Zajac miracle goal rallies Devils past Lightning

October 9, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

It’s a little early for Devil fans to push the panic button as our resident NJD blogger stated the other night. But as the seconds ticked down, you had to figure half a fanbase that’s seen their club make the playoffs 13 years running had their hearts in their throats before a miracle happened. One we’ve seen too often when it comes to this franchise.

This time, the cult hero was Travis Zajac, scoring with 1.1 seconds left to stun the Lightning on one of the most bizarre plays you’ll ever see. As Tampa kept a desperate Devil 6-on-5 attack to the outside, it sure looked like the worst case scenario would happen. They were staring at 0-3 in Jacques Lemaire’s second term. But just when it seemed the Bolts had done the job, fate struck. Anyone who knows recent history is aware that this rivalry has been one-sided. The Devils entered winning the last eight including four straight at St. Pete. Number 9 would need a miracle.

Zajac provided it by finishing off Andy Greene’s baseball bat foul ball (uh really). Greene, who subbed for Cory Murphy made a desperate swing at a puck in the air- making just enough contact to send it to the other side where it fell to Zajac, who kicked it to his forehand before firing past a stunned Mike Smith to beat the buzzer. Despite a review, there was little doubt that Zajac had tied a game that looked lost. But that’s the magic these Devils seem to possess. Whether it’s Hell’s Angels or a Devil wearing the traditional Kool Aid colors, they find ways to get games tied late.

Judging by the reaction, it was like they won a playoff game. Something MSG-Plus analyst Chico Resch alluded to. It definitely was big because the Devs didn’t want to go 0-3 with Florida and Washington looming as part of a three-game Southeast swing before returning home next week for Atlanta and nemesis Carolina.

“It really bounced and a couple of guys tried to take a whack at it, but somehow it came to me,” Zajac said after watching ZZ Popp ‘mates Zach Parise (sweet forehand deke) and Jamie Langenbrunner (forehand deke) finish off a beaten club in the shootout.

“It’s bad luck, that’s what it is,” a disappointed Steven Stamkos expressed after lighting the lamp twice. Bounces sometimes happen in sports. Especially hockey which is as competive as any. The Devils got one and cashed in. Now, they won’t have to worry about getting their first win under Lemaire. Perhaps such a gritty ‘W’ can loosen up a club which blew two separate leads before rallying back in epic fashion.

“It was definitely a greasy one, but we pulled it off and sometimes that’s what you need to try and get going,” Martin Brodeur said after doing his part by making 41 saves, adding to his record with Win No.558. “We showed a lot of character coming back, especially late in the game.”

Character is something the Devs have always had since Lemaire’s first successful stint that started it all in the mid-90’s. Now, their coach has a victory with a new group even if he still sees familiar faces in net and up front.

In this seesaw battle, the Devils took the lead when Parise got his first of the season on the power play from Zajac and Paul Martin. But after a strong period in which they outshot the Bolts 12-7, New Jersey relied on their future Hall Of Fame netminder to keep them afloat. Following Stamkos’ first that tied it, Brodeur was at his finest turning aside 24 of 25 shots in a second the home club controlled (25-9 SOG). Somehow, it was the road team that led after 40 when grizzled vet Jay Pandolfo notched his first with less than two minutes left.

“He’s a big reason we were still in the game,” praised Zajac. “I think anytime you give up that many shots, it’s going to be tough. He made a lot of great saves and kept us in the game.”

Still, they’d be tested in a third that saw the Lightning respond with goals off the sticks of Stamkos (PP) and Todd Fedoruk 3:59 apart. On Fedoruk’s marker, rookie defenseman Victor Hedman notched his second assist of the night. The No.2 overall pick behind only John Tavares was pretty good, finishing with two helpers and going +2 in 26:38 while working with countryman Mattias Ohlund. Not a bad night’s work for the big Swede.

It looked like it might stand up due to solid play from Tampa Bay, who nearly made it 4-2 thanks to a strong shift from Fedoruk, Steve Downie and Zenon Konopka. But Konopka hit the post with under six minutes left giving the Devils a reprieve. As so often happens, those missed opportunities usually comeback to bite.

That’s when Johnny Oduya and Greene combined to miraculously setup Zajac for the unthinkable. The rest was pretty predictable with Parise undressing Smith and Langenbrunner finishing off the club’s first victory of the new season.

One they won’t give back.

Notes: After getting shutout in Game 1, Zajac is 2-1-3 the last two while Parise has a goal and assist since the Flyer debacle. The Zach Attack mistakenly got credit along with Brian Rolston on Zajac’s late regulation goal. It should read Zajac from Greene and Oduya. … Smith took the hard luck loss despite a couple of pointblank robberies in overtime, stoning Parise and another Devil to force the skill competition. He had 31 stops. … Devils (1-2-0-0, 2 Pts) visit Panthers tomorrow night at 7 ET on MSG.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Martin Brodeur, (41 saves incl. 24 of 25 in 2nd for record Win No.558)

2nd Star-Victor Hedman, (2 assists, 3 SOG, +2 in 33 shifts-26:38)

1st Star-Travis Zajac, (tying goal w/1.1 left, A, 3 SOG, 2 hits, 7-9 draws in 22:42)