Devils Score Two Goals in Third Period, Even Series With Flyers With 5-3 Win

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Apr 16, 2010

Devils Score Two Goals in Third Period, Even Series With Flyers With 5-3 Win NEWARK, N.J. — Dainius Zubrus
scored on a rebound with 4:04 to play and the New Jersey Devils beat the
Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 on Friday night to even the first-round Eastern
Conference playoff series at a game apiece.

Zach Parise, Colin White, Andy Greene
and Ilya Kovalchuk also scored and Martin Brodeur stopped 26 shots to
help New Jersey avoid the death sentence of losing the first two games
at home in the best-of-seven series.

Aaron Asham, Claude Giroux and Chris
Pronger
scored for the Flyers, headed home for Games 3 and 4 on Sunday
and Tuesday.

Brian Boucher had no chance on Zubrus'
goal. Zubrus powered his way around the net and sent a shot on goal
that the goalie stopped. Parise and Zubrus both swung at the rebound and
the puck went into the net.

Kovalchuk added an empty-net goal.

Patrik Elias added three assists as
New Jersey beat Philadelphia for only the second time in eight games
this season.

Brodeur kept the score tied until
Zubrus' goal. Brodeur stopped a break-in by Daniel Carciollo with 8:30
to play and seconds later stopped a 10-foot shot by Ian Laperriere off a
great setup by Mike Richards.

Kovalchuk, who has been pressing for
goals, had a great opportunity to put New Jersey ahead with 5:30 to go.
He broke into the zone on a 2-on-1 and missed the net with his shot.

This game was a little more feistier
than the series opener and there were a lot more goals.

The Devils jumped in front 1-0 and
the lead changed hands twice before Pronger scored his second power-play
goal of the series to tie the game at 3-all.

The Pronger's goal came with the
Flyers skating 4-on-3 and the big defenseman parked himself right in
front of Brodeur and easily tipped a shot by Kimmo Timonen between the
goaltender's pads.

Trailing 2-1 entering the second
period, the Devils took a 3-2 lead on a pair of goals by their
defensemen.

White tied it at 2 early in the
period with a shot from the top of the left circle that Boucher probably
should have stopped. It got between his arm and body, hit off the post
and went into the net for his second career playoff goal in 108 games.

Greene put New Jersey ahead 3-2 at
13:25 by coming down from the point to redirecting an Elias pass with
New Jersey on its only power play of the period.

The Flyers had the extra skater four
times in the middle period and Pronger converted when Greene was called
for interference near the Devils bench when the puck was deep in the
Philadelphia zone.

The Devils actually took advantage of
the Flyers' power play early in the game. Flyers defenseman Matt Carle
lost the puck in the offensive zone and Elias sprang Parise for a
breakaway goal on a backhander at 2:45.

Asham tied it 7 minutes later by
slamming home a cross-ice pass from Giroux. Rookie James van Riemsdyk
picked Paul Martin near the edge of the net to free up Giroux and Asham
found himself alone when Martin Skoula came across to help Martin.

Giroux put the Flyers ahead 3-2 with
4:30 left in the opening period, tipping a shot by Carle past Brodeur.

Notes
Devils rookie D Matthew
Corrente
made his NHL playoff debut in Game 2, playing right wing. Rod
Pelley
sat. … Veteran LW Jay Pandolfo was scratched for the second
straight game. … The Flyers made one lineup change, playing D Ryan
Parent
and sitting D Lukas Krajicek. … The game was a sellout with
17,625 attending.

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