Panthers Pick Up 18th Tie

Rookie Mark Parrish scored his second goal of the game with 2:07 remaining as the Florida Panthers tied the New Jersey Devils 2-2 on Sunday night.

Rob Niedermayer assisted on both of Parrish's goals, his 19th and 20th of the season, to give him a one-goal lead over Colorado's Chris Drury for the league lead in goals by a rookie.

Petr Sykora and Sergei Nemchinov scored late second-period goals within 1:30 of each other to give the Devils a 2-1 lead entering the third.

New Jersey, the league-leading road team, is 6-1-3 in its last 10 games away from Continental Airlines Arena. The Devils finished the season series with the Panthers at 2-0-2.

Niedermayer, who fanned on the puck with an open net looming with 5:22 remaining, later atoned with a nifty drop-pass to Parrish, who blasted the puck past Martin Brodeur at 17:53 of the third.

In overtime, a shot by Florida's Ray Whitney clanged off the post, and the Panthers settled for their 18th tie.

Parrish gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 14:32 of the second period. Then with the Devils on a power play, Sykora redirected Jason Arnott's shot at 17:54 from the point for his 26th goal.

Less than two minutes after Sykora tied the game, Randy McKay's wrist shot caromed off two players' skates including Nemchinov's

and through Sean Burke to give the Devils a 2-1 lead with 36 seconds left in the second.

Parrish then tied the game after a setup by Niedermayer in the slot.

The Panthers went 0 for 6 on power plays and are now 1 for 21 against New Jersey this season and 2 for their last 20 at home.

New Jersey outshot Florida 39-19 as Burke recorded 37 saves, but the ex-Devils goalie was unable to win his 200th career game.

The Panthers didn't gain or lose ground on the Southeast-leading Hurricanes, and still trail them and Boston by five points for a playoff berth.

Panthers forward Bill Lindsay sat out with a knee ijury, ending his consecutive game streak at 153. Florida is 0-11-2 without him.

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