Vanbiesbrouck Is Sharp in Defeat

John Vanbiesbrouck’s return from retirement was everything the New Jersey Devils hoped for, except for the outcome.

Philadelphia’s Simon Gagne spoiled Vanbiesbrouck’s return to the net with a second-period goal that carried the Eastern Conference-leading Flyers past the Devils, 1-0, Wednesday night at East Rutherford, N.J.

“I never questioned myself,” said Vanbiesbrouck, 38, said after making 31 saves in his first game since April. “If I questioned myself, I never would have done this. I was confident.”

Roman Cechmanek made 22 saves in helping the Flyers remain unbeaten (3-0-1) against the Devils.

“Every one of our players was on top of his game tonight,” Flyer Coach Bill Barber said. “It was like getting an A+ on an exam.”

Vanbiesbrouck, who gave Martin Brodeur a rare night off, had two key stops during an early 51-second, two-man power play and also stopped a close-range shot by Mark Recchi after the Devils got a man back.

Gagne, who had a goal and three assists in six games for Canada at the Salt Lake City Olympics, beat Vanbiesbrouck at 7:59 of the second period.

“I still don’t know how he slipped it in there,” Vanbiesbrouck said. “It hit my stick, the inside of my pad. I felt all of that and when you feel that stuff, you go ‘Oh, geez.’”

Detroit 3, Florida 2--Brett Hull’s persistence eventually paid off.

With 48.5 seconds left in overtime, Hull’s short-range slap shot rallied the Red Wings at Sunrise, Fla., and foiled a franchise-record performance by Panther goalie Roberto Luongo, who stopped 57 of 60 shots.

“That’s the only one that was going to go in for me tonight,” said Hull, who scored on his 10th shot. “It’s frustrating to have all of those chances, but you can’t let it show.”

Luongo let his frustrations show by lying face down on the ice a few seconds after Hull lifted Detroit to its fifth consecutive victory.

“What are you going to do?” Luongo said. “It’s a learning process. One day it will pay off.”

Luc Robitaille’s second power-play goal of the game forced overtime with 2:13 left in regulation.

Florida, which blew a two-goal lead, picked up a point but lost its fifth in a row. The Panthers have won only once in 12 games.

Florida has not defeated Detroit in nine games, dating to Dec. 1, 1996.

Montreal 3, Chicago 2--Stephane Quintal and Jeff Hackett made life difficult for their former team.

Quintal scored a power-play goal with 4:32 left to lift the Canadiens at Chicago.

Hackett, another former Blackhawk, stopped 27 shots to post his first victory since Oct. 13 and help the Canadiens end a three-game skid.

“I wasn’t taking any personal vendettas against anybody,” said Hackett, who made his first start since Jan. 21. “I was just trying to concentrate on being successful.”

When asked if the victory was special because of the opponent, Hackett said: “I don’t know about that. It’s been so long since I played. It’s been such a tough [season].”

Hackett, who played five-plus seasons with the Blackhawks, sat out 20 games this season because of a dislocated shoulder.

Like Hackett, Quintal was more concerned about a victory than the opponent.

“It’s always fun to score. I don’t care who it’s against,” said Quintal, who played for Chicago last season. “It was a big goal that got us two points.”