It shouldn't have gotten to this point. Not when the Devils had a 4-1 lead with 15:00 to go before ending their two-game losing streak. But somehow, they allowed the Thrashers to score four unanswered goals to trail with 2:01 left before their most reliable scorer Brian Gionta forced overtime with his 38th with 1:02 remaining to at least salvage a point.
That's when a screwjob of epic proportions took place to cost the Devils any shot of a crucial extra point in an ever tightening playoff race. With Scott Gomez in a race for a loose puck behind the net, Atlanta defenseman Niclas Havelid's followthrough made contact with Gomez' right eye knocking him to the ice. While Gomez struggled to his feet, Peter Bondra backhanded home an Andy Sutton rebound 1:03 into OT, sending the Devils to the shocking 6-5 defeat at Philips Arena Thursday night.
Somehow, no call was made for a high stick. Not even a whistle to halt play with Gomez hurt. After the game, the Devils' termed his injury a cornea abrasion. He was wearing an eyepatch to take further precaution and his status isn't known for tonight's home game against Boston.
Despite mild protests at the bench after the outcome, nobody made excuses for the crushing loss which gave Atlanta their 76th point to pull within one of the seventh seeded Devils.
"The wheels fell apart," Martin Brodeur, who was beaten six times on 30 shots told the AP. It was the third time in his last six starts that he allowed six goals. "They beat us on the rebound. We had a 4-1 lead, so we have no one else to blame."
"We let them back into the game by losing our poise and putting them on the power play," GM/Coach Lou Lamoriello said.
Combined with sixth place Tampa Bay coming back to beat Washington 4-3 in OT and ninth place Montreal defeating Toronto 5-1, nothing went right for the Devils. They are only two points ahead of the Canadiens and desperately need a win against the Bruins on Ken Daneyko Night. The 20-year career Devil will see his Number 3 go up to the rafters and take its rightful place next to Scott Stevens' Number 4, which was retired on February 3rd. That night, the Devils played like three-time Stanley Cup champions in shutting out Carolina 3-0. They'll look for a similar result to get back on track.
For the first two periods, things were going well. On the strength of two power play goals by Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner plus a four-on-four goal by Brad Lukowich (first as Devil) sandwiched around a Marian Hossa PPG, they took a 3-1 lead to the locker room.
When rookie Zach Parise rebounded home a Gomez shot for his ninth 2:41 into the third, the Devils had scored more than three goals for the first time in 13 games since a 7-4 triumph over Tampa Bay on February 7. On the play, Brodeur picked up his first assist of the season.
But the wheels started to fall off when Jason Wiemer's instigator led to a Bobby Holik power play tally 3:14 later to slice the lead to two. Suddenly with their home arena alive, the Thrashers drew even closer when Ilya Kovalchuk rebounded a Slava Kozlov shot for his 44th to cut it to 4-3 with 11:00 remaining.
When Kozlov retrieved a puck and stuffed in a rebound which Brodeur and his teammates believed he had frozen, remarkably the game was tied with 3:07 left. Disaster nearly struck when only 1:06 later, Patrik Stefan rebounded a Marian Hossa shot off a post into a vacant net to give Atlanta its first lead. But a Gionta slapper off the rush saved the Devils from the ultimate embarrassment.
Notes: In as wild a game as there's been this season, both Brodeur and Atlanta netminder Kari Lehtonen notched assists. Lehtonen finished with 36 saves to help the Thrashers sweep the four-game series from the Devils. However, New Jersey picked up a point on an OT loss though which could prove vital. ... Replaced by enforcer Cam Janssen, Viktor Kozlov was a healthy scratch for the third time in the last four games. ... After making 31 straight starts, Brodeur is expected to rest while backup Scott Clemmensen gets the nod tonight for Devils (34-26-9, 77 pts) against Boston (27-31-12, 66 pts). ... Ceremonies for Ken Daneyko Night begin at 7:30 PM.
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