Gomez leads Rangers with three assists

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Apr 10, 2008

NEWARK, N.J. -- Scott Gomez showed the New Jersey Devils just what they let get away.

In his first playoff game against the team he grew up with, Gomez assisted on three of the New York Rangers' goals in a 4-1 playoff- opening win over the Devils on Wednesday night.

Ryan Callahan surprised Devils goalie Martin Brodeur with a goal- scoring swoop around the net in the third period.

Callahan's shot off a drop pass from Gomez, trickled tantalizingly in the crease as Brodeur moved slowly to corral it. Callahan followed his short-handed shot and flew in front near the left post to bang the puck in at 7:23, with one second left in a Devils power play.

Gomez earned his third assist when his pass hit the skate of New Jersey forward Sergei Brylin and came right to Sean Avery for a goal with 2:53 left.

With that, the Rangers, who went 7-0-1 against New Jersey in the regular season, grabbed the home-ice advantage the Devils earned with a shootout win over the Rangers on Sunday.

Avalanche 3, Wild 2 (OT)

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Joe Sakic tipped in a shot by Ruslan Salei from the point midway through the first overtime period, his eighth career playoff goal in extra time, to send Colorado past Minnesota.

The goal came at 11:11 of OT and gave Colorado a 1-0 lead in this first-round series. Game 2 is at Minnesota on Friday.

Kurt Sauer, who scored only once this season, got the first goal for Colorado. Ryan Smyth followed with a power-play deflection, and the Avalanche were up 2-0 in the second period with only seven shots on net at that point.

Penguins 4, Senators 0

PITTSBURGH -- Ottawa and Pittsburgh staged a near replay of their playoff Game 1 from last season, only with a much different result.

Gary Roberts and Petr Sykora scored in the first period and the favored Penguins, determined not to duplicate their awful postseason opener of a year ago, rode Marc-Andre Fleury's goaltending after that to a victory over Ottawa in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Roberts had two goals, only one fewer than he had during an injury-interrupted season, and Evgeni Malkin -- the NHL's No. 2 scorer -- had a goal and two assists.