Stanley Cup Playoffs : Devils Beat Bruins in Overtime, 3-2, Even Series

Ten minutes after nearly costing the New Jersey Devils the game, rookie Doug Brown won it for them.

His only shot on goal Wednesday night was a 45-footer from the left side that beat Boston goalie Reggie Lemelin 17:46 into overtime, giving the Devils a 3-2 victory over the Bruins and evening the Wales Conference finals at one win each.

“I felt like I owed the team a little bit,” Brown said.

Earlier in overtime, Brown’s pass in the Devils’ end was stolen by Cam Neely, the Bruins’ top regular-season goal scorer. Neely went in alone, but rookie goaltender Sean Burke made an outstanding pad save on a 5-footer at 7:33.

Both teams then had several chances before Brown’s game-winner.

On the winning play, Claude Loiselle won a face-off from Craig Janney and got the puck to defenseman Randy Velischek deep in Boston’s end. Brown, a right wing, raced back to the left point to cover for Velischek, who circled the net and passed the puck to defenseman Joe Cirella at the right point.

“I called for the puck. He (Cirella) saw me,” Brown said. “I picked my head up once to make sure nobody would block it and I saw some confusion in front, so I tried to keep the puck low. It found its way in.

“It’s a little bit of a dream.” said Brown, who played at Boston College. “It couldn’t be any better.”

The series moves to New Jersey for Games 3 and 4 Friday and Sunday nights.