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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Patrik Elias and linemates Jason
Arnott and Petr Sykora are back in synch for the New Jersey Devils.
|  | | Patrik Elias gets pinned to the boards by Washington's Ken Klee, right, but the Devils forward broke free to score twice. |
Elias, who missed all of training camp and the first nine games
of the season in a contract holdout, scored two goals as the Devils
rallied to beat Washington 5-4 Saturday night. Sykora assisted
on both of the goals.
"It took us a while, but I think we've been playing well,"
Elias said. "We've been getting the chances and just haven't put
them in. Hopefully, this is a turnaround for us, and we can be the
line we were last year."
John Madden also scored two goals, and Claude Lemieux added a
goal to help the Devils extended their winning streak to a
season-high three games. New Jersey had won consecutive games seven
times, but not been able to string together three victories.
"The room is good, the bench is good," Devils coach Robbie
Ftorek said. "They believe they can go out and beat any team and
that's an important thing."
Defenseman Sergei Gonchar scored twice for Washington, and Chris
Simon and Jeff Halpern also had goals.
The game was the third in four nights for the Capitals, all on
the road. This was the middle stop in a five-game trip that
produced victories in the first two games in Atlanta and New York's
Madison Square Garden.
"They had more gas in the tank than we did," Washington coach
Ron Wilson said. "The schedule had as much effect as anything
else. They were a fresh team and they wore us down at the end."
New Jersey goalie Chris Terreri, starting in place of Martin
Brodeur, made 17 saves. Terreri, who last played Nov. 25, improved
to 1-3-0.
Washington's Craig Billington, who last started Nov. 27, made 38
saves.
With Washington leading 4-3, the Devils took control on goals by
Madden and Elias in a 66-second span early in the third period.
Madden pulled New Jersey even at 3:58, and Elias gave the Devils
their first lead at 5:04.
On the deciding goal, Sykora fed a centering pass to Scott
Niedermayer, who passed across the slot to a wide-open Elias. The
forward controlled the puck with his skate before depositing a
backhander into the net for his second of the game.
Simon, who scored the first goal Friday night in Washington's
3-2 overtime victory over the New York Rangers, gave the Capitals a
1-0 lead at 10:11 of the first period.
Simon started and finished the play as he forced a turnover by
forechecking defenseman Sheldon Souray off the puck behind the
goal. Simon worked his way into the slot to take a centering feed
from Adam Oates that he converted into his sixth goal.
Each team had three goals in the second period.
Gonchar scored a power-play goal on a setup by Simon at 2:59 to
give Washington a 2-0 advantage.
With the teams skating four-on-four, Madden put New Jersey on
the board at 4:41, but Halpern countered for Washington at 12:32.
The Capitals got into penalty trouble when Brendan Witt was
given a double-minor for high sticking Randy McKay at 13:50. They
compounded their problem when the Washington bench got an
unsportmanslike conduct penalty at 15:51. The Devils cashed in on
the power-play opportunities for goals by Elias at 15:41 and
Lemieux at 17:09 to tie it at 3.
Gonchar put Washington in front again with 1:43 remaining.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
New Jersey Clubhouse
RECAPS
Calgary 2
Ottawa 1
Buffalo 2
NY Islanders 2
Philadelphia 4
Tampa Bay 0
Toronto 2
Montreal 1
Carolina 4
Atlanta 2
New Jersey 5
Washington 4
Florida 5
Pittsburgh 2
Colorado 2
Nashville 2
St. Louis 4
Boston 0
Dallas 4
Vancouver 2
Chicago 8
Los Angeles 4
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