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BOX SCORE
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Jason Arnott said he scored before the
whistle blew. Larry Robinson wasn't sure. The San Jose Sharks said
no way.
Referee Rob Shick's opinion was the only one that mattered as
Arnott got a disputed goal midway through the third period in the
New Jersey Devils' 3-2 victory over the Sharks on Saturday night.
|  | | New Jersey's Martin Brodeur made 22 saves to bring his season record to 10-5-2. |
The win, which ended San Jose's seven-game home unbeaten streak,
capped a tremendous road trip for the rejuvenated Stanley Cup
champions. The Devils came back from a 2-0 deficit late in the
second period to win their fifth straight and sweep three games
against the NHL's California teams in four nights.
"The way we played, we deserved to have a good chance to win
whether that goal was good or not," said Arnott whose return from
a contract holdout along with defenseman Scott Niedermayer spurred
the Devils' strong trip. "We're starting to feel more like last
year."
The game-winning goal showed one of the inequities of the NHL's
two-referee system, which was implemented last season.
Arnott took a pass from Petr Sykora and scored on Sharks goalie
Evgeni Nabokov. On the other end of the rink, Owen Nolan and Scott
Stevens shoved each other and prepared to fight behind the play.
Referee Mick McGeough was at center ice, watching Nolan and
Stevens. He blew his whistle to stop play around the same time
Arnott scored.
"I saw the puck go in, and then I heard the whistle," Arnott
said. "I didn't know what was going on (behind the play)."
Upon further review, no one could say conclusively whether the
whistle or the goal came first. Almost everybody was watching Nolan
and Stevens, anticipating a fight between the teams' captains.
Shick, who was on the Sharks' end of the rink watching the puck,
allowed the goal to stand.
"My back was to the play," Nolan said. "We were going at it
in the corner. They should have blown (the whistle) earlier."
"I wasn't even watching when the goal was scored," said
Robinson, the Devils coach. "Like everybody else, we were watching
the battle between Scotty and Nolan. I didn't even get to see the
winner until after the game."
Nolan and Todd Harvey scored for San Jose, which lost at home
for the first time since opening night on Oct. 6. The Devils got
goals from Arnott -- his second in three games since ending his
contract holdout -- Patrik Elias and Gomez as they continued to
rebound from a slow start.
The Sharks, the NHL's best penalty-killers at 90.5 percent
effectiveness, allowed a power-play goal by Elias late in the
second period. It was New Jersey's first against Nabokov, who leads
the league with 12 victories.
Neither Elias' goal nor Gomez's goal with 38 seconds left in the
second period were preventable because of defensive lapses, and the
Sharks were uncharacteristically quiet on offense in the third
period, managing just seven shots.
"The third period was a disappointment," Sharks center Mike
Ricci said. "We pride ourselves on that."
Martin Brodeur stopped 22 shots for the victory. Nabokov stopped
19, but allowed more than two goals for just the fourth time in 17
starts this season.
"I thought we played really well tonight," Sharks coach Darryl
Sutter said. "There's no question that the difference was
Brodeur."
The Devils lost leading scorer Alexander Mogilny in the first
period when he sent Harvey crashing headfirst into the boards
behind the Sharks net. Harvey was down for several minutes before
skating gingerly to the dressing room, and Mogilny received a
five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct.
Nolan scored his fifth goal in six games on a two-man advantage
in the first period, and Vincent Damphousse extended his points
streak to seven games with an assist. Harvey recovered from his
trip to the locker room to score midway through the second period.
Game notes
New Jersey beat Anaheim 5-2 on Wednesday night
and beat Los Angeles 6-1 on Thursday. ... San Jose killed 80
seconds of a two-man advantage for the Devils midway through the
third period, but couldn't capitalize on the momentum.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
New Jersey Clubhouse
San Jose Clubhouse
Sharks broadcaster Rusanowsky in auto accident
RECAPS
Atlanta 2
Washington 1
Buffalo 5
Montreal 3
Detroit 4
NY Islanders 3
Ottawa 4
Toronto 2
Florida 2
Tampa Bay 1
Los Angeles 2
Pittsburgh 2
Dallas 4
Columbus 2
Edmonton 3
Anaheim 2
St. Louis 5
Phoenix 1
Colorado 3
Calgary 2
New Jersey 3
San Jose 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Owen Nolan gives the Sharks the first-period lead.
avi: 892 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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