Isles Keep Playoff Hope Alive, Beat Rangers; Brodeur Ties Record
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Wade Dubielewicz, playing because of Rick DiPietro’s concussion, helped the New York Islanders stave off playoff elimination by stopping 36 shots, plus three more in the shootout to lead the Islanders to a 3–2 win over the Rangers last night.
Dubielewicz stopped Michael Nylander, Brendan Shanahan and Jaromir Jagr in the shootout. The save on Jagr’s shot was the best. Dubielewicz made a diving save as the puck just fell short of the goal line.
Miroslav Satan had the only shootout goal. He beat Henrik Lundqvist with a backhand in close in the first round.
Arron Asham and Satan scored for the Islanders, who won the season series from their rivals, five games to three.
The Islanders needed a win because Montreal and Toronto both won. They are four points behind the Canadiens and three behind the Maple Leafs, with a game in hand on both.
Shanahan and Nylander scored for the Rangers in regulation. The Rangers would have clinched a playoff spot with a win, and wound up falling into seventh place as Tampa Bay won. Both teams have 92 points, but the Lightning have more victories (44-41).
Lundqvist stopped 32 shots.
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DEVILS 2, SENATORS 1 Martin Brodeur tied Bernie Parent’s single-season record for wins and Lou Lamoriello got a win in his return to coaching in the Devils’ 2–1 shootout victory over the Ottawa Senators last night.
Brodeur got his 47th win and tied Parent’s record set in 1973-74 by making 22 saves in regulation and then stopping four of six attempts in a shootout that the Devils twice extended with goals by Jamie Langenbrunner and Sergei Brylin on the fourth and fifth rounds.
John Madden, who scored for the Devils in regulation, ended the shootout with a backhand past Ray Emery. The goal brought a wry smile to the face of Lamoriello, who was a lot more serious on Monday when he fired Claude Julien with three games remaining in the season and the Devils in first place in the Atlantic Division.
The win was the Devils third straight and fifth in six games. Coupled with Buffalo’s 4–1 win over Pittsburgh, it gave New Jersey a three-point lead with two games to go.
Antoine Vermette and Mike Comrie scored in the shootout for Ottawa, which had a two-game winning streak snapped in losing for only the second time in seven games.
Madden and Daniel Alfredsson scored 21 seconds apart in the third period for the other goals.
