NEW YORK, 27 February 2004 — Patrik Elias, Jay Pandolfo and Brian Gionta scored twice and Martin Brodeur reached another goaltending milestone to power the host New Jersey Devils to a crushing 8-2 triumph over the Buffalo Sabres Wednesday.
Brodeur had to make only 20 saves to earn his 30th victory of the campaign. It is the ninth straight year he has reached the landmark and breaks the record of eight successive 30-win seasons he shared with the retired Patrick Roy.
The Devils, who enjoyed their highest scoring game since October 2000, are now four points behind Philadelphia for first place in the overall standings and have two games in hand on the Flyers.
Brian Rafalski and Jeff Friesen also netted for the defending Stanley Cup champion Devils. Elias picked up three assists in addition to his two goals while Scott Gomez had another three assists.
Brodeur is 30-17-10 this season after winning the Vezina Trophy last year. Maxim Afinogenov had a goal and an assist for the Sabres while Derek Roy also scored.
In Phoenix, Ric Jackman scored at 1:48 of overtime to give Pittsburgh a 4-3 win over the Coyotes, ending the record 18-game losing streak of the Penguins. Rookie goalie Andy Chiodo made 28 saves for the Penguins, who had gone 0-17-0-1.
Aleksey Morozov scored for Pittsburgh with 26 seconds left in regulation time to set up the overtime winner. Brian Boucher produced 18 stops for the Coyotes, who blew a 3-1 lead in the third period.
In Atlanta, Vincent Lecavalier tallied twice to help the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-2 victory over the Thrashers. Lecavalier notched the game-winner with 1:24 to play to give the Lightning their first win in Atlanta in eight games.
Brad Richards and Cory Stillman grabbed the other Tampa Bay goals. Nikolai Khabibulin made 23 saves for the Lightning, who are 11-2-0-3 in their last 16 road games. The Thrashers have only five victories from 27 games (5-18-3-1). Ben Simon and Marc Savard claimed their goals.
In Washington, Arturs Irbe produced 18 stops in his return to the NHL after being recalled from Johnstown of the Eastern League as the Carolina Hurricanes edged the Capitals 2-1. Erik Cole and Jeff O’Neill scored for the Hurricanes, who have collected points in five straight games. Robert Lang replied for Washington.
The NHL suspended Berry one game without pay for spearing Tampa Bay’s Martin Cibak during the Capitals’ 6-3 loss Monday.
In Sunrise, Juraj Kolnik recorded two goals and an assist as the Florida Panthers blanked the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0. Roberto Luongo made 33 saves for his second consecutive shutout as the Panthers stretched their unbeaten streak to five games (3-0-2).
In Columbus, Tuomo Ruutu picked up two goals and an assist to steer the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets. Kyle Calder added a goal and two assists for the Hawks. Rick Nash had three assists for Columbus.
In Dallas, Alexander Frolov scored with less than six minutes left in the third period to earn the Los Angeles Kings a 1-1 tie with the Stars. Brendan Morrow tallied for Dallas.
In Anaheim, two goals by Joffrey Lupul guided the Mighty Ducks past the Edmonton Oilers 4-2.
