Results - Fri, Feb 07, 2014

Edmonton @ New Jersey 1-2 OT - New Jersey Devils rookie defenseman Jon Merrill said scoring a huge goal in a big spot is a moment he's dreamed about for some time. It took 31 NHL games, but he realized that dream Friday night by scoring with 2:26 remaining in overtime to give the Devils a 2-1 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at Prudential Center. Merrill took a pass from Michael Ryder in the left circle and blasted a shot that beat goalie Ilya Bryzgalov on the long side. Ryder had barely missed breaking a 1-1 tie midway through the third period when his wrist shot beat Bryzgalov (22 saves) but hit the crossbar. Devils goalie Cory Schneider made 19 saves and was sharp in his fifth straight start. He turned aside all eight shots he faced in the third period when Edmonton had some sustained pressure. In an effort to generate more offense, DeBoer had Andrei Loktionov centering Dainius Zubrus and Jaromir Jagr to open the game. Jagr's usual center, Travis Zajac, was between Patrik Elias and Damien Brunner. The Devils entered the game 26th in the NHL with a 2.33 goals per game average, but had averaged just 1.83 goals in their past six games. Loktionov, who earned just one shift in the third period, rewarded his coach when he scored his fourth of the season 11:01 into the game to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead. The advantage lasted all of 29 seconds before Edmonton's leading scorer, Taylor Hall, finished off a nice passing play to get the Oilers even. Bryzgalov was kept busy for much of the second period, turning aside 10 shots. His best save came off the stick of Ryane Clowe, who broke in 1-one-1 down the slot and drove a shot that Bryzgalov got with his right pad at 14:41. Less than a minute later, he denied Dainius Zubrus from 14 feet with another chest save. The teams exchanged goals in the first period when the Devils held an 8-5 advantage in shots. Loktionov scored his first goal in 16 games by beating Bryzgalov with a quick wrist shot from right circle after taking a cross-ice feed from Bryce Salvador. Jagr had the second assist, the 1,039th of his NHL career. He is one behind Marcel Dionne for ninth on the all-time list. The Oilers tied it when Hall fired home a wrist shot from the left circle after collecting a feed from Nail Yakupov. Schneider was unable to get his right pad across in time to prevent 20th of the season. Schneider made a big save 50 seconds into the game when he got his left pad down to stop defenseman Justin Schultz, who had slipped back door and collected a pass at the right post. Sam Gagner hit the left post 2 1/2 minutes later. Schneider also robbed Andrew Ference on an uncontested one-timer from the slot midway through the period.
Florida @ Carolina 1-5 - Anton Khudobin was sharp again on Friday, stopping 34 shots in a 5-1 victory against the Florida Panthers that improved his record in 2014 to 11-4-0 in 15 starts. The Hurricanes have won seven of their past 10 games and are three points out of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Carolina's first two goals came on shots from the high slot. Tuomo Ruutu held the puck in along the boards and centered to Riley Nash, who beat Florida goaltender Tim Thomas under the crossbar for his eighth of the season at 9:17. Alexander Semin made it 2-0 at 10:44. The Hurricanes worked the puck around the offensive zone before Andrej Sekera's shot popped out to Semin, who scored for the eighth time in his past 10 games. The Panthers made it 2-1 at 15:30 on Nick Bjugstad's 13th of the season. After a Dylan Olsen shot from the point, Bjugstad's second-chance bid appeared to be stopped by Khudobin, but the puck trickled past his stick side. Carolina pushed the lead back to two after a hard-working forecheck kept the Panthers hemmed in their zone. With Florida unable to gain possession, the puck squirted loose to Bellemore, who blasted a shot from inside the top of the circle at 18:21 for his second of the season. In the second period, the Hurricanes picked up where they left off. After Florida turned the puck over, Thomas stopped Eric Staal, but the rebound fell behind him to Jiri Tlusty, who tapped it in at 4:36. That spelled the end of the night for Thomas, who was replaced by Scott Clemmensen. He finished with 10 saves on 14 shots. The Panthers did generate some good scoring chances, but Khudobin was sharp. He made three quality stops on Scottie Upshall, and he stopped a Bjugstad breakaway early in the third period coming across the crease. Khudobin lowered his goals-against average to 2.09 and boosted his save percentage to .930. Sekera contributed the final goal at 12:48 of the third period, threading a shot through bodies for the team's second power-play goal in the past seven games. The power play has been a point of emphasis for the Hurricanes, who are 28th in the NHL with the man advantage. Hurricanes defenseman John-Michael Liles left the game with a lower-body injury in the third period and did not return.