AP News, March 21st, 2007
The New Jersey Devils took a beating, and then lost the game. Their Atlantic Division lead could be next.
They limped into Toronto having dropped three of four and the skid got worse with a 2-1 loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
"We had plenty of chances," Devils forward Jay Pandolfo said. "We hit at least three posts, maybe four. We can't keep our heads down after this loss."
Cam Janssen had to keep his up all night, because the Maple Leafs were looking for him. In the last meeting between the teams on March 2, Janssen leveled All-Star defenseman Tomas Kaberle with a late hit that left Kaberle with a concussion and drew the New Jersey enforcer a three-game suspension.
Toronto sent out Wade Belak to deliver some more punishment.
"I came out and just kind of yelled at him and he looked at me, and it was time to go," Belak said. "My job is protect players like Kabby. He's not expected to go out there and fight. That's my job and I'm fine doing it."
The fight was high spirited and lasted about 90 seconds. It gave a jolt to both teams, but the Maple Leafs made the most of it.
"I think everyone in the building was tired after that one," Maple Leafs coach Paul Maurice said. "But probably not as sore."
The Devils haven't won at home in a month and hold a slim two-point lead over the hard-charging Pittsburgh Penguins in the Atlantic.
In other NHL games, it was Montreal 1, Boston 0; Columbus 5, Chicago 2; Florida 4, Philadelphia 1; Tampa Bay 4, the New York Islanders 3 in overtime; Ottawa 4, St. Louis 2; Minnesota 3, Phoenix 2; and Calgary 2, Detroit 1.
While the Devils are concerned with playoff position, the Maple Leafs are in a struggle just to get in. Toronto is in a three-way tie with Montreal and Carolina for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
"You don't have to be a genius to understand it _ we're in a position where every point is big," Toronto captain Mats Sundin said.
Kaberle practiced Monday for the first time since Janssen's hit, but missed his eighth straight.
So there was plenty of venom in the stands when Janssen stepped on the ice to boos for his first shift. He sent Yanic Perreault into the boards with a crushing check and then had to face Belak soon after.
"I'm not going to go hide," said Janssen, who had just four shifts covering 2:04 of ice time. "I know what I did. I went out there and did my job, tried to get the boys going.
"(Belak) got his boys going, and it was a good game."
The Toronto heavyweight sat out six of the previous eight games, but had a specific job in this one. Janssen was there to stand up to him.
"He's a great kid," Devils goalie Martin Brodeur said. "He doesn't mean to hurt anybody. He plays his game. He was dealt with a certain talent and that's what he does.
"He felt really bad for what happened to Kaberle. He's been waiting for this for a long time. He knew he had to face the music and he did it like a man, that's good."
Kyle Wellwood and Nik Antropov scored, and Andrew Raycroft made 24 saves for the Leafs. Travis Zajac had the lone goal for the slumping Devils.
Canadiens 1, Bruins 0
Guillaume Latendresse scored late in the second period and Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves for his first NHL shutout to lead host Montreal.
Latendresse scored his 16th goal with 1:00 remaining in the second on the only one of 32 shots to beat Boston goalie Tim Thomas. Halak topped Thomas' performance with his second straight win.
Lightning 4, Islanders 3, OT
Vincent Lecavalier tallied his 49th goal of the season and Filip Kuba scored 55 seconds into overtime as Tampa Bay stopped a three-game losing streak.
The loss was the fourth straight on a road trip for the Islanders, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit with second-period goals from Richard Zednik, Richard Park and Miroslav Satan. Tampa Bay swept the season series from the Islanders 4-0 and has beaten New York eight consecutive times.
Panthers 4, Flyers 1
Olli Jokinen broke a second-period tie, and Nathan Horton and Juraj Kolnik added goals late in the third as visiting Florida completed its first four-game season sweep of the Flyers.
David Booth also scored for Florida, which won for the fourth time in six games. Ed Belfour made 24 saves.
Dimitry Afanasenkov scored for the Flyers, who have lost four of five. Martin Biron made 30 saves.
Blue Jackets 5, Blackhawks 2
Fredrik Modin scored twice in the second period to lead host Columbus.
Gilbert Brule added a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, who had lost four of five. Derrick Walser and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen scored their first goals of the season and David Vyborny had two assists.
Rene Bourque and Patrick Sharp tallied for Chicago, which was eliminated from postseason contention.
Wild 3, Coyotes 2
Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra each had a goal and an assist in host Minnesota's franchise-record seventh win in a row. Todd White also scored for the Wild, who set the team record for victories in a season with 43.
Brendan Bell and Bill Thomas scored power-play goals in the first 10 minutes of the third period to cut Minnesota's lead to 3-2, but Phoenix lost its fourth straight.
Curtis Joseph allowed all three Wild goals in the final minute of the first two periods.
Senators 4, Blues 2
Antoine Vermette scored a short-handed goal to lift Ottawa after host St. Louis thought it took the lead.
Brad Boyes put the puck in with 16:46 left and moments before play was stopped when Senators goalie Martin Gerber took possession of the puck. Replays showed that the puck went about a foot past the goal line before Gerber pulled it back with his stick and smothered it. The goal light wasn't turned on and the officials didn't look at replays until after play resumed.
Mike Fisher scored the first short-handed goal midway through the second period to give Ottawa a 2-1 lead. Chris Neil added a goal, and Chris Kelly sealed the Senators' win with an empty-netter.
Boyes and Barret Jackman scored for the Blues.
Flames 2, Red Wings 1
Kristian Huselius scored a goal and set up another as host Calgary snapped a three-game losing streak.
Huselius broke a 1-1 tie at 17:34 of the second period while Calgary was enjoying its fifth consecutive power play. Daymond Langkow also scored for Calgary, an NHL-best 29-7-2 at home.
Pavel Datsyuk scored the lone goal for Detroit, which dropped its second straight and missed an opportunity to move past Nashville into first place in the Central Division and past Buffalo atop the NHL standings.
