NEWARK, N.J. -- During the course of a season, New Jersey Devils coach Pete DeBoer draws up hundreds of faceoff plays in practice or on the bench. "Rarely do they work," DeBoer said. "Either you lose the draw or you dont get a bounce." The unexpected happened Saturday night. Marek Zidlicky scored with 2.1 seconds showing on the overtime clock after a late timeout by DeBoer and a faceoff win by Travis Zajac to lift the Devils to a stirring 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers. Jaromir Jagr also played a big part in the win, nudging the faceoff win with just over three seconds to play to Zidlicky at the top of the right circle for a shot into the top corner of the net past Tim Thomas. "Pete drew it up, that if I can get it to Jags, he was going to slide it to Zid for a one-timer," Zajac said. "What you saw was what he wanted us to do. Everyone executed their part. It was the perfect setup, really. I was lucky." Zidlicky was perfect with his shot for his eighth goal of the season, the one that helped New Jersey avoid a shootout. The Devils have lost their last 10 shootouts, one shy of the NHL record recently set by Detroit. "That was a great draw, and a great pass. Thats where it all started ... and I just took the shot," Zidlicky said after the Devils finished a 2-0-1 homestand. "That was the perfect setup for us. We try it all the time, and a lot of times it doesnt work. Tonight, it did." Jagr joked that he never got a chance to congratulate Zidlicky because his Czech countryman skated away to hog the glory. The play was good, though. "Just go take a look at the board over there," Jagr said. "It happened just the way we drew it up. Itll probably never happen that way again. It happened exactly the way we wanted to do it. The key was the faceoff. It started with Travis." Jagr earned his 1,724th NHL point, moving him ahead of former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Mario Lemieux and into seventh place on the leagues career scoring list. Panthers coach Peter Horaceck was more disappointed with his team for its overall play in the game rather than the late goal, which he said was a great shot. "It wasnt very good," he said. "We didnt deserve anything, and we got a point for something we didnt deserve. We didnt play very well. They outplayed us most of the game." Still, the late goal was tough on a night in which Thomas was outstanding in making 34 saves. "This is about as bad as it gets," Panthers goal scorer Nick Bjugstad said. "Five seconds. That puck had eyes and went in. What are you going to do? I saw out there I had to block that shot." Michael Ryder extended his goal streak to four games, and Cory Schneider made 29 saves in giving New Jersey its second straight win. With both teams in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference and needing points, the third period was wide open despite the 1-1 tie. Both teams had great chances, but Thomas and Schneider stopped them on the doorstep. Thomas best saves in the period came on a deflection by Reid Boucher and a stuff attempt by Ryane Clowe in the final two minutes. Schneider denied a power-play chance early in the period by Tomas Kopecky, and a shot by Sean Bergenheim with 9.2 seconds left in regulation. Ryder gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with his team-high 16th goal late in the first period. Thomas made a couple of good stops but the Panthers had trouble clearing their zone. Defenceman Erik Gudbranson tried to carry the puck around the net, but Clowe stripped him of the puck and found Ryder alone in front. Florida tied it about a minute after Thomas robbed Adam Henrique on a rebound attempt that prevented New Jersey from taking a two-goal lead. A Panthers counterattack produced the tying goal. Scottie Upshall carried the puck up the right boards and gave it to Bjugstad. He found Tomas Fleischmannn, who sent a pass in front that Bjugstad redirected into the upper corner of the net past Schneider. Schneider stopped breakaways by Upshall and Kopecky in the first two periods. Thomas had at least a half dozen good saves, including stopping a short-handed breakaway by Ryan Carter early in the third. Schneider also got a break when a shot by Brian Campbell hit of the post during a power play. NOTES: Former NBA great Shaquille ONeal dropped the puck during a ceremonial opening faceoff. ... The Panthers three lineup scratches, C Scott Gomez, D Mike Mottau and F Krys Barch, are all former Devils. ... Clowe has assists in three straight games. ... Florida went 1-1-1 on its three-game road trip. Alex Morgan Jersey .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. Adrianna Franch USA Jersey . -- Jake Peavy arrived at Bostons spring training complex on Monday with a large white bandage covering his left index finger, the result of a weekend accident. http://www.officialsocceruswntshop.com/l...ran-usa-jersey/. Johnny Manziel, college footballs most entertaining player with the reputation for pulling off magical plays, was selected with the No. Casey Short USA Jersey . The same cant be said of last Saturdays 2-2 draw at Olympic Stadium against a very weakened New York Red Bulls side and one which had three stalwarts in Henry, Cahill and Olave back home in Harrison, NJ. Mallory Pugh USA Jersey . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also listen to all the action live on TSN 1050 at 7pm et. The Knicks are two games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference race.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the American support of the World Cup, the passivity of NHL GMs, the clubhouse issues of Bryce Harper, and the career of the retired Alex Kovalev. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star: My thumb is up to American soccer fans, who have been much maligned over the years. Americans dont like soccer, people say - the same people, of course, year after year. Too little scoring, too much diving, too many ties, blah blah blah. Americans, the laziest critics have said for years, are too good for soccer. That typically mindless braying resurfaced during this World Cup, but a funny thing happened: it was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of support, of enjoyment, of commitment to a U.S. team that didnt have the most talent, but that rewarded its fans with everything it had. TV ratings? Through the roof. Online support? Inescapable. Americans embraced soccer, and it was so much fun. If they cant accept the metric system, they can at least love this. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is down to the passivity of NHL general managers, who are sometimes too polite for their own good. The GMs missed out on the opportunity to make an offer to restricted free agent PK Subban and now that Subban has filed for arbitration, his rights are protected by Montreal for the coming season. But if Im a GM, I would have made a monstrous offer to Subban, more than $10 million a year, and not just because he was the only game changing player available. I look at this two ways. If I throw huge money at Subban, I have a shot to get him - albeit its a long shot. And if Montreal matches, which is usually the way these things go, then Im meessing up their payroll.dddddddddddd Either way, I have nothing to lose. Even if the GMs dont agree. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down to Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, for more unwelcome Washington punditry. After missing 57 games following thumb surgery, the uber-talented 21-year-old returned this week full of enthusiasm and suggestions. He critiqued the batting order - he was hitting sixth - and, more tellingly, the personnel. Harper was in left field, not his preferred position of centre, implying that Denard Span, the Nats centre fielder, should have been on the bench. Great for clubhouse chemistry. In publicly slagging first-year manager Matt Williams lineup, the prodigy wasnt breaking one of baseballs murky unwritten rules. He was violating basic workplace etiquette. Everyone has bosses and co-workers, even Harper, the young and the restless. Dave Hodge, TSN: And my thumb is sideways - thats right sideways - to the hockey career of Alex Kovalev, who announced his retirement this week at age 41 after playing last season in Switzerland. Why is my thumb sideways? Well, because like a lot of people, I cant decide whether Kovalev had a great career or is one of the great underachievers in the sport of hockey. The term enigma is thrown around too loosely in sports, especially at Russian hockey players. But how else to describe a player would could appear to be the most talented of any in one game, and then invisible the next, a pattern that existed throughout his career. Fans and even Kovalevs teammates used to debate how hard he was trying on any given night. Which, more than anything he accomplished on the ice … seems destined to be what we remember about him most. ' ' '