by Christopher Botta
Ilya Kovalchuk was not about to flub this one. With his Devils on a 4-on-3 power play, Kovalchuk one-timed a blast placed on a tee by pointman Henrik Tallinder at 3:27 of overtime to give New Jersey a 4-3 win over Edmonton in a game between the teams with the worst records in the Eastern and Western conferences. "It's nice, but it's only the start," said Kovalchuk, who famously whiffed on his chance in a shootout in a loss at home to Buffalo two nights earlier. "We're still five points out of the playoffs."
It was the first victory this season for the Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark, where they are now 1-5-2. Kovalchuk's goal was his first in eight games.
Trailing 3-1 midway through the second period, the Devils appeared like they may hit the lowest point in their stunning early-season freefall with a loss at home to the Oilers. Friday was supposed to be the night first-year coach John MacLean got his first win in New Jersey. After all, Edmonton was reeling after getting blown out in consecutive games, 7-1 in Carolina on Tuesday and 6-2 in Detroit on Thursday.
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