New Jersey (10-7-2) at Tampa Bay (6-7-6), 5:00 pm EST
TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Devils put their
three-game win streak on the line when they begin a five-game
road trip on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Devils will be away from the Prudential Center for 18 days.
That will be their longest stretch between home games (in one
season) in team history, not counting Olympic breaks.
They did not play any home games for the first 23 days of the
2007-08 season (October 4-26). The previous high was 17 days,
from March 6-22, 1999.
Captain Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise each had three
assists and New Jersey received goals from five different
players in its 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on
Friday.
Goaltender Kevin Weekes made 25 saves en route to his 100th
career victory. Weekes had started four of the Devils' first
five contests in the wake of Martin Brodeur's elbow injury.
Scott Clemmensen, who had started three straight prior to
Friday, may get the call again Coach Brent Sutter. The
31-year-old Clemmensen made 23 saves in a 3-1 win over the
Florida Panthers on Thursday and has yielded two goals or less
in four of his five games.
The Devils ended a streak in which they had given up at least
one power-play goal in five games by holding the Islanders
scoreless in three power plays, including two in the first
period. Ironically, they did it without penalty-killing
specialist John Madden in the lineup.
Madden suffered a foot injury on Thursday and his status for
this game is unknown.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, is coming off a 4-1 victory over the
Nashville Predators on Friday. Captain Vincent Lecavalier
scored two goals and helped the Lightning earn their first win
under interim head coach Rick Tocchet, who took over for the
fired Barry Melrose on November 14.
The Lightning, who have scored a league-low 43 goals, netted
four for the first time since a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres
on October 30.
The top overall pick in this past June's draft, Steven Stamkos
set up two goals, giving him three points in his last two games
after an eight-game drought.
One of the major changes many believed Tocchet would bring to
the team is an increase in Stamkos' ice time. However, after
two straight games with 15-plus minutes under Tocchet, Stamkos
logged just 11 minutes, 58 seconds of ice time on Friday.