• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Parise scores twice as Devils top Lightning

Apr 13, 2007 - 4:47 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Devils could not shut down the big guns of the Tampa Bay Lightning. But the Lightning could not stop Zach Parise.

Parise scored his second goal of the game 3:54 into the third period as the Devils pulled away for a 5-3 victory over Tampa Bay in the opener of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Scott Gomez collected three assists and Jamie Langenbrunner set up a pair of goals for New Jersey, which hosts Game Two on Saturday.

Just 63 seconds after Maurice Richard Trophy winner Vincent Lecavalier lifted the Lightning into a 3-3 tie with his second goal of the night, Parise put New Jersey in front for good.

Off a turnover along the right boards, Parise worked a give-and-go with Langenbrunner. The second-year center got a return feed and snapped a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle under the left arm of goaltender Johan Holmqvist.

"Jamie made a great play," Devils coach Lou Lamoriello said. "Then, when he came out, he made a great soft pass. And Zach, who is a very skilled player, came from the off side and picked the corner. He's done that all year long for us."

"We've been playing tight games all year and we've done really well when we've had that pressure," added Parise, who led New Jersey with 31 goals during the regular season. "There wasn't any panic at all. That shows the experience we have on the bench."

The game-winner came on the 19th shot against Holmqvist, who was making his NHL playoff debut.

"I was working hard to get myself in position tonight. Maybe I was a little bit tight," he said. "It was one of those nights. I didn't play that well, but you just try to forget about it."

Lightning coach John Tortorella refused to criticize his 28-year-old goalie.

"He played OK," Tortorella said. "It was his first game. He'll be better the next game. All I'm looking for is for him to give a solid effort out there, and I think our team will be OK."

Brian Gionta added an insurance tally with 82 seconds remaining for second-seeded New Jersey, which has won the last nine playoff series in which it has taken the first game.

"That's it, we've got one behind us. Let it go," said Devils captain Patrik Elias, who picked up a power-play goal and an assist. "It wasn't an easy game, but we're happy with the win."

Martin St. Louis, who combined with Lecavalier for 95 goals during the regular season, had the other tally for the Lightning, who have lost five of six playoff games since capturing the Stanley Cup in 2004.

"It's a game of mistakes, you just have to minimize them," St. Louis said. "They're a team that thrives on turnovers and we thrive on turnovers. The whole NHL thrives on turnovers. But we did tons of good things tonight, we battled."

Tampa Bay never led but erased a two-goal deficit on a pair of goals by Lecavalier, who topped the NHL with 52 during the regular season. With 8:14 to go in the second period, he took advantage of a turnover by Devils defenseman Colin White and chipped the puck over Martin Brodeur on a wraparound at the right goalpost.

Lecavalier struck again at 2:51 of the third. After getting a cross-ice pass from Vaclav Prospal, he one-timed a shot from the top of the right circle that beat Brodeur high to the glove side.

But another turnover just over a minute later cost the Lightning the opener.

"It's a tough one," Tortorella said. "You come back from behind all night long. ... We just kept on battling, especially in the third period, when we came back. I still thought we did some good things, created some scoring chances. We just have to get that next one."

Gionta's ninth career playoff goal came off another giveaway. With Tampa Bay pressing for the equalizer, Holmqvist made a save and tried to start a counterattack. But his clearing attempt was picked off and Gionta finished off a three-way passing play with Gomez and Elias.

"It was a little bit of a misunderstanding there," Holmqvist explained. "I was just trying to get it to Range (defenseman Paul Ranger). I should have just held onto it."

Defenseman Brian Rafalski chipped in a power-play goal and an assist for the Devils, who lost three of their four regular-season meetings with the Lightning.