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Zubrus nets first two goals as Devils stomp Flyers

Nov 9, 2007 - 3:40 AM By Joe Rizzo PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- It took him until his 15th game, but once Dainius Zubrus finally got going, he made all the difference for the New Jersey Devils.

Zubrus scored his first two goals of the season to cap a three-goal first period and propel the Devils to a 4-1 victory over the rival Philadelphia Flyers, who completed their eight-game road trip.

Their top acquisition in an offseason that saw mainstays Scott Gomez and defenseman Brian Rafalski leave via free agency, Zubrus mustered just six assists in the first 14 games of the season as the offensively challenged Devils were shut out four times - two more than all of last season.

Playing the right wing alongside John Madden and Jay Pandolfo, Zubrus gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at 14:46 of the opening session. Zubrus swept the puck into the net from the glove side of goaltender Martin Biron, who stopped Pandolfo's shot but could not control the rebound while sitting in the crease.

"The first goal was (being in) the right place at the right time," said Zubrus, a former Flyer. "It's nice to get on the board and put it behind me. It's nice to get it behind me because people were asking a lot of questions about it."

Just 18 seconds earlier, Brian Gionta tied the game for New Jersey when he swatted a puck from the bottom inner edge of the right faceoff circle past a screened Biron. R.J. Umberger had blocked a right point shot by defenseman Karel Rachunek, but the puck popped into the air and settled into a perfect position for Gionta to net his fourth goal of the season.

With 29.4 seconds left in the period, Zubrus' wrist shot from the inner edge of the left circle first hit the webbing of Biron's catching glove, then popped into the air, fell behind the netminder and found its way over the goal line to make it 3-1.

"Offense starts in our own end, and when we get turnovers, we can attack," Zubrus said. "I don't think we're taking too many chances or playing it too safe."

"We were all embarrassed about what happened against Pittsburgh," Madden said of the Devils' 5-0 home loss on Monday. "We came to play tonight, and that was the difference. We made quicker decisions and made less turnovers. We've got to figure out a way to keep it going."

Zubrus' left eyelid was swollen after he took a stick to the face from Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen less than nine minutes into the game. There was no penalty called on the play, although it occurred approximately 1 1/2 minutes after Philadelphia's Riley Cote was given a high-sticking double-minor for cutting New Jersey's Patrik Elias.

"The refs thought the puck hit me in the face and that's how I got hurt," Zubrus said.

The Flyers started the scoring on a power play at 12:20 of the first, when Mike Knuble used his left toe to redirect Mike Richards' shot from the right point into the open left side of the net and past a helpless Martin Brodeur.

Despite winning their first seven games when scoring first, the Flyers looked like they ran out of gas, finishing the long swing away from home by playing within the Atlantic Division for the second straight night and third time in four days. They completed the trip with a 3-5-0 mark and return home Saturday to host Pittsburgh.

"These guys are sitting at home for two days and we were playing the night before, leaving everything on the ice," Philadelphia's Daniel Briere said. "I have been in the league a long time and haven't seen many teams in our position win those games. It's going to be nice to be home."

This was the Flyers' first game in the Devils' new home, the Prudential Center, but the result was not much different from other recent trips to New Jersey. It was their ninth straight road loss to the Devils, whom they have not beaten in New Jersey since March 9, 2004.

Rod Pelley pushed New Jersey's lead to 4-1 at 2:48 of the second period with his first career goal. Pelley skated just below the faceoff circle on the right side before sending a backhand shot along the ice that somehow went between Biron's pads.

Biron, starting back-to-back nights for the first time this season, was lifted in favor of Antero Niittymaki after allowing four goals on just 15 shots. Niittymaki faced 15 more shots in the second period and nine in the third but turned away all of them.

"It was tough to get going right into the game," Briere said. "We had that power play to get on the board, but the energy was low. We were never able to get it going in the right direction."

The Flyers played without left wing Simon Gagne and right wing Sami Kapanen. Gagne suffered a recurrence of the dizziness and fogginess that caused him to miss four games on the road trip after sustaining a hit late in Wednesday's game in Pittsburgh. Kapanen is day-to-day with a mild knee sprain.