Devils Rally To Beat Sens

2003 Playoffs

There's no question it's nice to be up 3-1 instead of 2-2," Devils captain Scott Stevens said. "But we know they are a dangerous team and they are capable of winning a lot of hockey games, so we still have to get this fourth win, which is always tough. We know that."

Jeff Friesen, Patrik Elias and John Madden scored in the final period for the Devils, who improved to 8-0 at home in the playoffs.

"We just for some reason weren't playing our game," Devils left wing Jay Pandolfo said. "We were undisciplined and just throwing pucks in the middle of the ice. But we got back to playing our game in the third period."

Karel Rachunek and Vaclav Varada scored for Ottawa and Grant Marshall and Pandolfo also scored for New Jersey.

"I'm glad they didn't take that one back," said Pandolfo, who lost a goal that was missed by the replay official in Game 3.

The Devils can earn their third trip to the Stanley Cup finals in four years with a win Monday at Ottawa.

"It's a very frustrating loss because we were able to get more shots, and we also let a lead slip away," Ottawa defenseman Chris Phillips said. "We were doing a lot more good things and were able to get a forecheck going. But we need to limit our mistakes, whether it be our blue line or their blue line."