CASPER
New member
TORONTO – Ilya Kovalchuk scored at 4:36 of overtime and Devils coach Jacques Lemaire became eighth coach in NHL history to reach 600 wins in New Jersey's 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
Dainius Zubrus also scored for New Jersey (21-30-4), which improved to 11-1-2 in its past 14 games.
Nikolai Kulemin scored for the Maple Leafs (23-26-6), who moved within seven points of Carolina for the final playoff spot in the East. The Hurricanes lost 2-1 to Philadelphia on Thursday.
The Maple Leafs wasted an excellent outing by James Reimer. It was hardly the fault of Toronto's rookie goaltender, who finished with 36 saves and was responsible for the game getting past regulation.
Kovalchuk's winner came at the end of a nice solo rush where he took a shot that sneaked behind Reimer helping Lemaire hit the milestone.
Scotty Bowman, Al Arbour, Dick Irvin Sr., Pat Quinn, Mike Keenan are also among the coaches also in the 600-club.
Joffrey Lupul had plenty of jump one day after being acquired by the Maple Leafs in a trade from Anaheim, but saw the puck bounce over his stick on a 2-on-1 break in the third period. That was his best scoring chance.
As has often been the case of late, Toronto was let down by its power play. The team went 0 for 5 against the Devils and is 3-for-40 during the past 11 games.
Toronto led 1-0 after 40 minutes but Zubrus tied it up 3:23 into the final period. He redirected a Mark Fayne point shot over Reimer's shoulder for his 11th goal of the season.
But the Leafs' goalie was strong from there, denying Zubrus with his glove from in close before getting in front of a Kovalchuk one-timer on the power play. Reimer also got his shoulder on Fayne shot through traffic with about four minutes left in regulation.
Toronto's Phil Kessel was denied on a couple chances just before setting up Kulemin's 21st goal of the season at 5:18 of the second period. The winger managed to slide the puck in front while being bodied by Devils defenseman Colin White, and Kulemin had a wide open net.
Dainius Zubrus also scored for New Jersey (21-30-4), which improved to 11-1-2 in its past 14 games.
Nikolai Kulemin scored for the Maple Leafs (23-26-6), who moved within seven points of Carolina for the final playoff spot in the East. The Hurricanes lost 2-1 to Philadelphia on Thursday.
The Maple Leafs wasted an excellent outing by James Reimer. It was hardly the fault of Toronto's rookie goaltender, who finished with 36 saves and was responsible for the game getting past regulation.
Kovalchuk's winner came at the end of a nice solo rush where he took a shot that sneaked behind Reimer helping Lemaire hit the milestone.
Scotty Bowman, Al Arbour, Dick Irvin Sr., Pat Quinn, Mike Keenan are also among the coaches also in the 600-club.
Joffrey Lupul had plenty of jump one day after being acquired by the Maple Leafs in a trade from Anaheim, but saw the puck bounce over his stick on a 2-on-1 break in the third period. That was his best scoring chance.
As has often been the case of late, Toronto was let down by its power play. The team went 0 for 5 against the Devils and is 3-for-40 during the past 11 games.
Toronto led 1-0 after 40 minutes but Zubrus tied it up 3:23 into the final period. He redirected a Mark Fayne point shot over Reimer's shoulder for his 11th goal of the season.
But the Leafs' goalie was strong from there, denying Zubrus with his glove from in close before getting in front of a Kovalchuk one-timer on the power play. Reimer also got his shoulder on Fayne shot through traffic with about four minutes left in regulation.
Toronto's Phil Kessel was denied on a couple chances just before setting up Kulemin's 21st goal of the season at 5:18 of the second period. The winger managed to slide the puck in front while being bodied by Devils defenseman Colin White, and Kulemin had a wide open net.