Rick DiPietro was outstanding again. Martin Brodeur was even better.
Brodeur stopped 29 shots for his NHL-leading sixth shutout of the season and the 86th of his career, and Brian Rafalski's unusual goal was all the New Jersey Devils needed in a 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night in Uniondale, N.Y.
"For the fans, they just witnessed world-class goaltending at both ends," Devils forward Scott Gomez said. "It was a great game, with a lot of chances, a lot of end-to-end rushes, and a lot of hitting."
The Devils increased their Atlantic Division lead to six points over the Islanders.
"It was pretty exciting hockey," Devils coach Claude Julien said. "If it were not for the goaltending, it would have been a different outcome."
Patrick Elias scored an empty-net power-play goal with 10.6 seconds left to complete the scoring.
DiPietro was solid, turning aside 36 shots, but the Islanders have now been blanked for the last 138:12, allowing three goals in the span.
DiPietro's home shutout streak ended at 191:04 when New Jersey scored a fluke goal 5:21 into the game. Rafalski took a rising shot from the right point that defenseman Allan Rourke tried to bat away with his glove. Instead, Rourke ticked the puck the wrong way, and it got past DiPietro.
"I just tried to put it on net," Rafalski said. "I saw it flutter, and I saw (Rourke) try to swat it away. The next thing I know, it was in the net."
Rourke felt badly about the miscue.
"It was a bad bounce — I feel awful," he said. "I got it with a piece of my glove, and it wound up going past Ricky. It was my first shift of my first game this year — I want to apologize to the team."
SENATORS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2 (OT): At Toronto, Chris Phillips scored at 2:39 of overtime and Ottawa rallied for a victory over rival Toronto. Ray Emery had a season-high 43 saves, and Dean McAmmond and Chris Kelly also scored for the Senators, who have won five straight.
PREDATORS 5, BRUINS 0: At Nashville, Tenn., Chris Mason stopped 38 shots to earn his fourth shutout of the season to lift Nashville past Boston. Paul Kariya, David Legwand and Jerred Smithson each scored and added an assist for Nashville.
BLUES 2, AVALANCHE 0: At St. Louis, Manny Legace made 33 saves to lead St. Louis over Colorado. Legace, in his first season with the Blues after six with Detroit, is 11-1-0 against Colorado. On Friday night in Denver, he helped the Blues beat the Avs 4-2.
RANGERS 4, CAPITALS 1: At New York, Petr Prucha scored two goals to help New York snap a seven-game losing skid and end a scoreless streak at 153:38 in a fight-filled victory over Washington. Things boiled over in the third period when Brendan Shanahan and Washington tough guy Donald Brashear fought at center ice.
SABRES 4, THRASHERS 1: At Buffalo, N.Y., Thomas Vanek had two goals and an assist, and Ryan Miller made 29 saves in Buffalo's victory over Atlanta in a battle between the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
LIGHTNING 3, CANADIENS 1: At Tampa, Fla., Vinny Prospal snapped a personal 20-game goal-scoring drought with a tiebreaking second-period goal, helping Tampa Bay defeat Montreal. The Lightning outshot Montreal 41-13.
COYOTES 8, SHARKS 0: At Glendale, Ariz., Curtis Joseph stopped 40 shots for his 437th win, tying Jacques Plante for fifth on the career victories list, and Phoenix sent San Jose to its fourth loss in five games.
CANUCKS 6, OILERS 2: At Edmonton, Alberta, Daniel Sedin had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks continued their strong post-Christmas play. Mattias Ohlund added two goals, and Sami Salo and Jan Bulis one apiece for the Canucks.