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Brylin's shootout goal gives Devils comeback win over Flyers

Sep 29, 2006 - 2:55 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Sergei Brylin is fighting hard to retain his roster spot with the New Jersey Devils. He just may have delivered the knockout punch.

Rumored to be on the bubble due to New Jersey's salary restrictions, Brylin scored the decisive goal in the shootout, giving the Devils a 5-4 preseason triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers.

A member of all three of New Jersey's Stanley Cup championship teams, Brylin is set to make $1.52 million this season. The Russian is one of the players the Devils are rumored to be thinking about trading to create some room under the $44 million salary cap in order to sign restricted free agents Brian Gionta, Paul Martin and David Hale.

But Brylin, who was a second-round pick in 1992, made a case to stay Thursday, putting a backhander under the crossbar in the second round for the only goal of the shootout. Philadelphia built a 4-1 lead in the second period before New Jersey stormed back to forge a tie.

Mike Rupp, who scored the Cup-winning goal in 2003 and also is fighting for a spot on the team, capped the Devils' comeback when he pushed his own rebound past goaltender Robert Esche with 9:50 remaining in the third.

Jamie Langenbrunner started the Devils' comeback with 84 seconds left in the second period, scoring his second goal of the game. Langenbrunner had erased a 1-0 deficit earlier in the session.

Scott Gomez tallied on the power play 40 seconds into the third to draw New Jersey within a goal. Simon Gagne and Peter Forsberg were in midseason form, combining for two goals and three assists for the Flyers.

Forsberg set up Mike Knuble's goal during a two-man advantage that gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead at 6:25 of the second.

Forsberg fed Gagne for a tally just over seven minutes later, and the pair hooked up again to make it 4-1 with 4:01 remaining in the period.

The Flyers opened the scoring just over 11 minutes into the game, when Geoff Sanderson put a one-timer from the slot past the stick side of netminder Martin Brodeur off a feed from Randy Robitaille.

Riley Cote of Philadelphia and New Jersey's Cam Janssen got into a fight in the first period in the battle of the top two teams in the Atlantic Division last season. The players were given plenty of room to square off by their teammates and the officials.