveNew Jersey a 2-1 edge.


"I heard someone say, 'You have a step on them, keep going,'"Madden said. "So I just kept going. When I got past them, Ilooked up and had some room and just took what they gave me."

Just 97 seconds later, Parise's persistence gave the Devils atwo-goal bulge.


From the right circle, Parise fired a shot that was stopped byToskala. He got his own rebound and, after a stuff attempt wasthwarted, poked in his second chance to open a 3-1 lead.

"I thought the first two periods, we were a team that (wasn't)doing enough things," Sutter said. "In the third period, wethought that if we were going to win, we were going to have toget into those areas and win some battles. Zach's goal wasproof of how we have to play in the third."


The tally proved crucial as Toronto captain Mats Sundin bankedthe puck off defenseman Paul Martin and into the net from alongthe end boards during a power play with 32 seconds remaining,pulling the Maple Leafs within one.


Jason Blake recorded an assist on the play, giving him 300career points.


Sundin's tally was just the Maple Leafs' third on 19man-advantage opportunities over the last six games.

"I think we have guys capable of scoring goals, for sure,"Toronto's Alex Steen said. "We need to work on it more, andwhen we're out there, we need to move the puck a littlequicker."


Toronto did not get a chance to net the equalizer, however, asBrodeur went on to post his 498th victory.


Looking to win consecutive games for just the second time thisseason, New Jersey grabbed the lead with 5:43 remaining in thefirst period.


Clarkson outraced defenseman Andy Wozniewski down the right wingfor the puck and gained possession in the faceoff circle. Afterdeking Toskala, Clarkson slid the puck into a vacant net forhis first goal of the season and a 1-0 advantage.


"It was a nice pass off the wall there (by defenseman MikeMottau)," Clarkson said. "I was just in a foot race with themand kind of just going hard to the net. The goalie went downand I put it in on the backhand."


Brodeur received the second assist on the play, his first of theseason.


"I fumbled the puck behind the net," the reigning Vezina Trophywinner said. "It hit my pad and I kind of overlooked a guythere and I made a pass to Motts and he made a great play.Clarkie made a great move to score."


The tally held up until midway through the second session asToronto used a set play to break out of its zone and a greatindividual effort by Steen to forge a tie.


From behind the Maple Leafs' net, defenseman Tomas Kaberlebanked a pass off the left wing boards to Jiri Tlusty in theneutral zone. The rookie carried across the blue line andpulled up in the left circle before dishing to Steen.

After undressing blue-liner Sheldon Brookbank, Steen glidedacross the top of the crease and sneaked a backhander underBrodeur's left pad and inside the right goalpost at 10:56 forhis third of the campaign.


Despite his impressive effort, Steen was more upset about theloss.


"I don't think we need to talk about that right now," Steen saidof his goal. "The main thing is, we let down in the thirdperiod. This is a tough (loss). I think we played hard throughtwo and started the third all right.


"I thought we took a few penalties and got back on the powerplay and couldn't make it click. It's a tough one to swallow."

 

NHL: TORONTO at NEW JERSEY

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Toronto 0 1 1 --2
New Jersey 1 0 2 --3
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, New Jersey, David Clarkson 1 (Mike Mottau,
Martin Brodeur), 14:17. Penalties: H Gill, Tor (roughing), 20:00; B
Gionta, Njd (boarding), 20:00.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Toronto, Alex Steen 3 (Jiri Tlusty, Tomas
Kaberle), 10:56. Penalties: S Brylin, Njd (hooking), 1:21; T Kaberle,
Tor (holding), 6:27; A Asham, Njd (boarding), 17:08.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, New Jersey, John Madden 6 (shorthanded)
(Andrew Greene), 15:48. 4, New Jersey, Zach Parise 4 (Arron Asham, Rod
Pelley), 17:25. 5, Toronto, Mats Sundin 7 (power play) (Pavel Kubina,
Jason Blake), 19:28. Penalties: M Stajan, Tor (tripping), 1:16; J
Oduya, Njd (boarding), 3:40; A Stralman, Tor (hooking), 6:36; H Gill,
Tor (holding), 10:52; S Brylin, Njd (hooking), 14:40; J Pandolfo, Njd
(tripping), 18:05.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Toronto 9 11 8 --28
New Jersey 5 4 12 --21
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Toronto - 1 of 5, New Jersey - 0 of 4. Goalies
: Toronto, Vesa Toskala (21 shots, 18 saves; record: 4-5-1). New
Jersey, Martin Brodeur (28 shots, 26 saves; record: 4-6-0). A: 16,055.
Referees: Justin St. Pierre, Tom Kowal. Linesmen: Andy Mcelman,
Michel Cormier.</div>

 

NHL: TORONTO at NEW JERSEY

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
TORONTO 0 1 1 --2
NEW JERSEY 1 0 2 --3
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, New Jersey, David Clarkson 1 (Mike Mottau,
Martin Brodeur), 14:17. Penalties: H Gill, Tor (roughing), 20:00; B
Gionta, Njd (boarding), 20:00.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Toronto, Alex Steen 3 (Jiri Tlusty, Tomas
Kaberle), 10:56. Penalties: S Brylin, Njd (hooking), 1:21; T Kaberle,
Tor (holding), 6:27; A Asham, Njd (boarding), 17:08.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, New Jersey, John Madden 6 (shorthanded)
(Andrew Greene), 15:48. 4, New Jersey, Zach Parise 4 (Arron Asham, Rod
Pelley), 17:25. 5, Toronto, Mats Sundin 7 (power play) (Pavel Kubina,
Jason Blake), 19:28. Penalties: M Stajan, Tor (tripping), 1:16; J
Oduya, Njd (boarding), 3:40; A Stralman, Tor (hooking), 6:36; H Gill,
Tor (holding), 10:52; S Brylin, Njd (hooking), 14:40; J Pandolfo, Njd
(tripping), 18:05.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
TORONTO 9 11 8 --28
NEW JERSEY 5 4 12 --21
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: TOR - 1 of 5, NJD - 0 of 4. Goalies : Toronto,
Vesa Toskala (21 shots, 18 saves; record: 4-5-1). New Jersey, Martin
Brodeur (28 shots, 26 saves; record: 4-6-0). A: 16,055. Referees:
Justin St. Pierre, Tom Kowal. Linesmen: Andy Mcelman, Michel Cormier.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

TORONTO NEW JERSEY
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
A Steen 1 0 +1 2 R Pelley 0 1 +1 0
M Sundin 1 0 -2 4 J Madden 1 0 +1 1
M Stajan 0 0 +1 1 B Gionta 0 0 -1 3
T Kaberle 0 1 even 2 D Zubrus 0 0 even 1
C Kilger 0 0 -1 0 S Brylin 0 0 +1 2
J Pohl 0 0 even 0 T Zajac 0 0 -1 2
B Devereaux 0 0 -1 2 V Vishnevski 0 0 -1 1
A Ponikarovsky 0 0 even 3 J Pandolfo 0 0 +1 0
H Gill 0 0 even 1 A Asham 0 1 +1 0
W Belak 0 0 even 0 D Clarkson 1 0 +1 2
P Kubina 0 1 even 3 O Malmivaara 0 0 even 0
A Stralman 0 0 even 0 P Elias 0 0 +1 2
S Gamache 0 0 -1 0 M Mottau 0 1 +1 0
J Blake 0 1 -2 5 J Oduya 0 0 even 0
A Wozniewski 0 0 -2 0 M Brodeur 0 1 -- 0
I White 0 0 -2 2 A Greene 0 1 +2 2
N Antropov 0 0 -2 3 P Martin 0 0 +2 0
J Tlusty 0 1 +1 0 S Brookbank 0 0 even 0
B Battaglia HEALTHY Z Parise 1 0 even 5
B McCabe GROIN K Rachunek GROIN
M Rupp HEALTHY</div>

 

NHL: TORONTO at NEW JERSEY

<div class="pre">NHL TORONTO AT NEW JERSEY
NOTE: RESENDING BOX TO CORRECT PLUS/MINUS FOR MADDEN.</div>

 

NHL: TORONTO at NEW JERSEY

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Toronto 0 1 1 --2
New Jersey 1 0 2 --3
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, New Jersey, David Clarkson 1 (Mike Mottau,
Martin Brodeur), 14:17. Penalties: H Gill, Tor (roughing), 20:00; B
Gionta, Njd (boarding), 20:00.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Toronto, Alex Steen 3 (Jiri Tlusty, Tomas
Kaberle), 10:56. Penalties: S Brylin, Njd (hooking), 1:21; T Kaberle,
Tor (holding), 6:27; A Asham, Njd (boarding), 17:08.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, New Jersey, John Madden 6 (shorthanded)
(Andrew Greene), 15:48. 4, New Jersey, Zach Parise 4 (Arron Asham, Rod
Pelley), 17:25. 5, Toronto, Mats Sundin 7 (power play) (Pavel Kubina,
Jason Blake), 19:28. Penalties: M Stajan, Tor (tripping), 1:16; J
Oduya, Njd (boarding), 3:40; A Stralman, Tor (hooking), 6:36; H Gill,
Tor (holding), 10:52; S Brylin, Njd (hooking), 14:40; J Pandolfo, Njd
(tripping), 18:05.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Toronto 9 11 8 --28
New Jersey 5 4 12 --21
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Toronto - 1 of 5, New Jersey - 0 of 4. Goalies
: Toronto, Vesa Toskala (21 shots, 18 saves; record: 4-5-1). New
Jersey, Martin Brodeur (28 shots, 26 saves; record: 4-6-0). A: 16,055.
Referees: Justin St. Pierre, Tom Kowal. Linesmen: Andy Mcelman,
Michel Cormier.</div>

 

NHL: TORONTO at NEW JERSEY

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
TORONTO 0 1 1 --2
NEW JERSEY 1 0 2 --3
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, New Jersey, David Clarkson 1 (Mike Mottau,
Martin Brodeur), 14:17. Penalties: H Gill, Tor (roughing), 20:00; B
Gionta, Njd (boarding), 20:00.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Toronto, Alex Steen 3 (Jiri Tlusty, Tomas
Kaberle), 10:56. Penalties: S Brylin, Njd (hooking), 1:21; T Kaberle,
Tor (holding), 6:27; A Asham, Njd (boarding), 17:08.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, New Jersey, John Madden 6 (shorthanded)
(Andrew Greene), 15:48. 4, New Jersey, Zach Parise 4 (Arron Asham, Rod
Pelley), 17:25. 5, Toronto, Mats Sundin 7 (power play) (Pavel Kubina,
Jason Blake), 19:28. Penalties: M Stajan, Tor (tripping), 1:16; J
Oduya, Njd (boarding), 3:40; A Stralman, Tor (hooking), 6:36; H Gill,
Tor (holding), 10:52; S Brylin, Njd (hooking), 14:40; J Pandolfo, Njd
(tripping), 18:05.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
TORONTO 9 11 8 --28
NEW JERSEY 5 4 12 --21
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: TOR - 1 of 5, NJD - 0 of 4. Goalies : Toronto,
Vesa Toskala (21 shots, 18 saves; record: 4-5-1). New Jersey, Martin
Brodeur (28 shots, 26 saves; record: 4-6-0). A: 16,055. Referees:
Justin St. Pierre, Tom Kowal. Linesmen: Andy Mcelman, Michel Cormier.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

TORONTO NEW JERSEY
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
A Steen 1 0 +1 2 R Pelley 0 1 +1 0
M Sundin 1 0 -2 4 J Madden 1 0 +1 1
M Stajan 0 0 +1 1 B Gionta 0 0 -1 3
T Kaberle 0 1 -1 2 D Zubrus 0 0 even 1
C Kilger 0 0 -1 0 S Brylin 0 0 +1 2
J Pohl 0 0 even 0 T Zajac 0 0 -1 2
B Devereaux 0 0 -1 2 V Vishnevski 0 0 -1 1
A Ponikarovsky 0 0 even 3 J Pandolfo 0 0 +1 0
H Gill 0 0 even 1 A Asham 0 1 +1 0
W Belak 0 0 even 0 D Clarkson 1 0 +1 2
P Kubina 0 1 -1 3 O Malmivaara 0 0 even 0
A Stralman 0 0 even 0 P Elias 0 0 +1 2
S Gamache 0 0 -1 0 M Mottau 0 1 +1 0
J Blake 0 1 -2 5 J Oduya 0 0 even 0
A Wozniewski 0 0 -1 0 M Brodeur 0 1 -- 0
I White 0 0 -1 2 A Greene 0 1 +2 2
N Antropov 0 0 -2 3 P Martin 0 0 +2 0
J Tlusty 0 1 +1 0 S Brookbank 0 0 even 0
B Battaglia HEALTHY Z Parise 1 0 even 5
B McCabe GROIN K Rachunek GROIN
M Rupp HEALTHY</div>

 

NHL: TORONTO at NEW JERSEY

<div class="pre">NHL TORONTO AT NEW JERSEY
NOTE: RESENDING BOX TO CORRECT PLUS/MINUS FOR SEVERAL
TORONTO PLAYERS.</div>