New Jersey's Dainius Zubrus entered play on Sunday with just two goals in his first 19 games this season. He had no trouble blowing that total out of the water during the Devils' 7-3 win over Tampa Bay, as he scored four goals on eight shots, while New Jersey won its fourth straight game.
During the current winning streak, the Devils have scored 21 goals after scoring just 22 in their previous nine games. As for the four-goal effort, it was the first such performance by a Devil since October 29, 2000, when John Madden and Randy McKay each scored four goals in a 9-0 win over the Penguins.
Zubrus scored a pair of goals in the second and third periods, while New Jersey also received tallies from Zach Parise, Brian Gionta and Mike Rupp. Scott Clemmensen earned the start in goal, turning aside 26 shots to pick up the win.
Olaf Kolzig started for Tampa Bay, in place of the injured Mike Smith, and surrendered five goals on 28 shots before being yanked in the second period in favor of Karri Ramo. I'm guessing it wasn't the result Rick Tocchet was looking for following his first NHL win behind the bench, as Tampa Bay has now won just three times its past eight games.
Martin St. Louis and Radim Vrbata picked up goals for the Lightning, while Ryan Malone scored on a penalty shot, his fourth goal of the season.
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Nashville snapped a brief two-game losing streak on Sunday, as Shea Weber and Jason Arnott each scored a pair of goals in the Predators 5-2 win in Carolina.
The Predators entered the third period with a commanding 4-0 lead, which was eventually cut in half when Carolina received goals from Matt Cullen and Chad LaRose. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, that was as close as they would get, as Weber helped seal the win with his second goal at the 12-minute mark of the third period.
Dan Ellis stopped 24 of 26 shots in the win, as Cam Ward was victimized on five of Nashville's 30 shots.
Weber finished as the game's No. 1 star with three points (two goals, assist) while registering a game-high six shots on goal.
Yesterday's Newsmakers in the NHL: Dainius Zubrus Scores 4 Goals In Win originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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