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DETROIT, Nov 22: Luc Robitaille scored a powerplay goal with 43 seconds left in overtime to end a duel of the goaltenders as the Detroit Red Wings edged the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0 Wednesday to claim their fifth straight win.
Robitaille took a pass from Nicklas Lidstrom and fired a slap shot past Ron Tugnutt for his 13th goal of the season to make a winner out of Detroit backup goalie Manny Legace, who produced 38 saves.
Robitaille’s third game-winner of the season, which gave Detroit its league-best 19th win from 23 outings, came 78 seconds after defenseman Mattias Timander was penalized for slashing.
Legace was under siege in the first period as Columbus put a team-record 23 shots on goal. But the Blue Jackets could not beat Dominik Hasek’s backup.
Legace made 11 more saves in the second period and just four stops in the third to improve to 6-0-0 this season.
Tugnutt was just as solid in the Blue Jackets net as he stopped all 32 shots he faced in regulation, including 13 saves in the third period.
Detroit’s Brett Hull received a major penalty and a game misconduct at 8:40 of the second period for elbowing Tyler Wright, but Columbus could not convert on the five-minute powerplay.
On Long Island, Alexei Yashin scored with 4:16 left as the New York Islanders blew a three-goal lead but recovered to post a 5-4 win over the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.
Joe Sakic scored twice in Colorado’s three-goal third period as the Avalanche erased a 4-1 deficit.
But Yashin took a backhanded pass from defenseman Marko Kiprusoff in the slot and redirected it past Colorado backup netminder David Aebischer for his 13th goal.
At Florida, Roberto Luongo made 30 saves for his third shutout of the season and Ivan Novoseltsev scored twice in a four-goal second period as the Panthers rolled to a 6-0 rout of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
Luongo made 10 saves in the first period, 14 in a busy second and six in the third to post his ninth career shutout.
Despite the absence of injured sniper Pavel Bure, Luongo got plenty of support from unlikely sources as rookie Niklas Hagman, Ryan Johnson and defenseman Lance Pitlick netted their first goals of the season in Florida’s biggest offensive output of the campaign.
In Washington, Jaromir Jagr scored a goal and set up two more, including Ulf Dahlen’s game-winner with 3:58 remaining, as the Capitals edged the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2.
Sergei Gonchar scored the other goal for Washington, knotting the game at 2-2 just 47 seconds after Brian Holzinger had given Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead.
Wednesday’s results (home team in CAPS):
WASHINGTON 3 Tampa Bay 2
Detroit 1 COLUMBUS 0 (OT)
NY ISLANDERS 5 Colorado 4
BUFFALO 4 Toronto 2
Vancouver 4 PITTSBURGH 1
FLORIDA 6 Anaheim 0
NASHVILLE 4 Chicago 3
Carolina 4 DALLAS 4
Minnesota 2 SAN JOSE 0
SALT LAKE CITY (Utah): Jason Kidd hit a desperation three-pointer to force overtime and Keith Van Horn nailed a jumper with 2.3 seconds left in the extra session to give the New Jersey Nets a thrilling 90-89 victory over the Utah Jazz Wednesday.
The victory, which gave the Nets a surprising 8-3 record, was their first win over Utah in nearly eight years.
Kidd, who finished with 18 points, scored New Jersey’s last 10 points of regulation as the Nets erased a six-point deficit over the final two minutes.
The Jazz led 81-79 and appeared to have locked up the win when Kidd missed a three-point attempt and the Nets were forced to foul John Stockton, one of the premier free throw shooters in the NBA, with 8.2 seconds left.
But Stockton, with a chance to give his team a four-point lead and seal the win, missed his second free throw.
The Nets got the ball to Kidd who raced up court, pulled up at the three-point line and drilled the tying shot.
Kidd opened overtime with a layup and let his teammates take over from there as Van Horn hit two crucial baskets.
Utah’s Donyell Marshall made 1-of-2 from the line with 15 seconds left to put the Jazz up 89-88, but the Nets found an open Van Horn above the foul line and he sank a jumper.
Utah had one last chance with 2.3 seconds left, but Nets rookie Richard Jefferson broke up the inbounds pass.
Karl Malone led Utah with 34 points and Marshall had 27 for the struggling Jazz, who fell to 2-4 at home.
Wednesday’s results:
Atlanta 92 BOSTON 85
CLEVELAND 101 Memphis 94
PHILADELPHIA 94 Detroit 89
Dallas 89 CHARLOTTE 78
ORLANDO 117 Minnesota 106
MILWAUKEE 96 Chicago 92
SAN ANTONIO 110 Seattle 93
LA Lakers 89 DENVER 68
New Jersey 90 UTAH 89 (OT)
PHOENIX 96 New York 72
SACRAMENTO 95 Portland 83
—Reuters
