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Langenbrunner helps Devils top Lightning

Nov 6, 2008 - 4:41 AM NEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- After a delay-of-game penalty late in the third period cost them a regulation win, the New Jersey Devils turned to their captain for two points.

Jamie Langenbrunner scored the decisive goal in the shootout as the Devils skated to a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.

David Clarkson, Patrik Elias and Jay Pandolfo tallied in regulation and Dainius Zubrus notched a pair of assists for New Jersey, which won for just the second time in six games.

"We played hard again," Devils coach Brent Sutter said. "We competed, we did a lot of good things defensively. We scored the goals we needed to."

Jussi Jokinen netted two goals and Martin St. Louis also scored for the Lightning, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

"Our defense, I think, is getting better all the time," Tampa Bay coach Barry Melrose said. "I thought we made some great plays under pressure tonight against a really good, deep forechecking team. That's what we build on."

After Pandolfo gave the Devils a 3-2 lead with 4:50 remaining in the third, defenseman Sheldon Brookbank fired the puck over the glass 18 seconds later, giving the Lightning a late power play. They cashed in with 3:20 to go in the period, when St. Louis beat goaltender Kevin Weekes with a wrist shot to forge a tie.

"It's a tough penalty to take," Sutter said.

Neither team was able to break the deadlock in the overtime, and Tampa Bay captain Vincent Lecavalier scored in the first round of the shootout to put his team ahead. Zach Parise lifted a backhander that rang off the crossbar on New Jersey's first attempt, but the club's next two shooters hit the mark.

Weekes denied Jokinen on the Lightning's second opportunity before Elias brilliantly deked Mike Smith before sliding in a backhander in the second round.

"I have to do a better job in shootouts," said Jokinen, who was 10-for-13 in the bonus format for Dallas in 2005-06. "I think I made a pretty good move. He got back pretty good. It was pretty close, but he made a good save."

After Vaclav Prospal was stopped by Weekes, Langenbrunner also made a nifty move on Smith and slipped the puck inside the right goalpost, clinching the win.

"I saw Patty's move," Langenbrunner said. "He kind of set him up with that, and I just kind of did the same thing."

"It's a great way to win and a tough way to lose," Weekes said of the shootout. "It's fun when you win in them and it's terrible when you lose. Our guys did a great job and we ended up winning."

Tampa Bay, which is 4-1-4 in its last nine games, opened the scoring late in the first period. With 3:32 left, Jokinen converted a backhand pass by Mark Recchi for his 50th career goal and a 1-0 lead.

Smith, who finished with 35 saves, made his best stop early in the second session, knocking away a point-blank shot by Elias from alone on the right side with his glove to keep the Devils off the board. But Clarkson broke through with 3:55 remaining in the period, beating the netminder with a wrist shot from along the right wing boards to knot the contest.

Elias put a shot from the right side off Smith's left shoulder and under the crossbar during a power play with 76 seconds to go in the session for a 2-1 edge, but Jokinen fired a one-timer from the right faceoff dot that glanced off Weekes' glove and into the net during a man advantage at 10:52 to draw Tampa Bay even.

"I gave the puck to (defenseman Andrej) Meszaros and he made a nice fake shot," Jokinen said. "He found me, and it was a good pass, and I had a pretty good shot there."

Pandolfo poked in a loose puck from the doorstep after John Madden knocked it away from Smith late in the third, giving the Devils a one-goal advantage.

"Actually, Patty did everything," Madden said, referring to a slap shot by Elias that started the play. "I just went for a rebound and was able to poke one free, and Jay Pandolfo buried the rebound. It was nice."

Weekes turned aside 24 shots in his second start since the loss of Martin Brodeur, who will undergo elbow surgery on Thursday and miss three to four months.

"Overall, it feels a little bit more comfortable as you go along," Weekes said. "I've just got to keep chipping away. It's not always going to be easy."

"As long as we keep improving around (Weekes), we'll be fine," Langenbrunner said.

Despite a total of only five minor penalties being called, the teams combined for three power-play goals - two of which were scored by Tampa Bay.

"Both teams played a pretty smart game," Parise said. "I think that helped, not being on the PK all night."

"(The lack of penalties) was good, except they scored on two of their (three) opportunities," Madden said. "So that's not such a good thing."