TORONTO (Ticker) -- An unlikely goal-scorer helped Martin
Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils overcome a pair of blown
third-period leads.
Defenseman John Oduya scored on a rebound with 11.4 seconds
remaining in overtime to propel the Devils to their fourth
straight win, a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on
Tuesday.
David Clarkson and Patrik Elias also scored for New Jersey,
which improved to 4-0-0 since Brodeur's return from a 50-game
absence due to elbow surgery.
Brian Gionta picked up a loose puck inside the Devils' zone and
carried it down the left boards for a 2-on-1 with Oduya. After
Gionta's shot squeezed through Toronto goaltender Vesa Toskala,
Oduya crashed the net and put in the loose puck for the
game-winner.
"When we jumped on the ice, there was 30 seconds left," Oduya
said. "I went to the net, (Gionta) shot a great shot and the
puck was there so I just went for it."
John Mitchell had both goals for the Maple Leafs, who had their
four-game winning streak snapped but managed to claim at least a
point for the seventh straight contest, all decided in overtime.
A future Hall of Famer, Brodeur stopped 30 shots to record his
548th career win, pulling within three victories of Patrick
Roy's career record.
"I thought we played better, a full 60 minutes," Elias said.
"There were a few shifts where we didn't make the right plays.
But we had plenty of quality opportunities."
New Jersey carried a 1-0 lead into the third period, an
advantage that was quickly erased when Mitchell scored 2:32 into
the session to knot the score.
Elias put the Devils back in front with a power-play tally 2:49
later, one-timing a backhanded pass from Jamie Langenbrunner
past Toskala.
However Brodeur, who is also three shy of the Terry Sawchuk's
all-time shutout mark of 103, was beaten for the second time on
the night when Mitchell picked up a loose puck on the power play
and scored just over halfway through the final period.
New Jersey held a 52-32 edge in shots on goal, forcing Toskala
to make a season-high 49 saves to help Toronto salvage a point.
"Oh he was unbelievable," Toronto coach Ron Wilson said. "He
was the reason we got a point generally. Especially with some
people missing from the lineup, we knew that scoring would be a
struggle and that we would need great goaltending, and we got
it."