RALEIGH, N.C. -- Marek Zidlickys shot hit a teammate, then the post. It spun in front of the net, and took a left turn across the goal line. A few more breaks like that, and these New Jersey Devils might follow a similar, meandering path to a playoff berth. Dainius Zubrus scored two goals and the short-handed Devils beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 on Saturday night. Travis Zajac scored the go-ahead goal on his deflection of Zidlickys second-period shot to help the Devils earn a point in their seventh straight game. "Weve been so close to these kind of wins all throughout the year and just somehow havent racked them up in a row," winning goalie Cory Schneider said. "If youre going to go on a run, these are the ones you need to grind out, and thats what weve been doing the last couple of games." They found a way to do it without some of their cornerstone players -- forwards Patrik Elias and Adam Henrique, who were both hurt the night before in a win against Washington. "I knew we had character in that room," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. "A lot of people were writing us off, and I knew there was no quit in that dressing room. These guys are going to play right until they tell us we cant play anymore." The Devils improved to 4-0-3 during a stretch that has given their playoff chances a significant boost. "Weve been picking up points, and weve been playing some good hockey," Zajac said. "Weve got to try to find a way to keep this going and see what happens." Jeff Skinner scored for Carolina, which had its two-game winning streak snapped. The Hurricanes had kept their faint playoff hopes alive by earning points in their previous five games. "I think a lot of guys" played with desperation, coach Kirk Muller said. "We just didnt have everybody. Its too bad, because we had a few good games here that we went on the road and played hard and earned the points. "I dont want to take it away from the group of guys that came and did what theyre supposed to do and played hard," he added. "But we didnt have everyone on the page tonight, and when youre playing tight games like this, playoff mentality, youre not going to get the result." Schneider stopped 26 shots for the Devils, including all eight he faced in the third period, for his second straight victory. Anton Khudobin made 20 saves in his first loss since March 25. New Jersey won the season series 3-1, and a strange goal initially credited to Zidlicky at 6:34 of the second turned out to be the winner. His shot from between the circles had some english on it as it hit the left post, and it spun in the blue paint behind Khudobin before curving across the red line. It was later determined that the puck clicked off Zajac on its way toward the net. "I thought it went in the first time" off the post, Zajac said. When the Hurricanes couldnt tie it during the final 13 1/2 minutes of the period, the Devils could just about count on a victory: They improved to 22-1-5 when leading after two periods while the Hurricanes fell to 4-24-4 when trailing after 40 minutes. Zubrus then iced it with an empty-netter with 37.6 seconds left. Both teams entered on the outside of the playoff picture, though the Devils had a significantly better chance to crack the Easts field of eight. New Jersey entered with 82 points -- three behind Columbus, which holds the second wild-card spot in the East, and three ahead of the Hurricanes, who were coming off consecutive 4-1 wins over playoff-calibre teams Pittsburgh and Dallas. "You get out of it what you put into it," Muller said. "We had some guys that really put everything into it. Some guys didnt, and at the end of the night, you fall short." Zubrus put the Devils up 1-0 with 4:27 left in the first when he took a feed from Michael Ryder near the blue line, skated in on Khudobin and beat him with a slick backhand. Skinner tied it 5:31 into the second -- with a little help from the video-review crew. His high, knuckling shot from the right circle appeared to hit the crossbar. A review showed the shot actually hit the camera inside the net -- giving him his career-high-tying 31st goal. "We were engaged, we had good focus and I think we responded well when they scored," Zajac said. "I thought for the most part, we controlled that game." NOTES: Carolina RW Alexander Semin was back after missing two games with an undisclosed illness. ... New Jersey RW Tuomo Ruutu had an assist in his first game in Raleigh since he was dealt to the Devils at the deadline by the Hurricanes. Hyun-Jin Ryu Jersey . Which is to say, the top of this years draft class is not as dynamic or exciting as the 2013 class of Nate MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones and its not as strikingly promising as the highly-anticipated 2015 slate of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin. Sandy Koufax Jersey . He was 90. The team announced Monday that Adams had died, saying he "passed away peacefully from natural causes." The son of a prominent oil executive, Adams built his own energy fortune and founded the Houston Oilers. http://www.baseballdodgersprostore.com/d...