Thrashers lose to Devils again

By Chris Vivlamore

March 16, 2011

NEWARK, N.J. -- The Devils did it again.

New Jersey scored four consecutive goals en route to a controversial 4-2 victory over the Thrashers on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center.

New Jersey's Jacob Josefson scored the game-winner with 4:14 into the third period, putting the Devils up 3-2. The Thrashers failed to hold a two-goal lead in a loss that damaged their playoff chances. It was the Thrashers' second loss to the Devils in their past three games.

Ilya Kovalchuk, formerly of the Thrashers, finished off his former team with an empty-net goal with 17 seconds left. It was Kovalchuk’s fourth goal against the Thrashers this season.

The Thrashers appeared to tie the game at 3-3 with 42.7 seconds remaining when Evander Kane tipped a point shot from Tobias Enstrom into the goal. However, the referee immediately waved off the goal, calling Kane for playing the puck with a high stick. The call was upheld after a video review.

“I started [my stick] off high to time it on the tip, and when I made contact it was definitely on its way down,” Kane said. “[Andrew] Ladd had a face of excitement, and it turned to not-so-excitement. I turned around and the ref was on his way to the [judges] box. I don’t know what they saw. I definitely disagree with the call."

A player can't play the puck with his stick above the height of the goal’s crossbar.

Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay questioned the official for calling off the goal so quickly.

“I’m very disappointed,” he said. “I think the people on the ice should not have waved it off. It was so close. You can’t wave that off at this time of the year."

The Thrashers (29-29-12, 70 points) lost to the Devils for the third time this season. They are tied for 10th with Toronto in the Eastern Conference, six points behind Buffalo for the eighth and final playoff spot. Ninth-place Carolina holds a four-point lead over the Thrashers, who have 12 games remaining, in the crowded playoff picture.

Tim Stapleton opened the scoring with his third goal of the season with 3:31 left. Kane made the play with a spinning back-handed pass to an on-rushing Stapleton, who redirected it past Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur. Anthony Stewart also assisted on the play with a long cross-ice pass to break the Devils’ neutral-zone trap.

The goal was the first first-period goal the Devils have had allowed in 16 games.

Chris Thorburn made it a two-goal Thrashers lead just over a minute later when he jammed a puck past Brodeur on a rush for his eighth of the season. Radek Dvorak assisted on the goal for his first point since being acquired by the Thrashers at the Feb. 28 trade deadline.

The Thrashers would fail to hold the lead -- not a first against the Devils. They failed to hold two one-goal leads in an overtime loss to the Devils two games ago.

The Devils answered when Travis Zajac tipped a Mark Fayne point shot past Thrashers goaltender Ondrej Pavlec with 1:08 remaining in the first period. Patrik Elias finished a 3-on-2 breakaway 5:10 into the second period, one-timing a return pass from Brian Rolston past Pavelec. The breakaway was started after a Thrashers’ odd-man rush, when a shot went wide and rimmed around the boards.

The Thrashers have failed to hold their past three two-goal leads.

The Thrashers, who have the worst penalty kill in the NHL, killed off two man-disadvantages in the second period. The second infraction came 36 seconds after the first expired, but the Thrashers allowed one shot in the four minutes.

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