Zajac's OT goal gets Devils to Game 7

NEWARK -- Travis Zajac scored at 5:39 of overtime and the Devils avoided elimination and sent yet another Eastern Conference first-round series to a seventh game with a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers last night.

Steve Bernier and Ilya Kovalchuk also scored and Martin Brodeur made 14 saves for New Jersey, which squandered a two-goal lead and had fans dreading another first-round playoff exit until Zajac scored from the righthand circle.

"It's fun to be back competing and playing at this time of year," said Zajac, whose season was limited to 15 regular-season games because of an Achilles injury in August that required surgery.

Zajac's shot beat Scott Clemmensen, who was outstanding, stopping 39 shots in an emergency start for the injured Jose Theodore. Kris Versteeg and Sean Bergenheim tallied for Florida, which was looking for its first series win since 1996.

"We expected it to be a tight game," Clemmensen said. "We were in a position to win going into the third period and playing overtime on the road. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. It could've gone either way."

Game 7 will be in Sunrise, Fla., tomorrow.

The Panthers had a chance in a scramble in front of Brodeur just before Zajac's goal. However, Zajac pulled the puck away from the crease and led a rush up ice. Zach Parise took his cross-ice pass and gave the puck to Kovalchuk, who found Zajac skating down the right wing for a shot along the ice into the net.

The Devils outshot Florida 42-16 before a sellout crowd.-- AP