Devils Beat Red Wings in Shootout

Starting the game with a 27-39 record and 4th in the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils beat the Detroit Red Wings who are 9th in the Western Conference with a 29-33 record. The win was made possible by a decisive shootout and a goal from Devils Center Patrik Elias from Czechoslovakia. Elias missed the first 13 games of the season because he had off-season surgeries on his groin and hip. According to Martin Brodeur, the Devils’ goaltender, Elias has been playing really well.  He had a couple of big games and also missed a few opportunities, but he really wanted this one and made a pretty good move on Osgood. New Jersey having a good season This victory proved just how the Devils can be scary at this game of hockey. This was their 8th win in the last nine games at home and 2nd straight overall. This is also the Red Wings’ first loss to the Devils since January 28, 2003. Chris Osgood, Detroit’s goaltender, said that the Devils were very good defensively, and that they played hard but they just came out tough. Devils blowing out a two-goal lead The Devils definitely started this game strong with a 2-0 lead. The first goal came from the Devils’ right wing Jamie Langenbrunner who made the goal with 4:31 left in the first period. Two minutes later, another goal came from their defense in Johnny Oduya who scored his first goal and point in 12 games this season. All was good until Detroit’s center, Kris Draper, beat Brodeur to the goal and cut it to 2-1. It went well again after Rob Niedermayer, the Devil’s other center, gave New Jersey a 2-goal cushion again. However, this cushion was diminished when Tomas Holmstrom tipped in a shot with 29.1 seconds left in the second period and almost scored again, but Brodeur dove in to save it for the period. The game got all tied up when Patrick Eaves tipped in Justin Abdelkader’s shot, tying it at 3-3. In the shootout, Pavel Datsyuk of Detroit and Zach Parise of New Jersey both made their shots but the next two shooters from each team neither made a goal. Ville Leino of the Red Wings started the 4th round and he was stopped by Brodeur. Then came the decisive shot of Patrik Elias who beat Osgood who also went for a poke check. A special game for the Devils This was not just another game for the Devils as they honored their 1995 team that made history in Detroit to claim the Devils’ Stanley Cup Championship in franchise history. Ken Daneyko, Bruce Driver, Mike Peluso, Jim Dowd, Valeri Zelepukin, and Chris McAlpine were in attendance as they were a part of the 1995 team. They were welcomed with a red carpet over the ice as part of the pregame program. Also on the 1995 championship team are still active rosters’ Martin Brodeur and Brian Rolston.