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Devils snap losing streak with shootout win

Mar 25, 2007 - 5:04 AM SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Devils are trying to regain their winning form in time for the playoffs.

Jim Dowd recorded his first career two-goal game and rookie Travis Zajac netted the decisive tally in the shootout as the Devils snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers.

Rookie David Clarkson also scored for New Jersey (44-23-8), which maintained its two-point lead over second-place Pittsburgh (42-23-10) in the Atlantic Division.

A New Jersey native who was selected by the Devils in the eighth round of the 1987 draft, Dowd entered with 63 goals in 647 career games but never had registered a multi-goal performance. The 38-year-old forged a 2-2 tie late in the second period by grabbing the rebound of Zach Parise's shot and firing a wrister that beat goaltender Ed Belfour to the stick side.

"It's great. It felt real good, obviously," Dowd said. "It's been a while (since I scored) and it felt great. I think it might have been my first (two-goal game), to tell you the truth. It's a great feeling, and then to win the game, I mean it's great, you know?"

"What can you say about Jimmy Dowd? It's his time of year," Devils center Scott Gomez joked. "That's what he's been telling us all year. The reaction everyone had, you couldn't feel happier for the guy. We definitely needed this (win)."

After Ville Peltonen put Florida back in front 2 1/2 minutes into the third with a slap shot that sailed over the right shoulder of netminder Martin Brodeur, Dowd again drew the Devils even with 9:48 remaining with his third tally of the campaign.

"I'm happy I assisted on one of his goals, also, and it was a nice one," said Brodeur, who was credited with the second assist on Dowd's second tally. "I stopped it clean behind the net. I think it's great for Jimmy. Jimmy's been great for the hockey club and for team chemistry, being positive. So for him to chip in a little bit, it's great.

"It's nice for him. It's nice for us to see. You can tell when guys appreciate a guy when he scores and everybody laughs and everybody has a big smile. Everybody is like, 'Wow, all right Jimmy! Good job!'"

Following a scoreless overtime, Peltonen and Parise each scored in the first round of the shootout. After Nathan Horton failed to convert Florida's second chance, Zajac ripped a wrister past Belfour to give New Jersey the edge.

Brodeur sealed the victory by stopping Panthers captain Olli Jokinen's weak backhander with his left pad.

"We definitely are happy to pull this one off like that," Brodeur said. "In the (last) three games, the effort is there, but the bounces weren't there. Today, we were rewarded by playing hard, going to the net, taking hits. Guys stepped up and did well."

Defenseman Brian Rafalski recorded two assists for the Devils, who won three of the four meetings with the Panthers this season.

"We all kept saying the same thing," New Jersey coach Claude Julien said. "'Let's get the next one, the next goal and we're right back in it.' That's what we needed to have, a positive atmosphere around the dressing room and the bench. We had it all night.

"We talked about battling through these tough times because that's part of the things that happen during a season. We've got character on this team and we've just got to fight through."

Jokinen extended his goal-scoring streak to four games with his 36th for Florida (31-30-14), which is eight points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining.

"I don't think anyone will say different, we had two leads, and one two-goal lead, so at this level, those should be pretty much automatic (wins)," Panthers center Stephen Weiss said. "Especially with the position we're in, it's a tough way to lose."