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Dubielewicz pokechecks Islanders into postseason

Apr 8, 2007 - 11:30 PM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- It was a little more dramatic than they planned, but the New York Islanders are getting ready to shuffle off to Buffalo.

Wade Dubielewicz cemented his status as a folk hero by coming up with two saves in a shootout as the Islanders secured the final Eastern Conference playoff berth with a 3-2 victory over the Atlantic Division champion New Jersey Devils.

After Toronto edged Montreal on Saturday night, the Islanders (40-30-12) needed a win in their regular-season finale to clinch their first playoff spot since 2004. They literally were a second away when John Madden scored his second goal of the game to force overtime.

After a scoreless extra session, Miroslav Satan and former Devil Viktor Kozlov beat goaltender Scott Clemmensen in the shootout. Dubielewicz, subbing again for the injured Rick DiPietro, was beaten by Zach Parise but stopped Brian Gionta and Sergei Brylin with consecutive pokechecks.

"When Parise burned me so bad, I thought Brylin might try the same thing," Dubielewicz said. "I just threw my stick out and got a piece of the puck. The puck rolled and that was it."

After denying Brylin to secure the win, Dubielewicz was mobbed by teammates as first-year coach Ted Nolan celebrated on the bench with his assistants.

"I'm pretty ecstatic," Dubielewicz said. "I can't explain it. It's pure happiness."

"The kid says it himself, he has nothing to lose," added Islanders center Mike Sillinger, a 14-year veteran. "He's a career minor leaguer who's making the most of his opportunity. He's given us a chance to win every game."

Nolan will head back to Buffalo - where he coached from 1995-97 - for a conference quarterfinal matchup with the Sabres (53-22-7), who won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top team in the regular season.

"I was very lucky and very fortunate to get a start in this league and get to know the people in Buffalo," Nolan said. "There's a lot of places you get to go in life, but I really enjoyed it (there). Buffalo's had a special place in my heart, but now we have to try and beat their hockey team."

For a while, it appeared Richard Park would be the hero for the Islanders, who closed the season with a four-game winning streak. One of only two players in the team's lineup with a Stanley Cup ring, Park recorded his first two-goal game since January 21, 2004.

This performance came one day after the South Korean notched the game-winner in Philadelphia to keep alive New York's playoff hopes.

"The reason we've had success all year is because everyone has contributed," Sillinger said. "Park, (Andy) Hilbert, the list goes on. Everyone did their part all year. You never know who's going to score the big goal for us."

But Madden scored twice in the final 4:13 of the third period to bring the crowd to life in the last regular-season game ever at Continental Airlines Arena. The equalizer came with nine-tenths of a second left as Madden lifted a backhander over Dubielewicz after his deflection hit the sprawled goalie.

"You want to stab yourself," Dubielewicz said. "You're so close to something so special. For it to be taken away so quickly is tough to swallow."

"I couldn't believe it, and I was on the ice," Sillinger added. "We had full control of the puck. The next thing you know ... I couldn't believe it."

With the division title already wrapped up - as well as a first-round playoff matchup with Tampa Bay - the Devils (49-24-9) rested Martin Brodeur, who had started 50 of the previous 51 games and made a career-high 78 appearances this season.

Three days after making NHL history with his record-breaking 48th win of the season, Brodeur was not thrilled with the prospect of a playoff berth being determined by a shootout.

"I don't agree with that," he said. "I was smiling like crazy, it was great. But it's just a tough situation for a skills competition to decide millions of dollars; in Toronto, probably a lot more. That's the bottom line. It's a good thing they (haven't) put it into the playoffs yet. I'm sure they'll consider it eventually."

Playing their final regular-season game before moving to the new Prudential Center in Newark next fall provided no emotional boost for the Devils, who managed only three shots in the first period.

Park opened the scoring at 11:53 of the first, when he flicked a shot over Clemmensen's right pad during a goalmouth scramble. He struck again just under eight minutes into the third with a wrist shot from the top of the slot that sailed over Clemmensen's right shoulder.

Madden started New Jersey's comeback with 4:13 to go in regulation, when he tipped Jay Pandolfo's wrister from the top of the left faceoff circle under Dubielewicz's glove.

"That's not my job (to score)," Madden said. "If I get a goal here and there to help out the team in a situation, that's great. I just do my job and hope things work out."

"Both of our goals were two good shots," Sillinger said. "Their goals were two redirections. That's just the way the Devils are."