• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Devils end road slide with shootout win over Flyers

Dec 3, 2006 - 3:43 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Todd Fedoruk provided an early spark for the Philadelphia Flyers. Zach Parise was the ignitor that helped the New Jersey Devils end their road skid.

Parise scored his team's first goal and netted the deciding tally in the shootout as the Devils overcame a pair of deficits to post a 4-3 win over the Flyers, ending a four-game slide away from home.

Re-acquired from Anaheim on November 13 and activated from injured reserve earlier in the day, Fedoruk was a force with more than just his fists in the first period. The enforcer opened the scoring just 97 seconds into the game and set up defenseman Randy Jones' tally with just under three minutes left in the session, giving the Flyers a 2-0 lead.

"I think Todd and I were the lucky ones to put the puck in the back of the net," Jones said.

However, Parise answered just 49 seconds later and captain Patrik Elias netted the lone goal of the middle period to forge a 2-2 tie. After Mike Knuble extended his goal-scoring streak to four games 24 seconds into the third, defenseman Brad Lukowich scored a shorthander with less than three minutes to go, forcing overtime.

Following a scoreless extra session, two-time Vezina Trophy winner Martin Brodeur made a spectacular save on Simon Gagne on Philadelphia's first shootout attempt. Parise made the stop even bigger when he faked a forehand shot and lifted a backhander past goaltender Antero Niittymaki's glove to give New Jersey the lead.

"I was coming in and looking to see if (Niittymaki) was far out or deep in the net," Parise said. "It seemed like he was pretty far out and there wasn't much to shoot at. I just tried to freeze him and then get him moving. I just put it over his shoulder."

Brodeur made an easy save on Petr Nedved before Brian Gionta sealed the victory with a another backhander.

Scott Gomez recorded his 299th career assist and Brodeur made 22 saves for the Devils, who improved to 5-8-1 on the road.

"I think it was important for us to get a road win," Parise said. "It just seemed like we weren't getting it done. I don't know what we were doing differently, but it is important for us and our confidence to get a win on the road."

"It was a tough win and we had to dig deep for that," New Jersey coach Claude Julien said. "I don't think it was one of our best games, but when the effort is there, you find ways to win. ... I think the main thing is that we got two points, and that is very important to our hockey club."

Jones also set up a tally for Philadelphia, which is winless in its last five meetings with New Jersey.

"We came out strong and played a solid game, but mistakes have been killing us all year and the standings are showing it," Jones said. "We need to find a way to turn things around and figure out a way to stop making those mistakes."

Playing in his first game since October 27 with the Ducks, Fedoruk drove down the slot before redirecting a perfect pass from Boyd Kane past Brodeur for his first goal since March 31. The 27-year-old tough guy had been sidelined with facial injuries.

"That was a big ice-breaker," Fedoruk said. "It's few and far between for a guy like me to put pucks in the net. It's a really nice feeling. It was a textbook start for what I wanted to have happen here."

Later in the period, Fedoruk fed Jones for a wrist shot from the slot that found the top right corner of the net with 2:52 to go.

Parise began New Jersey's comeback when his attempted pass from behind the net caromed off defenseman Joni Pitkanen and past Niittymaki at 17:57. Elias evened the contest with seven minutes remaining in the second, when his wrist shot from the high slot glanced off Niittymaki's glove and trickled across the goal line.

"There were a couple of lucky goals on their part," Fedoruk said. "Niitty played well, but just some bounces went their way and went through. It's frustrating."

Knuble grabbed a loose puck in the slot and fired it by Brodeur to give Philadelphia a 3-2 edge, but Lukowich beat a screened Niittymaki with a wrister from the high slot with 2:12 to go.

"I saw that (defenseman Johnny Oduya) had his feet going and Pando (Jay Pandolfo) was going hard to the net," Lukowich said. "I noticed their guys had not started to back-check, so I took off and closed my eyes and shot."