NHL Game Summary - Tampa Bay at New Jersey
Newark, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) - Patrik Elias registered the lone goal of the shootout as New Jersey claimed a 3-2 decision over Tampa Bay at Prudential Center.
Elias and Adam Henrique picked up first-period tallies for the Devils, who finally put an end to a five-game losing streak. Keith Kinkaid finished with 26 saves in regulation and three more in the game's final segment to earn his first NHL victory.
"It's a huge win. We needed it. It was a gutsy win. There probably weren't too many people picking us to win this game tonight," said Devils head coach Peter DeBoer.
Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov supplied offense for the Lightning, who have dropped five of their last seven. Evgeni Nabokov made 16 stops but allowed his team to earn a point.
Elias put his team ahead as the opening shooter in the third and final round, pulling Nabokov out of position before sliding a shot inside the right post.
Kinkaid cemented the outcome and picked up his milestone by turning away a Jonathan Drouin chance.
"We just stayed with it. I felt good and the fans gave great energy," said Kinkaid.
Late in the game's opening power play, the Devils went up 1-0 on a Henrique marker just over three minutes into the contest.
It was 2-0 with 4:43 left before the first intermission when Elias fooled Nabokov with a spin-o-rama move in the right circle and beat him to the far post.
Stamkos popped home a rebound from the right side with 5:05 to play in the second and the Bolts closed within a goal.
Devils forward Michael Ryder was given a double minor for high sticking with 7:42 remaining in regulation, but the Lightning failed to make much headway on the extended advantage.
Brett Connolly was turned away by Kinkaid's blocker as the clock ticked down to four minutes left -- the visitors' best chance on the entire power play.
Nabokov was pulled for the final 90 seconds and it paid off when Kucherov scored on a backhander as 40.1 seconds remained.
"We earned it," Bolts forward Ryan Callahan said of their point for playing beyond regulation. "Shootouts are a crapshoot, but they're very important points."