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Saturday, Nov. 18 1:00pm ET
Elias scores in OT for Devils | |||||
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- A rookie mistake proved costly as the New Jersey Devils beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime Saturday. Patrik Elias stripped the puck from Hurricanes rookie Shane Willis in the neutral zone and went on to beat goalie Arturs Irbe with a backhander with 39.5 seconds remaining. "We were in good position," Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said. "I think he (Willis) thought about it and that's where he got in trouble. He turned and looked at it, then he tried to make a pass. He gave it to a good shooter." Elias knew he would need help as he bore down on Irbe. "The goalie was sliding and moving with me," Elias said. "There wasn't much room to put it in, so I just poked it, hoping that he would go the other way and he did." Irbe, watching the play unfold as he hugged the left post, also saw the Devils' Bobby Holik coming in as a trailer. "I had to observe two guys," Irbe said. "It was a good move. I left the post a little too early. I wasn't patient and I couldn't recover. It was a good play. I can't blame anybody but myself for not being able to stop it." The Devils also got first-period goals from Randy McKay and John Madden as they ended a five-game home losing streak. The win was the second straight overtime victory for the Devils, who beat the Boston Bruins by the identical score Thursday night at Boston. Bates Battaglia and Jeff O'Neill scored for Carolina. Battaglia opened the scoring at 6:31 of the first on a goal that Devils defenseman Willie Mitchell appeared to put in his own net. McKay pulled New Jersey even with a deflection of Colin White's point shot at 13:15. With two minutes remaining in the period, Madden made Irbe pay for a glaring turnover. The Hurricanes goalie gloved a long shot and dropped it to the ice, looking to make an outlet pass. Instead of finding a teammate, Irbe sent the puck onto the stick of the Devils' Turner Stevenson. Irbe recovered from the error to block Stevenson's shot but was helpless as Madden hammered home the rebound. O'Neill had the only goal of the second period with 1:22 remaining, making it 2-2. With the Hurricanes on the powerplay, O'Neill took a pass from Ron Francis and split the Devils defense, drilling a shot over Martin Brodeur's right shoulder. Game notesCarolina LW Rob DiMaio missed his second straight game with back spasms. ... Devils RW Randy McKay could be headed for his best goal-scoring season at 33. His first-period goal gave him a team-leading nine. His best total was 24 in the 1997-98 season. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Carolina Clubhouse New Jersey Clubhouse RECAPS New Jersey 3 Carolina 2 AUDIO/VIDEO   Patrik Elias takes advantage of a Carolina mistake and scores the game-winning goal in OT.avi: 597 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |||||