Devils' OT Win Snaps Skid

Just as the New Jersey Devils were about to lose for the seventh straight time, they returned to the form that made them Stanley Cup champions.

Petr Sykora got the tying goal with 1:54 left in regulation and Scott Gomez scored with two seconds remaining in overtime, as the Devils snapped their longest losing streak in nine years and beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 Thursday night.

Gomez scored his third goal of the season when he slid the puck past sprawling Bruins goalie Byron Dafoe in front of the net.

"Hopefully, we can look at this as a turning point," Gomez said. "(Brian) Rafalski made a great play to get the puck on net and we finally had some bounces go our way tonight."

The goal came after a wild scramble in front. Patrik Elias dove on his stomach, away from the goal, and was able to swat the puck to Rafalski in the slot. Rafalski moved the puck to Gomez, who scored from the right side of the net.

"I felt really disappointed getting beat one-on-one by Sykora," Dafoe said. "They were close to throwing in the towel."

Devils goalie Martin Brodeur had 36 saves for the Devils and won for the first time since Oct. 30.

"We still have a lt of work to do," Brodeur said. "In game 18 or 20, you can't say we are on top of our game, but we need to build our confidence."

New Jersey's seven-game winless streak was its longest since an 11-game slump nine years ago. The franchise record was set in 1976 with a 0-21-6 stretch.

Thornton made it 2-1 with a power-play goal with 3:02 left in the third, after the Bruins were awarded a two-man advantage 17 seconds earlier.

Dafoe had 34 saves for the Bruins. He has not won since Oct. 7 against Philadelphia.

"Both goalies were exceptional, particularly Dafoe," Bruins coach Mike Keenan said. "They were a faster, better team in overtime, but we let them get back in it."

The Devils jumped to an early 1-0 lead, when Turner Stevenson flipped in a rebound that was kicked out by Dafoe at 5:17 of the first period.

Jason Allison tied it 1-1, when he skated around Rafalski, and jammed the puck past Brodeur at 6:02 of the second.

Allison leads the Bruins with 25 points, and his 10 goals this season match his entire output from last season.

Scott Niedermayer and Jason Arnott remain unsigned for the Devils, and although their agent Don Meehan met with Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello recently, little progress has been made.

Despite being tied for the Eastern Conference lead in goals, the Devils have scored only 11 in six games.

"We were fortunate to overcome the mistakes we made in the third period," Devils forward Randy McKay said. "This is the type of momentum we needed."

Boston is 0-2-2 in its last four games against the Devils.

The Devils went 0-3 on the power-play, despite having the top unit in hockey.

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