Huge Bounce Back Victory

There was nothing more the Devils needed on Columbus Day than a solid bounce back effort coming off their opening night flop against the Flyers. To say they needed a win is an understatement but, in reality, what they needed most was a goal. You can't win without scoring... Enter Captain Zach. Zach Parise, the newly elected captain of the Devils, got the monkey off their back by redirecting a Patrik Elias shot to give the Devils an early 1-0 lead. Had the 'Canes scored first there might have been a unified groan throughout the crowd and a feeling of "here we go again." However, that feeling reared it's ugly head twice in the second period. Two more crucial Devils mistakes led to a pair of 'Canes goals (which were wrapped around a Fayne wrister) to tie the game at 1-1 and then again at 2-2. The first goal was a result of, yet again, inability to clear the puck from the zone. The Devils were stuck in their own zone for over a minute and it cost them. The second goal resulted from a turnover when they attempted to enter the attacking zone. Carolina picked up the puck and turned it into a goal the other way. At the end of the second period the score was still tied at 2 and the start of the third did not help matters. Nick Palmieri and Elias penalties created a 5-on-3 for Carolina and things were not looking good. The Devils manned up and killed off the penalties leading to some heroics by the million dollar man, Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovy took his own rebound and put it in over the sprawling Cam Ward to give the Devils the lead for good. Parise added an empty netter for good measure. Except for the two costly mistakes, Jersey's team did what they needed - they scored goals, played mostly solid defense and thus earned a huge win.