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Oduya gives Brodeur, Devils overtime win

Mar 4, 2009 - 5:50 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- An unlikely goal-scorer helped Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils overcome a pair of blown third-period leads.

Defenseman John Oduya scored on a rebound with 11.4 seconds remaining in overtime to propel the Devils to their fourth straight win, a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

David Clarkson and Patrik Elias also scored for New Jersey, which improved to 4-0-0 since Brodeur's return from a 50-game absence due to elbow surgery.

Brian Gionta picked up a loose puck inside the Devils' zone and carried it down the left boards for a 2-on-1 with Oduya. After Gionta's shot squeezed through Toronto goaltender Vesa Toskala, Oduya crashed the net and put in the loose puck for the game-winner.

"When we jumped on the ice, there was 30 seconds left," Oduya said. "I went to the net, (Gionta) shot a great shot and the puck was there so I just went for it."

John Mitchell had both goals for the Maple Leafs, who had their four-game winning streak snapped but managed to claim at least a point for the seventh straight contest, all decided in overtime.

A future Hall of Famer, Brodeur stopped 30 shots to record his 548th career win, pulling within three victories of Patrick Roy's career record.

"I thought we played better, a full 60 minutes," Elias said. "There were a few shifts where we didn't make the right plays. But we had plenty of quality opportunities."

New Jersey carried a 1-0 lead into the third period, an advantage that was quickly erased when Mitchell scored 2:32 into the session to knot the score.

Elias put the Devils back in front with a power-play tally 2:49 later, one-timing a backhanded pass from Jamie Langenbrunner past Toskala.

However Brodeur, who is also three shy of the Terry Sawchuk's all-time shutout mark of 103, was beaten for the second time on the night when Mitchell picked up a loose puck on the power play and scored just over halfway through the final period.

New Jersey held a 52-32 edge in shots on goal, forcing Toskala to make a season-high 49 saves to help Toronto salvage a point.

"Oh he was unbelievable," Toronto coach Ron Wilson said. "He was the reason we got a point generally. Especially with some people missing from the lineup, we knew that scoring would be a struggle and that we would need great goaltending, and we got it."