Devils Use Penalty to Defeat Red Wings

Brett Hull was denied by goalie Martin Brodeur as he searched for goal No. 700 in the second period.

The Detroit forward believes the officials got him and the Red Wings in the third.

Scott Niedermayer scored 3:36 into the third period, 38 seconds after the Red Wings were whistled for too many men on the ice. That call led to the only goal in the New Jersey Devils’ 1-0 victory Tuesday night at East Rutherford, N.J.

Luc Robitaille played the puck while Darren McCarty had one foot on the ice and one in the bench.

“That was the worst call I’ve ever seen in my whole life. What a terrible way to lose a game,” Hull said. “It’s just a farce. They don’t know what they’re doing out there. They crack down on obstruction, so we’re going to call too many men on the ice in that situation, a 0-0 game. It’s unbelievable.”

Hull is trying to become the sixth player with 700 regular-season goals.

Brodeur held the Red Wings at bay. He has six shutouts this season and 61 in his career.

“It’s amazing how they can just shut you down,” Red Wing goalie Manny Legace said. “It’s pretty to watch but frustrating to be playing against.”

Tampa Bay 3, Philadelphia 0 -- Martin St. Louis and Fredrik Modin each had a goal and an assist, and John Grahame stopped 34 shots at Philadelphia for his second shutout this season and fifth of his career.

St. Louis 5, Washington 3 -- Keith Tkachuk had two goals and an assist for the Blues, who rode a three-goal flurry in the second period at Washington and improved to 7-0-1-0 against the Capitals since Dec. 29, 1997.

Colorado 2, Columbus 2 -- Lasse Pirjeta and Grant Marshall scored goals 17 seconds apart in the second period and host Columbus got its first point against the Avalanche, which had won the previous 10 games between the teams.

Atlanta 5, New York Rangers 2 -- Dany Heatley and Brad Tapper each scored twice at Atlanta, where Pasi Nurminen lost a shutout in the third period on power-play goals by Eric Lindros and Tom Poti.

Boston 2, Nashville 1 -- Jeff Hackett, acquired last week from San Jose, came within 8:34 of his second consecutive shutout, and the host Bruins got goals from Mike Knuble and Joe Thornton.

New York Islanders 5, Pittsburgh 2 -- Jason Blake’s second goal of the game, with 7:06 remaining, and Rick DiPietro’s 24 saves helped lift the Islanders at Uniondale, N.Y.

Montreal 6, Florida 3 -- Richard Zednik scored twice and Saku Koivu had three assists to lead the Canadiens at Montreal.

Phoenix 4, Calgary 3 -- Ramzi Abid scored his second goal of the game with 1:49 left at Phoenix, spoiling Calgary’s attempt to avenge a 7-1 loss to the Coyotes on Thursday.

Minnesota 2, Vancouver 2 -- Sergei Zholtok scored midway through the third period and Minnesota rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie the host Canucks.