[Devils-list] Devils lose Sykora in 3rd period

[Melissa Fraley]

New Jersey 2, Philadelphia 2 (Ot)

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- First, the New Jersey Devils lost Petr Sykora. Then
they lost the lead.

Keith Primeau scored his second goal of the game with 8:05 left in the third
period to lift the Philadelphia Flyers into a 2-2 tie with the Devils.

New Jersey had a 2-1 lead with 8:45 remaining when Sykora was hit by
defenseman Luke Richardson and suffered an apparent left leg injury. A
member of the Devils' "A Line" who received a lucrative two-year contract in
arbitration over the summer, Sykora had to be helped off the ice.

Less than a minute later, J.F. Damphousse got a piece of John LeClair's shot
from the right point. But the puck trickled by the rookie goaltender and
Primeau banged in the puck.

New Jersey nearly won it in the final seconds of overtime, but goalie Brian
Boucher got his glove on Patrik Elias' point-blank backhander.

Primeau opened the scoring on the power play 7:51 into the second period,
but goals by Elias and Bobby Holik put the Devils in front before
intermission.