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Devils bounce back with win over Panthers

Feb 28, 2011 - 6:12 AM Sunrise, FL (Sports Network) - Martin Brodeur stopped 25-of-26 shots as New Jersey slipped past Florida, 2-1, at BankAtlantic Center.

David Clarkson and Brian Rolston scored for the Devils, who have won nine of their last 10 in red-hot pursuit of a playoff berth.

Brodeur won his fourth straight start for New Jersey, which moved within nine points of idle Carolina for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

"I think as the game went on we were better," Devils forward Patrick Elias said. "The last five or 10 ten minutes of the game we were sitting back too much."

Marty Reasoner provided the sole offense for the Panthers, who have lost five of seven. Tomas Vokoun made 24 stops in defeat.

Reasoner's short-side score with 4:29 left in regulation got the Panthers within 2-1, and Florida showed rare flashes of pressure for the next several shifts.

Vokoun was called to the bench for an extra skater with less than two minutes to play, but the Panthers failed to net an equalizer.

The Devils got on the board at 5:46 of the second period when Vokoun let Rod Pelley's shot drop from his glove only to have Clarkson beat him on the rebound.

New Jersey grabbed a 2-0 lead just three seconds into a power play, as Dainius Zubrus won a draw back to Rolston for a successful point blast at 9:11.

"To beat a team like New Jersey you've got to get the lead," Panthers coach Pete DeBoer said.

Game Notes

New Jersey's last win at Florida came on October 10, 2009...The clubs split the four-game season series, with each team winning once at home and once on the road. Both of Florida's wins came in overtime...Panthers forward Dmitry Kulikov returned from a seven-game absence from a lower-body injury...Clarkson hadn't tallied since January 15.