Final
Parise, Langenbrunner help Devils top Islanders
Feb 12, 2009 - 4:46 AM NEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- With future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur still sidelined, All-Star Zach Parise and captain Jamie Langenbrunner have become the straws that stir the drink for the New Jersey Devils.Parise recorded two goals and two assists and Langenbrunner scored twice as the Devils skated past the New York Islanders, 4-2, on Wednesday.
Parise, who is tied for second in the NHL with 34 goals, snapped a 2-2 tie with 7:25 left in the third period and defenseman Paul Martin notched three assists in support of Kevin Weekes' 23-save performance for New Jersey, which has won two in a row and 11 of 13.
"I felt pretty good, but it was a tough game to play," Weekes said. "It was kind of a very scrappy game. They would generate a lot of stuff around the net, through the crease. They played well, their goalie played really well. Our guys worked hard enough to be rewarded."
Blue-liner Radek Martinek and rookie Kyle Okposo tallied and Joey MacDonald turned aside 46 shots for New York, which fell for the fourth straight contest.
"I thought I battled pretty hard," MacDonald said. "They've got some quality defensemen back there that just throw pucks through and the guys that just bang home rebounds. They battled hard."
Parise tallied for the second time in this one by converting a wrist shot from the doorstep during a power play, helping the Devils post their fifth consecutive win over the Islanders.
"I think as a line, we keep playing the way we are and we're all getting good scoring chances," Parise said. "We're playing smart. Things are going well for us right now."
Martinek scored his second goal of the season at 2:32 of the first period to open the scoring for New York. Blake Comeau centered the puck to Martinek, who fired a wrist shot past Weekes from the slot.
Parise then netted his career-high 33rd goal of the season with 81 seconds remaining in the session to forge a 1-1 deadlock. Martin's right point shot was stopped, but Parise tapped the rebound over a sprawling MacDonald from near the left goalpost.
"They're a good hockey team, they've got a lot of offensive power out there, and I think this year's a big step for them," MacDonald said. "They're scoring a lot more goals. Parise, he had another great game for them. He just kind of finds the soft spots, and the puck seems to come right to him."
Parise has notched eight tallies and seven assists over his last 10 contests. The 24-year-old also recorded six shots as the Devils outshot the Islanders, 50-25, overall.
"(Parise) is going to score goals every night," New Jersey's Travis Zajac said. "He's always hungry around the net and motivated to score. The guy works hard, he's hungry for the puck. He wants to score goals."
Okposo staked the Islanders to another one-goal advantage with a power-play tally, skating in on Weekes and tapping in his own rebound from the top of the crease at 6:15 of the second.
Despite the goal, Okposo admitted it was difficult for his team to generate chances.
"They're a pretty frustrating team to play against," he said. "They do a very good job with their systems. We just couldn't get anything going tonight. We needed to put more pucks on net and get some more offensive-zone time."
However, Langenbrunner knotted it at 2-2 during a man advantage with 3:39 left in the session by beating MacDonald with a hard slap shot from the left faceoff circle after receiving a cross-slot pass from Martin.
"Good work by the guys down in the corner getting it off the faceoff. Then (Martin) just slid it across to me and I just tried to shoot it across," Langenbrunner said. "(I'm) pretty shocked it didn't hit somebody and go in, but I guess it just found its way through."
Langenbrunner secured the victory and capped his fourth two-goal performance in eight games with an empty-netter with 63 seconds remaining.
"It was a hard-fought game," Devils coach Brent Sutter said. "It was one of those games where you had to work for everything you got. We had lots of shots on net. I thought both goalies played well. We were able to stay with it. Give (the Islanders) full marks, they played hard."
MacDonald, who had allowed 15 goals over his previous five contests, fell to 1-3-1 lifetime against New Jersey.
"(MacDonald) played well," Langenbrunner said. "They do give up some shots, but they do a good job of getting rid of the rebounds. We had to battle pretty hard tonight."
