NHL Game Summary - New Jersey at Boston
(Thursday, October 29th)
Final Score: New Jersey 2, Boston 1
Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Dainius Zubrus scored the game-winning goal with 1:26 to play, and the New Jersey Devils won a club record sixth straight road game to start the season with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins.
Zubrus scored only his second goal of the season for the Devils, who are now 6-0-0 on the road and 1-4-0 at home. David Clarkson added the other goal for New Jersey, while Yann Danis made his first start in net and stopped 31 shots to earn the victory.
"It looked like (Danis) had an easy game because he was so much in position on every shot and really in control -- controlled rebounds," said Devils head coach Jacques Lemaire. "He was good around the net. He was a big part of the win here."
The Devils have now won seven of nine overall after starting the season with two losses.
Patrice Bergeron scored the only goal for the Bruins, who have alternated wins and losses the entire season, spanning 11 games and beginning with a defeat to start the year.
"It was a heavy on-the-puck game," Bruins head coach Claude Julien said. "Had the bounce gone the other way, the outcome would have gone the other way."
Tim Thomas allowed two goals on 31 shots to take the loss for Boston.
Tied late in the third period, the Devils scored the game-winning goal much the same way as their first tally, which snuck through Thomas' legs and was hammered home by Clarkson in the opening frame.
With New Jersey in Boston's zone, a shot from the point made it through traffic and in on Thomas. The puck squirted through the netminder's legs and sat behind him, where Zubrus was there to shove it into a wide open net with 1:26 to play.
The Bruins almost tied it on a redirected shot, but the puck bounced off the crossbar and fell harmlessly to the ice. The Devils held on the rest of the way.
New Jersey got on the board midway through the first. Nicklas Bergfors took the puck on a rush and ripped a snap shot from the right circle. The puck snuck through Thomas' legs but not across the line, and Clarkson was there to tap it into the net at 13:25.
Boston tied the game early in the second. Zdeno Chara fired a shot from the point, and it hit a defenseman's stick and bounced to Marco Sturm. Sturm quickly made a behind the back feed to Bergeron, who was stationed in front of the net and deposited the puck into the wide open net at 2:32.
Game Notes
These teams split four regular season meetings in 2008-09...Both teams combined for only six penalty minutes in the contest...Zach Parise notched his eighth assist of the season for the Devils.
10/29 23:17:05 ET