Devils Slip By Panthers

The Florida Panthers played in their first playoff game since 2000 on Friday night and were defeated by New Jersey Devils 3-2 at the Bank Atlantic Center. Martin Brodeur collected his 100th career playoff win as a goalie. He also started his 171st consecutive playoff game. Florida got the first two shots in the game, but New Jersey Devils followed with 13 of the next 16 shots which included the first goal. Dainius Zubrus sent a cross-ice pass from the left point to Patrik Elias alone in the low right circle. He stayed patience and faked a shot as Jose Theodore fell to his back. He then took a wrist shot over the goalie and into the net at 6:31. Elias scored his 41st career playoff goal which is a franchise record. Shawn Matthias was called for a four-minute penalty at 10:18. Theodore made eight saves during the power play, however New Jersey got one in with seven seconds left in the double-minor. Brodeur sent a right outlet pass from in front of his own cage to the neutral zone. David Clarkson skated the puck into the Panthers zone and lifted it to the slot area. Zubrus slapped a shot between the legs of Theodore for a 2-0 lead. Just 45 seconds later, former Panther Ryan Carter scored an unassisted goal on a takeaway in the neutral zone. He skated through the right circle and fired a wrist shot by Theodore. New Jersey had a 3-0 lead and a shot advantage of 26-9 after one period. The Devils set a new franchise playoff record with most shots in a period while the Panthers also broke a franchise record. Florida gave up 24 shots against the Phladelphia Flyers in a game during the 1996 Eastern Conference semifinals. The Panthers bounced back at 7:44 of the second period as they broke the shutout. Sean Bergenheim raced down the right side of the Devils zone and lifted a shot by Brodeur and closed the deficit to 3-1. The Panthers scored on their second power play at 15:42. Mikael Samuelsson passed ahead from the top left circle to Kris Versteeg in the left corner. He rushed to the left of the crease and slipped the puck in. Both teams had good scoring chances in the third period. The Devils got a two-on-one breakaway where Zubrus was stoned by Theodore at 10:10. Florida pulled their goalie with 1:15 remaining, but were unable to get a close-range opportunity. Stephen Weiss played in his first playoff game after he appeared in 637 regular season games. Both teams will meet in game two at Sunrise on Sunday night.