Gionta, Devils Eliminate Tampa in Six, Will Face Ottawa

TAMPA, Fla. — The Devils insisted all along that Martin Brodeur wouldn’t let them down.Brodeur stopped 32 shots and Brian Gionta scored two goals yesterday to lead the Atlantic Division champions into the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 3–2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.Brian Rafalski also scored and Patrick Elias assisted on all three of New Jersey’s goals to ensure the best-of-seven series would end in six games. The Devils advanced to play the Ottawa Senators.Brad Richards scored two power-play goals for Tampa Bay, which was shutout by Brodeur in Game 5 after scoring three goals against the three-time Stanley Cup champion goalie in each of the first four games.Brodeur’s performance in the first three games raised questions about his vulnerability. He rebounded from squandering a twogoal lead in the second period of Game 4, which New Jersey won in overtime, then stopped 31 shots for his 22nd career playoff shutout Friday night.Brodeur’s 93rd postseason win moved him ahead of Grant Fuhr and into second place on the career playoff list behind Patrick Roy’s 151.Despite being shutout in Game 5, the Lightning outshot the Devils 31–14 and carried the same mindset into yesterday. They dominated early again, making Brodeur work to keep New Jersey from falling behind.Gionta’s power-play goal snapped a scoreless tie with 5:31 remaining in the opening period and Rafalski’s second goal of the playoffs made it 2–0. Gionta’s shot from the left circle gave the Devils a 3–1 lead just 39 seconds after Tampa Bay broke through against Brodeur for the first time since the second period of Game 4.Gionta, who had five goals in the series, was aided when Lightning defenseman Filip Kuba got tangled up with Elias in front of the net and wound up knocking over goalie Johan Holmqvist, who was sprawled on his back when the shot whizzed past.Richards, who teamed with Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis to score 11 of Tampa Bay’s 14 goals in the series, trimmed the Lightning’s deficit to 3–2 with his second power-play goal with just over 9 minutes remaining in the second period.Tampa Bay outshot the Devils 10–7 in the third, but was unable to capitalize on its only power-play opportunity of the period to finish 2-for-6 with a man advantage. New Jersey converted its first two power-play opportunities and finished 2-for-4.Holmqvist made 23 saves, including stops on point-blank shots by Elias, Zach Parise, and Jay Pandolfo to keep the outcome in doubt until the final horn.

Gionta, Devils Eliminate Tampa in Six, Will Face Ottawa

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