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Richards too much for Brodeur as Lightning top Devils

Jan 19, 2007 - 7:09 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Luckily for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Brad Richards brought his A game to New Jersey.

Richards scored twice in regulation and netted the lone goal in the shootout as the Lightning posted their seventh win in nine games, a 3-2 triumph over the New Jersey Devils.

Fresh off his league-leading eighth shutout of the season against the New York Rangers on Tuesday, Martin Brodeur turned aside all 13 shots he faced in the first period vs. Tampa Bay while being staked to a 1-0 lead. However, Richards had the All-Star goaltender's number in the middle session, tallying early and late to give the Lightning a 2-1 edge.

Defenseman Paul Martin scored his first goal of the season in the third to forge a tie and, after a scoreless overtime, neither team was able to cash in during the first round of the shootout.

But as Brodeur attempted a poke-check on Richards, the center lifted the puck into the net to give Tampa Bay the lead.

"I just try to get as much speed as I can," Richards said of his shootout approach. "I saw the poke-check coming, I just kind of shoveled it in."

Lightning netminder Johan Holmqvist did not have to make another save as Brian Gionta's backhander went wide of the left goalpost and captain Patrik Elias missed an open right side on the Devils' last chance, instead putting a backhander off the side of the net.

"I made my move, I did exactly what I wanted to," Elias said. "I had the net open and I didn't score. I thought I just had it wide open and I was going to slide it in."

"He had a pretty open net there," Holmqvist admitted.

Holmqvist stopped 26 shots prior to the shootout for Tampa Bay, which improved to 4-1 in the bonus format this season.

"I feel pretty good," Holmqvist said. "The confidence is growing more and more. I've been lucky a couple of times, too."

"Even when the clock was ticking down there (in overtime), I was almost hoping to get to a shootout," Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella said. "Even though it's Marty Brodeur in the other net, I'm looking for the shootout because I think that's how much confidence we have in Homer in those things."

Jay Pandolfo netted a goal and Brodeur also made 26 saves for the Devils, who lost for just the third time in 12 games.

"Marty was good," Devils coach Claude Julien said. "Marty's probably one of the reasons we were able to salvage a point. We were making a lot of mistakes, but Marty was making big saves and giving us an opportunity to stay in the game."

Pandolfo gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead 1:58 into the contest with his first goal in 11 games. But Richards took control in the second period to put Tampa Bay ahead.

From next to his own net, defenseman Paul Ranger completed a pass to Richards at the Devils' blue line, and the veteran got ahead of two defenders before slipping the puck between Brodeur's pads at 4:07.

"Great play (by Ranger)," Richards said. "I didn't think he was going to make it, but he can really pass the puck hard. When he's on, he's a great passer. I knew he could do it, it's just whether he saw me or not."

"It was a breakdown on our part," Julien said. "It was a bad (line) change and the D got caught. (The Lightning) make those plays quite often."

With time winding down in the session, Richards completed his second two-goal game of the season. Vincent Lecavalier got to a rebound in front but knocked the puck to the left faceoff circle, and Richards fired it into an open net for a power-play tally with four seconds left.

"Vinny actually lost the puck, but it ended up on my stick," Richards said.

Martin earned New Jersey a point with his first goal in 59 games, emerging from a crowd along the right wing boards and beating Holmqvist to the glove side with a wrist shot from the faceoff dot at 12:50.

"It was a struggle in the corner, a little battle and the puck popped out on my stick," Martin said. "I just took it to the front of the net and I think the goalie never saw the defenseman that was in the way, so it went through the screen on the short side. ... It's good to get that first goal out of the way."