ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- Sergei Fedorov put a damper on a historic night for the New Jersey Devils and their captain, Scott Stevens.
Fedorov scored a power-play goal with 1:49 left in the third period as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim rallied for a 3-3 tie with the Devils, who extended their unbeaten streak to 13 games in a Stanley Cup Finals rematch.
The Devils were closing in on a sixth straight win when they were penalized for having too many men on the ice with two minutes to go in regulation. Fedorov made them pay, snapping a wrist shot from the inner edge of the left faceoff circle past goaltender Martin Brodeur.
It was the second goal of the game for Fedorov, one of six Ducks who did not play for the team during the Stanley Cup Finals.
"I think that Fedorov is their best player," Devils center John Madden said. "He makes the other players better. He scores, he handles faceoffs, he plays great defense. Hey, he's got two (Selke Trophies). When you get a guy like that, he complements the other players."
Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere made six of his 33 saves in overtime as Anaheim made it nine straight games with at least one point (3-0-2-4).
"We, in my opinion, are a better team than we're allowing ourselves to be at this point," Ducks coach Mike Babcock said. "We're still in the process of finding ourself."
The Devils have an even more impressive streak. At 10-0-3 since October 25, they tied the club record for longest stretch without a loss. New Jersey also remained the only team without a road defeat (5-0-3).
"This is the game we were most worried about on the trip," Madden said. "It's the end of a back-to-back and we knew it would be emotional for them."
Ducks captain Steve Rucchin, whose team was beaten in seven games in the Stanley Cup Finals, downplayed the revenge factor.
"I don't think too much should be read into it. It's a regular-season game," he cautioned. "The bottom line is we needed a win tonight and we were playing against a pretty hot team."
Stevens did not figure in the scoring but broke Larry Murphy's NHL record for defensemen by playing his 1,616th game. Only Gordie Howe, Mark Messier and Ron Francis have appeared in more.
"Endurance is what I'm most proud of," Stevens said. "Each year, I try to play in every game. I've had to fight through injury and sickness. The biggest challenge is getting older and staying productive."
Fedorov was productive in this one. He set up former Devil Petr Sykora, who forged a 1-1 tie with 18 seconds left in the first period, then put Anaheim in front with the only goal of the second period.
But the Devils surged in front in the third period as Patrik Elias got a carom off the end boards and tucked the puck inside the right goalpost at 3:41 for his seventh goal. Madden was credited with the go-ahead goal, although it appeared Brian Gionta's shot hit the skate of Ducks defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh before crossing the goal line.
An apparent overtime winner was disallowed when replays showed New Jersey's Sergei Brylin kicked the puck past Giguere.
"When I saw them go to the replay, I knew they would take it away," Brylin said. "I definitely kicked it in."
