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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Let's face it, the Devils were due.
|  | | Anaheim's Fredrik Olausson, left, dekes New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur before scoring a goal on his penalty shot. |
Bobby Holik tied the game with New Jersey's first power-play
goal on the road this season, ending an 0-for-20 drought, and the Devils snapped a four-game road losing streak Wednesday night with a 2-1 victory over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
The Devils set an NHL record last season with a 28-10-3 record away from home. This year, they are 3-5-1.
"We've had some tough times on the road, as of late, but we felt we were very close because we lost four of the last five all by one goal," defenseman Ken Daneyko said. "So we felt it was only a matter of time before we were going to turn it around. And tonight we put a very solid effort together."
Holik also got the go-ahead goal five seconds before getting ejected in the second period.
Fredrik Olausson scored on his first career penalty shot in the
first period, but the Ducks failed to score on their other 23 shots at Martin Brodeur as they lost for the fifth time in seven games and the fifth consecutive time against the Devils. Guy Hebert stopped 31 shots, including 17 of 18 in the first period.
New Jersey took the lead for good at 15:37 of the second period
on Holik's eighth goal, a deflection of Scott Stevens' slap shot
from the left point.
Holik got tangled up with Steve Rucchin on the ensuing faceoff
and took a swing at the Ducks' center with his left hand, catching
him squarely in the mouth with the butt end of his stick and
drawing blood.
"I was held down, so I pulled twice and I couldn't get away
from him," said Holik, the Devils' leading goal-scorer. "So I
kind of pushed him down with one hand and then came over the top
with no intention to hurt him.
"If my hand was at the end of my stick and I hit him with my
glove, the referee (Mark Faucette) probably would have called it
roughing and we would have moved on. But my hand was a little lower
on the stick. And if you look at the tape, I move both my hands
lower on the draws. So the end of the stick is exposed."
Holik earned a match penalty for deliberate intent to injure,
and an automatic game-misconduct. But Anaheim failed to record a
shot on net during the entire five-minute power play that followed.
"Our special teams won us the game tonight, especially killing
that five-minute penalty," Brodeur said. "For them not to have a
shot with the talent they have, it's pretty amazing."
Jason Marshall was serving a holding penalty when the Devils
finally converted a power-play opportunity on the road. Until then,
they were the only NHL team that hadn't.
Holik tied the game at 1 on a pass from rookie Brian Rafalski at
18:28 of the first period.
The game was still scoreless when Antti Aalto spotted Olausson
coming out of the penalty box after serving a hooking penalty and
sent him on a breakaway. He was about 10 feet from the net when
Daneyko tripped him while attempting a poke-check, setting up the
eighth penalty shot in Ducks' history and their fifth successful
attempt.
"I saw an opening coming out of the penalty box and I went for
it," Olausson said. "I just tried to make a good move on the
penalty shot. But it kind of takes the joy out of scoring to lose
the game like that."
Olausson also became the third player this season to convert
one, joining Buffalo left wing Miroslav Satan and Nashville
defenseman Kimmo Timonen.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
New Jersey Clubhouse
Anaheim Clubhouse
RECAPS
Buffalo 5
Washington 2
Vancouver 1
Carolina 1
Detroit 4
St. Louis 2
Philadelphia 6
Florida 1
NY Rangers 6
Tampa Bay 3
Boston 5
Nashville 2
Dallas 3
Los Angeles 2
Chicago 3
Edmonton 2
New Jersey 2
Anaheim 1
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