Bruins 4, Devils 3 (F)
Travis Zajac scored his seventh of the season to extend his points streak to three games Saturday night in Boston.


newjerseydevils.com (Jan. 5) – A dominant third period by the Devils wasn't enough to make up for their shaky opening frame against the Boston Bruins.

The Devils put 45 shots on Tim Thomas and outshot Boston 20-1 in the third, but couldn't erase the effects of allowing three first-period goals and wound up losing, 4-3, to the Bruins at TD Waterhouse Garden on Saturday night.

New Jersey had taken four straight meetings over Boston entering Saturday's contest, but dropped their 10th road game of the season to slip to 11-10-3 away from the Garden State. The Bruins had three wins in their previous 10 games.

Dainius Zubrus, Johnny Oduya and Travis Zajac scored for the Devils, who fell to 23-15-3 with their fifth regulation loss in the last 22 games.

New Jersey's lead for first place in the Atlantic Division was trimmed to one point by the second-place Penguins, who beat Florida on Saturday.

Zubrus netted the first goal of the contest with his seventh from Patrik Elias and Paul Martin 4:26 into the first period.

But the Bruins then got three straight tallies from P.J. Axelsson, Dennis Wideman and Marco Sturm in the last 5:47 of the opening frame to take a two-goal lead.

Sturm's shorthanded marker beat Kevin Weekes with just 0.6 seconds left in the period.

Weekes (2-2-1) recorded 21 saves on 25 shots, including 15 in the second period.

Martin Brodeur got the night off after posting his 96th career shutout in his 10th straight start with a 3-0 blanking of Philadelphia at Prudential Center on Friday night.

With the Bruins ahead 3-1 after 20 minutes, the teams traded goals in the second.

Oduya's first of the season from Arron Asham and David Clarkson made it a one-goal game with 2:49 remaining before the second intermission.

Clarkson hit Oduya with a bank pass from behind the Boston net, and Oduya's point shot caromed off traffic in front of the net and past Bruins' netminder Tim Thomas with 2:49 left.

Boston's leading scorer Marc Savard deflected an Axelsson shot for his 10th of the season with 59.4 remaining and restored the Bruins' two-goal lead.

Zajac beat Thomas midway through the third period with his second goal in as many games when he buried a Mike Mottau rebound from the bottom of the right circle.

Zajac's seventh of the season and third point in three games (2g-1a-3pts) brought the Devils back within a goal in a third period that saw New Jersey register the first 15 shots.  

The Devils swarmed the Bruins' net in the game's dying seconds, but were unable to solve Thomas, who notched just his second win in six career appearances games against New Jersey.

New Jersey closes out the season series against Boston on April 2 at Prudential Center.

Brent Sutter's squad faces the Buffalo Sabres in two of its next three games beginning Tuesday night in Newark.

Gallery

NJD NOTES
Saturday's scratches were Sheldon Brookbank, Jay Pandolfo (groin), Karel Rachunek (ankle).