NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -Patrik Elias broke a tie with 8:31 left and the New Jersey Devils beat the New York Rangers for the first time in 12 games, 8-5 on Friday night after blowing a four-goal lead.
Just 11 seconds after Ryan Callahan got the Rangers even at 5, Elias put the Devils in front again. Brian Gionta built the lead back up to two goals just 1:35 later and gave New Jersey its first regular-season win over the Rangers in 12 tries.
The Devils’ second onslaught of the game culminated with Jamie Langenbrunner’s goal with 4:53 remaining, capping a spurt in which they scored three times in 3:38.
New Jersey appeared to have things well in hand with a three-goal second period that created a 5-1 lead. The Devils stormed in front by taking advantage of the Rangers’ power play that generated two short-handed goals for New Jersey and nothing for New York in nine opportunities.
nd three assists, Dainius Zubrus and Elias both added a goal and two assists, Langenbrunner had one of each, Jay Pandolfo and Johnny Oduya also scored, and Zach Parise set up four goals for the Devils.
Nikolai Zherdev had a goal and three assists for the Rangers. Markus Naslund, Scott Gomez and Paul Mara also scored.
Capitals 5, Senators 1
WASHINGTON (AP) – Alex Ovechkin scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season, and Brent Johnson made 32 saves to help the Capitals win their straight and improve to an Eastern Conference-best 12-1-1 at home.
Alexander Semin, Brooks Laich and Mike Green – returning from a shoulder injury – all scored for the first time this month. Jesse Winchester prevented what would have been Ottawa’s second shutout in a row when he scored with about 2 1/2 minutes to play.
Brett Leonhardt, a 6-foot-7 Web site producer for the Capitals, dressed as the backup goalie after Jose Theodore injured a hip in the morning skate. The former Oswego State and Neumann College goalie signed an amateur tryout contract. Simeon Varlamov was recalled from Hershey, but didn’t arrive until the middle of the first period.
Bruins 7, Thrashers 3
ATLANTA (AP) – Phil Kessel had a goal and two assists to extend his NHL-best points streak to 14 games, and Boston scored four times on its first five shots.
Kessel had an assist in the first-period spree, then added a power-play goal and another assist in the third period. He leads Boston with 18 goals and has 11 assists.
Defenseman Mark Stuart had two goals for the Bruins, scoring the first and last goals to help Boston match its highest-scoring game of the season. Zdeno Chara, Michael Ryder, Stephane Yelle and Milan Lucic also scored.
The Bruins, coming off a loss in Washington on Wednesday night that snapped a five-game winning streak, are 15-2-1 since the end of October.
Boris Valabik scored his first NHL goal for Atlanta, and Todd White and Slava Kozlov added goals. The Thrashers are 2-8-2 in their last 12 games.
Stars 3, Red Wings 1
DALLAS (AP) – Marty Turco made 37 saves, and Tom Wandell scored his first NHL goal to help Dallas beat Detroit in the first meeting between the clubs since last season’s Western Conference finals.
Turco, the former University of Michigan star who came into the game with a 3.41 goals-against average, made 29 saves in the final two periods. Fabian Brunnstrom also scored, and Mike Ribeiro added an empty-net goal.
Brett Lebda scored for Detroit. Last season, the Red Wings beat Dallas in six games in the conference final en route to their 11th Stanley Cup title.
Maple Leafs 2, Sabres 1
– Ian White broke a tie with 7:56 left in the third period, and Vesa Toskala made 24 saves for Toronto.
Jeremy Williams also scored to help Toronto improve to 11-12-6 with its second straight victory. Toni Lydman scored for the Sabres, and Ryan Miller made 31 saves.
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