-turner-jersey/. -- Henry Josey watched helplessly from the sideline last fall, rehabbing from a serious knee injury, while Missouri was getting pushed around in its first SEC season. Logan Forsythe Jersey . -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights. Chase Utley Jersey .J. - Trying to learn and absorb the new West Coast offence being installed by new offensive co-ordinator Ben McAdoo, the New York Giants wrapped their final organized team activity Thursday before a three-day mini-camp next week.MILAN - Defending champion Juventus took advantage of Romas loss at Napoli to move three points clear at the top of Serie A with a 2-0 win at Empoli on Saturday.Andrea Pirlo broke the deadlock with a trademark free kick on the hour mark and Alvaro Morata sealed the result on the day Juventus celebrated the 117th anniversary of its foundation.It was the 35-year-old Pirlos first goal of the season following a spell on the sidelines with injury.Im improving, Im working hard during the week and I feel better every match, Pirlo said. It was a difficult match but we risked little, we grew in the second half and closed the match.Empoli also had Lorenzo Tonelli sent off in stoppage time for bringing down Carlos Tevez as the Juventus striker was clear on goal.Earlier, Gonzalo Higuain scored again to help Napoli beat title hopeful Roma 2-0 amid high tension at the Stadio San Paolo.I think that today everyone pushed hard to get this result, playing with a really high tempo, Napoli coach Rafa Benitez said. Today we could have done even better, but creating so many great chances against such a strong opponent shows that we really performed well. We still need to be a bit more clinical. Its a question of time and confidence. This victory will certainly help.Higuain, who hadnt scored in the opening seven rounds, netted his fifth goal in six days as Napoli got off to a blistering start.The Argentine turned provider to help Jose Callejon seal the result late on.Napoli moved provisionally third ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures.We went behind in the opening minutes and the deficit could have been worse at halftime, Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. We had very few chances after the break but that means Napoli was stronger than us in this match and the best team won.Elsewhere, Paolo De Ceglie scored his first career brace to hand bottom club Parma a surprise 2-0 win against Inter Milan, which will increase the pressure on Nerazzurri coach Walter Mazzarri.Parma had lost its previous six matches to equal its worst ever run in the top flight.Juventus knew it had a chance to restore its three-point advantage after being ccaught by Roma midweek when it lost 1-0 at Genoa in its first defeat of the season.ddddddddddddith that in mind, Juventus was surprisingly sluggish in the first half although Sebastian Giovinco — who spent a season on loan at Empoli — had two decent opportunities blocked in the opening 10 minutes.Juventus stepped up a gear after the restart and had a series of chances before free kick specialist Pirlo broke the deadlock with a precise effort over the wall and into the bottom left corner.It was Pirlos 26th free-kick goal in Serie A and sees him close in on Sinisa Mihajlovics record of 27.Empoli almost levelled immediately but Gianluigi Buffon pulled off a one-handed save to deny Manuel Pucciarelli.Juventus should have doubled its lead but Tevezs effort was parried by Bassi and Claudio Marchisio turned the follow-up onto the right upright.It did score a second moments later when Morata curled an unstoppable shot under the crossbar and into the top left corner.The match between Napoli and Roma was considered high-risk as it was the first time the two teams had met since clashes that led to a fans death from a shooting before the Italian Cup final in May.Napoli fan Ciro Esposito died 50 days after he was allegedly shot by a Roma fan. An investigation over the shooting is ongoing.Roma fans were barred from travelling to Naples for the game but there were still concerns of reprisal attacks and there were tight security measures put in place.Napoli, which could have been 3-0 up inside the opening 12 minutes, took the lead in the third minute when Higuain acrobatically volleyed it in Lorenzo Insignes deflected effort with a scissor kick.Inisgne then drilled the ball just wide of the left upright before unleashing a curler which Roma goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis did well to fingertip around the base of his post.Moments later, Callejons fierce strike crashed off the crossbar.Marek Hamsik also hit the crossbar shortly before halftime after De Sanctis had denied Higuain.Napoli doubled its lead six minutes from time as a delightful diagonal pass from Higuain allowed Callejon to slot past De Sanctis. Wholesale Jerseys 2019 Wholesale Jerseys From China Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '