GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NHL: NEW JERSEY (0-0) at TAMPA BAY (0-0)

NHL: NEW JERSEY at TAMPA BAY

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

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, New Jersey, Brian Gionta 1 (power play)
(Zach Parise, Travis Zajac), 9:06. Penalties: P Martin, Njd
(hooking), 1:35; C Gratton, Tam (roughing), 5:55; P Ranger, Tam
(interference), 8:19; C Gratton, Tam (interference), 19:11.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Tampa Bay, Vincent Lecavalier 1 (Martin St.
Louis, Filip Kuba), 9:35. Penalties: V Prospal, Tam (high sticking),
13:08; J Pandolfo, Njd (slashing), 18:24.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Tampa Bay, Vincent Lecavalier 2 (Vaclav
Prospal, Martin St. Louis), 15:08. 4, Tampa Bay, Vaclav Prospal 1
(empty net) (Martin St. Louis, Paul Ranger), 19:02. Penalties: V
Prospal, Tam (holding), 4:50; D Clarkson, Njd (roughing), 19:33; C
Gratton, Tam (major fighting), 19:33; D Clarkson, Njd (major
fighting), 19:33.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
NEW JERSEY 7 13 7 --27
TAMPA BAY 9 6 9 --24
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: NJD - 1 of 5, TAM - 0 of 2. Goalies : New
Jersey, Martin Brodeur (23 shots, 21 saves; record: 0-1-0). Tampa Bay,
Johan Holmqvist (27 shots, 26 saves; record: 1-0-0). A: 19,454.
Referees: Brad Watson, Wes Mccauley. Linesmen: Michel Cormier, Steve
Miller.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

NEW JERSEY TAMPA BAY
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
R Pelley 0 0 even 2 J Ward 0 0 even 2
J Madden 0 0 even 1 J Hlavac 0 0 even 2
N Bergfors 0 0 -1 3 B Richards 0 0 even 4
B Gionta 1 0 -1 3 V Prospal 1 1 +3 3
D Zubrus 0 0 -3 1 M Darche 0 0 even 1
S Brylin 0 0 -1 1 M St. Louis 0 3 +3 0
T Zajac 0 1 -1 3 C MacDonald 0 0 even 0
V Vishnevski 0 0 -1 0 M Smaby 0 0 even 0
J Pandolfo 0 0 even 0 A Roy 0 0 even 1
A Asham 0 0 even 2 B Lukowich 0 0 even 0
D Clarkson 0 0 even 2 M Lundin 0 0 +1 1
P Elias 0 0 -3 3 V Lecavalier 2 0 +3 3
M Mottau 0 0 -1 0 P Ranger 0 1 +3 0
K Rachunek 0 0 -1 0 S O'Brien 0 0 even 0
J Oduya 0 0 -1 0 M Ouellet 0 0 even 1
A Greene 0 0 even 2 F Kuba 0 1 +2 0
P Martin 0 0 -1 1 N Tarnasky 0 0 even 3
Z Parise 0 1 -1 3 C Gratton 0 0 even 3</div>

 

NHL: NEW JERSEY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NHL
NEW JERSEY 1
TAMPA BAY 3</div>

 

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Vincent Lecavalier picked up rightwhere he left off last season.


Lecavalier scored the tying and winning goals and Martin St.Louis had three assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning spoiled BrentSutter's coaching debut by downing the New Jersey Devils, 3-1,on Thursday in the season opener for both teams.


Lecavalier scored the winner with 3:52 remaining in the thirdperiod, when St. Louis slid a pass to across the goalmouth tothe center, setting him up to beat an out-of-position MartinBrodeur and give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead.


"We played better in the second half," Tampa Bay coach JohnTortorella said. "We fought it for a while there. I think wewere a little jumpy, and you have to give credit to Jersey, theyjust looked quicker than us."


Vaclav Prospal tacked on an empty-net goal with 59 secondsremaining to seal the win for the Lightning.


"Playing with Marty and Vinny (Prospal) makes things easy,"Lecavalier said. "Overall, we played together as a team. Itwas the first game for a lot of young guys, and they playedunbelievable."


With New Jersey leading 1-0, Lecavalier evened the game nearlyhalfway through the second period, wristing a shot from theright faceoff circle that beat Brodeur to the stick side.

It was quite a nice way to start the season for Lecavalier, whoscored 52 goals in 2006-07 en route to winning the MauriceRichard Trophy, awarded to the leading goal scorer in the NHL.

"He's a good hockey player," New Jersey's John Madden said."You don't get 52 goals for no reason. You combine all histalent with his hard work and he's going to get his chances."

Lecavalier has enjoyed great success against Brodeur, scoringfive times against the three-time Vezina Trophy-winninggoaltender in their six-game Eastern Conference quarterfinalseries last season. New Jersey won the series, however.

"Lecavalier is the best player in the league," Brodeur said.

The Devils opened the scoring 9:05 into the first period.

Zach Parise struggled to control the puck before falling to hisknees and backhanding a shot on goal. Brian Gionta deflected itpast netminder Johan Holmqvist to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead.

That was all the Devils could muster against Holmqvist, whostopped 26 shots in the victory.


"It was a big game and it felt good," Holmqvist said. "I thinkwe played a solid game and did a solid job defensively,especially on the power play."


Holmqvist also was pleased with the support supplied byLecavalier.


"Vinny was huge," he said. "He scored to tie the game in thesecond. It was fun to see, it was a beautiful goal. Thatsecond goal, it was nice."


Brodeur, who set a single-season record with 48 wins lastseason, finished with 22 saves.


"I felt good," Brodeur said. "The first game of the season, Iwould have liked to get off to a better start with a win. Buton a personal level, I felt good, and that's key."

New Jersey fell to 18-8-7 in season openers, while Tampa Bayimproved to 8-4-2.


Thursday's contest was the first of New Jersey's nine-game roadtrip to start the season. The Devils will open the newPrudential Center in Newark on October 27 against the EasternConference champion Ottawa Senators, the same team that endedNew Jersey's tenure at Continental Airlines Arena in EastRutherford in the conference semifinals.


"We played pretty well the last 17 minutes of the first andplayed a really good second period," Sutter said. "We had a lotof chances and (Holmqvist) made some big saves and we didn'tbear down enough around the net."

 

NHL: NEW JERSEY at TAMPA BAY

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

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, New Jersey, Brian Gionta 1 (power play)
(Zach Parise, Travis Zajac), 9:06. Penalties: P Martin, Njd
(hooking), 1:35; C Gratton, Tam (roughing), 5:55; P Ranger, Tam
(interference), 8:19; C Gratton, Tam (interference), 19:11.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Tampa Bay, Vincent Lecavalier 1 (Martin St.
Louis, Filip Kuba), 9:35. Penalties: V Prospal, Tam (high sticking),
13:08; J Pandolfo, Njd (slashing), 18:24.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Tampa Bay, Vincent Lecavalier 2 (Vaclav
Prospal, Martin St. Louis), 15:08. 4, Tampa Bay, Vaclav Prospal 1
(empty net) (Martin St. Louis, Paul Ranger), 19:02. Penalties: V
Prospal, Tam (holding), 4:50; D Clarkson, Njd (roughing), 19:33; C
Gratton, Tam (major fighting), 19:33; D Clarkson, Njd (major
fighting), 19:33; D Clarkson, Njd (hooking), 19:33.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
New Jersey 7 13 7 --27
Tampa Bay 9 6 9 --24
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: New Jersey - 1 of 5, Tampa Bay - 0 of 2.
Goalies : New Jersey, Martin Brodeur (23 shots, 21 saves; record:
0-1-0). Tampa Bay, Johan Holmqvist (27 shots, 26 saves; record:
1-0-0). A: 19,454. Referees: Brad Watson, Wes Mccauley. Linesmen:
Michel Cormier, Steve Miller.</div>

 

NHL: NEW JERSEY at TAMPA BAY

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

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, New Jersey, Brian Gionta 1 (power play)
(Zach Parise, Travis Zajac), 9:06. Penalties: P Martin, Njd
(hooking), 1:35; C Gratton, Tam (roughing), 5:55; P Ranger, Tam
(interference), 8:19; C Gratton, Tam (interference), 19:11.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Tampa Bay, Vincent Lecavalier 1 (Martin St.
Louis, Filip Kuba), 9:35. Penalties: V Prospal, Tam (high sticking),
13:08; J Pandolfo, Njd (slashing), 18:24.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Tampa Bay, Vincent Lecavalier 2 (Vaclav
Prospal, Martin St. Louis), 15:08. 4, Tampa Bay, Vaclav Prospal 1
(empty net) (Martin St. Louis, Paul Ranger), 19:02. Penalties: V
Prospal, Tam (holding), 4:50; D Clarkson, Njd (roughing), 19:33; C
Gratton, Tam (major fighting), 19:33; D Clarkson, Njd (major
fighting), 19:33; D Clarkson, Njd (hooking), 19:33.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
NEW JERSEY 7 13 7 --27
TAMPA BAY 9 6 9 --24
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: NJD - 1 of 5, TAM - 0 of 2. Goalies : New
Jersey, Martin Brodeur (23 shots, 21 saves; record: 0-1-0). Tampa Bay,
Johan Holmqvist (27 shots, 26 saves; record: 1-0-0). A: 19,454.
Referees: Brad Watson, Wes Mccauley. Linesmen: Michel Cormier, Steve
Miller.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

NEW JERSEY TAMPA BAY
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
R Pelley 0 0 even 2 J Ward 0 0 even 2
J Madden 0 0 even 1 J Hlavac 0 0 even 2
N Bergfors 0 0 -1 3 B Richards 0 0 even 4
B Gionta 1 0 -1 3 V Prospal 1 1 +3 3
D Zubrus 0 0 -3 1 M Darche 0 0 even 1
S Brylin 0 0 -1 1 M St. Louis 0 3 +3 0
T Zajac 0 1 -1 3 C MacDonald 0 0 even 0
V Vishnevski 0 0 -1 0 M Smaby 0 0 even 0
J Pandolfo 0 0 even 0 A Roy 0 0 even 1
A Asham 0 0 even 2 B Lukowich 0 0 even 0
D Clarkson 0 0 even 2 M Lundin 0 0 +1 1
P Elias 0 0 -3 3 V Lecavalier 2 0 +3 3
M Mottau 0 0 -1 0 P Ranger 0 1 +3 0
K Rachunek 0 0 -1 0 S O'Brien 0 0 even 0
J Oduya 0 0 -1 0 M Ouellet 0 0 even 1
A Greene 0 0 even 2 F Kuba 0 1 +2 0
P Martin 0 0 -1 1 N Tarnasky 0 0 even 3
Z Parise 0 1 -1 3 C Gratton 0 0 even 3</div>

 

NHL: NEW JERSEY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">NHL NEW JERSEY AT TAMPA BAY
NOTE: RESENDING TO CORRECT PENALTY MINUTES OF CLARKSON</div>