St. Louis, MO- In consecutive games, the New Jersey Devils and their opponent would need the shootout to determine the winner, and like game one, the Devils came away with a victory, a 4-3 decision over the host St. Louis Blues.
Using the same line up as game one, the Devils fell behind early. Fernando Pisani got on the board at 11:26 of the first period. Pisani took a slapshot from the right wing boards that eluded Devils goalie, Kari Lehtonen, because he was too busy thinking of his Budweiser-plant tour earlier in the day.
Period two would be a better period for New Jersey. Caption Shane Doan tied the game 8:52 into that middle period. The goal all started with a faceoff win by Patrik Berglund in right offensive circle. The center won the draw cleanly back to Brent Seabrook, who found an alone Doan in the high slot. Veteran Doan released a hard, quick snapshot along the ice and inside the left post that was by Blues goalie, Justin Pogge, before he had chance to move.
Brendan Morrison would give the Devils a 2-1 lead when he tallies just 2:06 later than Doan. After great cycling work in the corners and behind the net along with Brian Rolston and Wojtek Wolski, Morrison found himself at the top of the left circle. Rolston, who was behind the cage, hit Morrison with a soft pass that Morrison was able to slap between Pogges legs for his first of the year.
Then the referees, Unknown and Unknown, decided to put their stamp on the game. One of them assessed Doan with a high-sticking call. So at the 12:59 mark of the second period, Artem Anisimov scored his first of the season for the Blues. Anisimov deflected a shot from Jakub Kindl that Lehtonen couldnt react in time to. The Devils on the ice complained Anisimov used a high stick to play the puck, but no review was granted and the game was tied.
The Devils (2-0-0) stuck first in the third. Winger Jeff Tambellini battled hard in the left hand offensive corner with Blues defenseman Jakub Kindl. Tambellini was able to slide the puck up to the boards to defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky. Visnovsky fired through a sea of traffic and found the upper right corner of the net to give the Devils the lead.
But then enter the zebras one more time. This time Martin Erat was whistled for a very week hooking call. On the ensuing power play, Anisimov would get his second of the game for the Blues (0-1-1). On a faceoff, Anisimov and Morrison tied each other up but the puck lay at their stakes. Anisimov somehow was able to get off a slapshot that beat Lehtonen.
Overtime produce no winners, so the game went to a shootout.
Tambellini shot first for the Devils. Thinking shot all the way, Tambellini found the five hole on Pogge to get the shootout started. But after Jon Matsumoto and Anisimov missed for the Blues, and Erat missed on his attempt, the game was down to Kyle Okposo needing a goal to keep the Blues alive. But he was robbed by Lehtonens glove, and the 17,927 at the Savis Center went home sad.
The Devils get right back into action tomorrow morning as they meet the Rangers at New Yorks Madison Square Garden. Sim time is set for 10 am ET.
SWAMP THINGS: David Clarkson, Marcel Goc, and Ryan Wilson were the healthy scratches-Seabrook led all players with 28:26 of playing time, and recorded seven hits-Lehtonen stopped 32 shots
Goals
1
2
3
OT1
SO
T
Devils
0
2
1
0
1
4
Blues
1
1
1
0
0
3
Shots
1
2
3
OT1
SO
T
Devils
11
13
7
0
3
31
Blues
12
9
13
1
3
35
1st period
1. Blues , Fernando Pisani 1 (Jon Matsumoto, Brett Carson) at 11:26 Penalties : Boyd Gordon (NJD) for Tripping (Minor) at 17:16
2nd period
2. Devils , Shane Doan 1 (Brent Seabrook, Patrik Berglund) at 8:52 3. Devils , Brendan Morrison 1 (Brian Rolston, Wojtek Wolski) at 10:58 4. Blues , Artem Anisimov 1 (Jakub Kindl, Kyle Okposo) at 12:59 (PP) Penalties : Shane Doan (NJD) for High sticking (Minor) at 11:24
3rd period
5. Devils , Lubomir Visnovsky 1 (Jeff Tambellini) at 0:54 6. Blues , Artem Anisimov 2 (David Perron) at 10:06 (PP) Penalties : Kyle Okposo (StL) for Hooking (Minor) at 5:13, Martin Erat (NJD) for Hooking (Minor) at 9:43, Shane Doan (NJD) for High sticking (Minor) at 16:31
Overtime #1
No Goal Penalties :No Penalty
Shootout
Penalty Shot by Jeff Tambellini for Devils - Goal! Penalty Shot by Jon Matsumoto for Blues - Shot Misses the Net Penalty Shot by Wojtek Wolski for Devils - Stopped by Justin Pogge Penalty Shot by Artem Anisimov for Blues - Shot Misses the Net Penalty Shot by Martin Erat for Devils - Shot Misses the Net Penalty Shot by Kyle Okposo for Blues - Stopped by Kari Lehtonen Goalie Stats
Kari Lehtonen (NJD), 32 saves from 35 shots - (0.914), W, 2-0-0, 65:00 minutesJustin Pogge (StL), 28 saves from 31 shots - (0.903), OTL, 0-1-1, 65:00 minutes
