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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The flu bug moving through the New
Jersey Devils knocked out captain Scott Stevens and almost claimed
Claude Lemieux.
|  | | Phoenix's Keith Carney, left, can't stop New Jersey's Scott Gomez from beating goaltender Sean Burke for his 11th goal. |
Lemieux played through the aches and pains and came up with two
goals Saturday night, including the game-winner with 5:44 left, to
help the New Jersey Devils extend their unbeaten streak to eight
games with a 4-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes.
"I feel sick," Lemieux said. "I couldn't feel worse. I had a
choice. I could feel bad at home or I could feel bad here and get rewarded."
Scott Gomez, the NHL's leading rookie scorer, and Patrik Elias
had goals for the Devils, who won their sixth straight at home. The
victory gave New Jersey sole possession of first place in the
Eastern Conference with 57 points, two more than Toronto.
New Jersey, 6-0-2 in their last eight, dominated long stretches
of the game -- outshooting Phoenix 42-16 -- but needed the second
Lemieux goal to secure the win.
Shane Doan, Jyrki Lumme and Jeremy Roenick scored for Phoenix,
the NHL's top road team with a record of 12-8-2.
The Devils outshot the Coyotes 17-2 in the first period.
Phoenix, however, made the most of its chances to grab a 2-1 lead.
Doan opened the scoring at 2:34 as he took a feed from Trevor
Letowski to beat Martin Brodeur from the slot.
The Devils pulled even at 1-1 when Gomez scored at 5:02 to cap a
long period of sustained pressure around the Phoenix net. Gomez
wheeled through the slot to rip a shot past former Devil Sean
Burke.
Lumme put Phoenix up 2-1 at 6:10 on a fluke goal. The initial
shot by Dallas Drake hit the end boards and bounced right to the
Coyotes defenseman for a tap-in score.
In the second, the Devils continued their shot dominance by
reeling off the first nine shots for a 26-2 advantage. The pressure
paid off as Elias and Lemieux scored 26 seconds apart to give New
Jersey a 3-2 lead.
"They came at us in the first half of the second period," said
Coyotes coach Bob Francis. "We turned the puck over in the neutral
zone. We paid for it by not locking up the middle.
"We were cheating trying to steal pucks, trying to eliminate
people in the middle and they were coming at us in outnumbered
ways. That was the difference in the game."
Jeremy Roenick scored a goal at 6:58 of the third, very similar
to Phoenix's first goal, to pull the Coyotes even 3-3. A shot by Keith Tkachuk hit the end boards and rebounded right to Roenick for
his 21st.
That set the stage for Lemieux's game-winner. Lemieux scored on
a one-timer from the left circle on a feed from Brendan Morrison as
the power play expired.
"I felt tonight the puck was following me," Lemieux said. "I
was in the right place at the right time."
Lemieux has made a major contribution since being reacquired by
New Jersey from Colorado in early November. He has helped out on
offense with a team-leading 15 goals.
Lemieux, once considered among the most selfish players in
hockey, has also been a mentor to rookie linemate Gomez.
"He's been a great addition," Brodeur said. "He's shown great
character and he's chipped in on offense. He and Gomez are a great
match. He has taken Scott under his wing. It's been great for him to have someone like Claude help him out."
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Phoenix Clubhouse
New Jersey Clubhouse
RECAPS
NY Islanders 5
Boston 2
Buffalo 7
Ottawa 4
NY Rangers 5
Toronto 3
Washington 3
Atlanta 0
Detroit 5
Anaheim 3
New Jersey 4
Phoenix 3
Nashville 6
Chicago 3
Philadelphia 6
Pittsburgh 2
St. Louis 4
Vancouver 2
Calgary 3
Tampa Bay 2
Florida 4
San Jose 2
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