Yann Danis, making his second start of the
season for New Jersey, finished with 23 saves against his former team, as the
Devils edged the New York Islanders, 2-1, in an Atlantic Division battle at
Prudential Center.
Cory Murphy and Brian Rolston lit the lamp for the Devils, who have won four
straight and welcomed Patrik Elias back to the lineup.
Elias, the franchise's all-time leading scorer, missed the first 13 games of
the 2009-10 campaign while recovering from offseason groin surgery.
Frans Nielsen provided the lone goal for the Islanders, who have dropped two
straight on the heels of a four-game win streak. Martin Biron stopped 29 of
the 31 shots he faced in defeat.
New York opened the scoring at 6:23 of the first period. Sean Bergenheim
stripped New Jersey rookie Nicklas Bergfors of the puck along the left-wing
boards in the Devils' zone and quickly whipped a pass to the slot for Nielsen,
who beat Danis on the backhand.
Murphy's drive from the right point slid between the legs of Biron, tying the
game at 2:38 of the middle stanza. Rolston gave New Jersey the lead when he
fired a slap shot from atop the right circle past the New York netminder with
6:20 to go in the second and Islanders rearguard Andy Sutton serving a hooking
penalty.
New York generated eight shots in the final 20 minutes, but couldn't come up
with an equalizer.
Game Notes
Danis appeared in 31 games for the Islanders last season, going 10-17-3 with a
2.86 goals-against average and .910 save percentage...Rolston scored his 100th
goal as a member of the Devils...Ilkka Pikkarainen recorded his first NHL
point with an assist on Murphy's goal...Before the game, the Devils placed
forward Rob Niedermayer (upper-body) and defenseman Johnny Oduya (lower-body)
on injured reserve...New York defenseman Radek Martinek left the game in the
third period with an apparent leg injury...Both clubs play again on Saturday.
New Jersey visits Ottawa and the Isles host Atlanta.
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