Mills Nets First NHL Goal (with Video)
CHICAGO -- Brad Mills, a former Yale standout, swatted a rebound out of midair and into the net with just 3:51 to play Wednesday night to break a 2-2 tie, and New Jersey added a pair of empty-net goals for a 5-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Click here to view video of goal via Devils Web site.
The Devils won despite losing goaltender Martin Brodeur to an injured right elbow early in the second period. He left after being hit by a shot from Chicago's Patrick Kane and did not return.
New Jersey improved to 4-9-1 and finished a brutal six-game trip with a 2-4-0 mark by winning its first game without star forward Zach Parise -- who underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and will be out for three months.
Chicago, which got off to a lethargic start, trailed 2-0 when Brodeur left. The Hawks tied it 2-2 on goals by Brian Campbell in the second and Fernando Pisani in the third on a power play. Mills then put the Devils back in front when his shot deflected off Turco into the net, proving that not all of New Jersey's luck is bad.
Jamie Langenbrunner and Andy Green White sandwiched empty-net goals around a sixth-attacker goal by Stalberg to send the Devils home with a win. It was also a big goal for Mills for another reason - it was his first in the League.
"He (Mills) had some good jump," Devils coach John MacLean said. "He skates well. It's nice to see a guy like that get rewarded."
"The first shot kind of bobbled it up and it kept going forward," Mills said. "I just stayed hard on it and got lucky. I've been told that the harder you work, the better your luck gets - so I'll chalk it up to that."
He may also alter the way the goal was scored in recollections as the years pass.
"That will probably get embellished a little bit along the way," Mills said, smiling. "Each retelling will become a little more grandiose. It's not how I necessarily envisioned it, but I'll take it."
