NHL PLAYOFFS Devils sweep Rangers; Wings lose at home

Edmonton can eliminate Detroit with a win Monday in Canada.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK -- Patrik Elias jump-started the streaking New Jersey Devils in the playoff opener and then used another flourish to sweep away the New York Rangers.
Elias scored two goals and assisted on Scott Gomez's power-play goal early in the second period -- that wiped out the Rangers' only lead of the series -- giving the Devils a 4-2 win Saturday and ending the first-round matchup in four straight games.
Brian Gionta sealed the deal 4:30 into the third period with the Devils' third short-handed goal of the series after a terrible turnover by Petr Sykora.
Elias ripped in another goal, his fifth of the series, with 6:39 left to make it 4-1.
The Rangers scored only four times in four games, while yielding 17 goals.
Red-hot Devils
New Jersey will have to wait to find out who it will meet in the second round, but will enter that series just as it did this one -- as the hottest team in the NHL. The workmanlike Devils stretched their winning streak to 15 games, tying the league mark for the longest run that spanned the regular season and playoffs.
Martin Brodeur made 31 saves and broke Patrick Roy's league record by playing his 137th consecutive postseason game. His 88th playoff win moved him into a third-place tie with Billy Smith and Ed Belfour on the NHL career list.
The Devils, who turned sloppy Rangers play into goals throughout the short series, earned their third playoff sweep. They have won the Stanley Cup in the two other years they pulled off the feat.
New York was facing long odds at the start of the day, knowing that only two NHL teams have rallied to win a series after trailing 3-0. But things got much worse just 53 seconds in when team scoring leader Jaromir Jagr aggravated a serious shoulder injury and was forced out of the game.
The right wing, who posted team records of 54 goals and 123 points this season, went into the deep right corner in the Devils end when defenseman Brad Lukowich met him with a hit on the right shoulder. The force drove Jagr into the boards, leading with his left shoulder that is thought to be dislocated or separated.
He crumpled to the ice and stayed down until he was assisted by New York's training staff. Jagr skated off, doubled over and with his left arm drooping, and headed straight down the tunnel to the dressing room.
Oilers 3, Red Wings 2
DETROIT -- Dwayne Roloson made 30 saves and Edmonton scored three goals in the second period to take a 3-2 series lead.
Fernando Pisani, Ryan Smyth and Shawn Horcoff scored for Edmonton -- with Chris Pronger assisting on each goal -- before Detroit's Brendan Shanahan scored on a breakaway with 1:21 left in the second period.
The Red Wings had a power play with 4:06 remaining in the game, but didn't come close to scoring. They later pulled Manny Legace with 1:49 to go, leading to Henrik Zetterberg's goal with 22 seconds left.
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