- NHL
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
NY ISLANDERS 1 1 0 2
NEW JERSEY 1 1 2 4 FINAL
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: NYI - RADEK MARTINEK 2 (BLAKE COMEAU, KYLE OKPOSO) 2:32
NJD - ZACH PARISE 33 (PAUL MARTIN, JOHNNY ODUYA) 18:39
2ND PRD: NYI - (PP) KYLE OKPOSO 11 (UNASSISTED) 6:15
NJD - (PP) JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER 16 (PAUL MARTIN, ZACH
Feb 11 9:34 PM - NHL
NY ISLANDERS 2
NEW JERSEY 4
3RD PRD: NJD - (EN) JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER 17 (ZACH PARISE, TRAVIS ZAJAC)
18:57
Islanders 2, Devils 4 3rd - 1:03Feb 11 9:33 PM - NHL
NY ISLANDERS 2
NEW JERSEY 3
3RD PRD: NJD - (PP) ZACH PARISE 34 (TRAVIS ZAJAC, PAUL MARTIN) 12:39
Islanders 2, Devils 3 3rd - 7:21Feb 11 9:23 PM - NHL
END OF THE 2ND 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
NY ISLANDERS 1 1 2
NEW JERSEY 1 1 2 END OF THE 2ND
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: NYI - RADEK MARTINEK 2 (BLAKE COMEAU, KYLE OKPOSO) 2:32
NJD - ZACH PARISE 33 (PAUL MARTIN, JOHNNY ODUYA) 18:39
2ND PRD: NYI - (PP) KYLE OKPOSO 11 (UNASSISTED) 6:15
NJD - (PP) JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER 16 (PAUL
Feb 11 8:43 PM - NHL
NY ISLANDERS 2
NEW JERSEY 2
2ND PRD: NJD - (PP) JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER 16 (PAUL MARTIN, ZACH PARISE)
16:21
Islanders 2, Devils 2 2nd - 3:39Feb 11 8:36 PM - NHL
NY ISLANDERS 2
NEW JERSEY 1
2ND PRD: NYI - (PP) KYLE OKPOSO 11 (UNASSISTED) 6:15
Islanders 2, Devils 1 2nd - 13:45Feb 11 8:13 PM - NHL
END OF THE 1ST 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
NY ISLANDERS 1 1
NEW JERSEY 1 1 END OF THE 1ST
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: NYI - RADEK MARTINEK 2 (BLAKE COMEAU, KYLE OKPOSO) 2:32
NJD - ZACH PARISE 33 (PAUL MARTIN, JOHNNY ODUYA) 18:39
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
NYI 5 5
NJD
Feb 11 7:45 PM - NHL
NY ISLANDERS 1
NEW JERSEY 1
1ST PRD: NJD - ZACH PARISE 33 (PAUL MARTIN, JOHNNY ODUYA) 18:39
Islanders 1, Devils 1 1st - 1:21Feb 11 7:44 PM - NHL
NY ISLANDERS 1
NEW JERSEY 0
1ST PRD: NYI - RADEK MARTINEK 2 (BLAKE COMEAU, KYLE OKPOSO) 2:32
Islanders 1, Devils 0 1st - 17:28Feb 11 7:13 PM
Related News
- Hämeenaho, Casey, and the 2024 World Junior Championships Open Post Dec 26
- The Continued Dominance of the United States National Team Developmental Program Dec 25
- Hockey Philippines’ March Miracle in Mongolia; Featuring a Jersey Guy Dec 25
- DitD & Open Post - 12/25/23: Merry Christmas Edition Dec 25
- Weekly Metropolitan Division Snapshot: 12/24/2023 - 12/30/2023 Dec 24
- Islanders 5, Hurricanes 4: Isles head into the break with a big win Dec 23
- The Clock Strikes Timo Time Twice as Devils Defeat Red Wings 3-2 Dec 23
- 2023-24 Gamethread #32: New Jersey Devils vs. Detroit Red Wings Dec 23
- Islanders Gameday News + Hurricanes Thread: Two points for Christmas? Dec 23
- The Devils Have an Inverse Offense Dec 23
- Game Preview #32: New Jersey Devils vs. Detroit Red Wings Dec 23
- Weird Islanders: The Podcast! - Cliff Ronning (with guest Travis Flynn, aka North Dakota Red Eagle) Dec 22