Career backup Scott Clemmensen has stepped up as the New Jersey Devils’ starting goalie while Martin Brodeur recovers from a torn left biceps.
Clemmensen stopped 23 shots, and Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta each had a goal and an assist in New Jersey’s 3-1 home victory over Florida on Thursday night.
“I feel comfortable out there,” Clemmensen said. “The more I play, the more confident you are. You anticipate better. You read plays better, the instinct, everything. Obviously, everything is together a little more when you are playing more.”
The 31-year-old Clemmensen has started four of the last five games in seemingly replacing Kevin Weekes as the Devils’ No. 1 goalie.
“I have played games in this league before, obviously,” Clemmensen said. “But they have been spread out and kind of sporadic. When you play only once in a while, you try to do everything so perfectly. You squeeze the stick a little. I know I have an opportunity and I want to go for it.”
out; Chicago 6, Dallas 3; and Calgary 1, Colorado 0.
In Newark, N.J., Michael Frolik ended Clemmensen’s shutout bid on a power play midway through the third period, scoring his first NHL goal.
“I just closed by eyes and shot it,” Frolik said.
Clemmensen couldn’t see it, either.
“I saw him come up to the slot and just as he was getting ready to shoot it, he kind of past in front of one of my guys and I didn’t see him shoot it,” Clemmensen said. “It’s tough to stop what you can’t see.”
Clemmensen has two NHL shutouts, the last on March 26, 2004, against Atlanta.
“Shutouts are a lucky thing that kind of just happen,” Clemmensen said. “You don’t try to go out and get it. I’m more happy we got the win.”
Defenseman Paul Martin also scored for New Jersey.
Red Wings 4, Oilers 3
At Edmonton, Alberta, Jiri Hudler scored two goals, and Chris Osgood made 30 saves for Detroit, 6-0-1 in its last seven and 13-2-3 overall.
Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Kopecky added power-play goals. The Red Wings were 3-for-6 with the man advantage to improve their NHL-leading conversion rate to 34.2 percent. Lubomir Visnovsky, Andrew Cogliano and Sheldon Souray scored for Edmonton.
Penguins 3, Thrashers 2
At Atlanta, Petr Sykora redirected Sidney Crosby’s slap shot on a power play with 2:40 remaining to give Pittsburgh its seventh victory in eight games.
a goal and two assists, and Miroslav Satan also scored for the Penguins. Slava Kozlov and Jim Slater scored for Atlanta.
Kings 5, Capitals 2
At Los Angeles, Patrick O’Sullivan scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period, and the Kings snapped Washington star Alex Ovechkin’s goal streak at five.
Duston Brown, Drew Doughty, Michal Handzus and Anze Kopitar also scored for Los Angeles. Nicklas Backstrom and Brooks Laich scored for the Capitals.
Canucks 3, Wild 2
At St. Paul, Minn., Daniel Sedin scored midway through the third period for Vancouver, and Curtis Sanford made 28 saves for his first win since Dec. 12, 2007.
Steve Bernier and Pavol Demitra also scored for Vancouver, 6-0-2 in its past eight games. Mikko Koivu scored twice for Minnesota.
Canadiens 3, Senators 2, SO
At Ottawa, Alex Tanguay scored on Montreal’s fourth shootout attempt to send Ottawa to its sixth straight loss (0-5-1).
Andrei Markov and Saku Koivu scored in regulation for the Canadiens. Dany Heatley and Nick Foligno countered for the Senators.
Blackhawks 6, Stars 3
At Dallas, Patrick Kane had two goals for Chicago, and Kris Versteeg scored the tiebreaking power-play goal with 30 seconds left in the second period.
Martin Havlat, Ben Eager and Brian Campbell added goals for the Blackhawks. Brenden Morrow, Mike Modano and rookie James Neal scored for Dallas. Modano has 534 career goals, extending his record for U.S.-born players.
Flames 1, Avalanche 0
At Denver, Miikka Kiprusoff made 18 saves for his second shutout of the season and 28th overall, and Daymond Langkow scored his fifth goal to help Calgary sweep the home-and-home series. The Flames beat Colorado 4-1 on Tuesday night in Calgary.
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