Devils edge Penguins in nine-goal thriller
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New Jersey Devils turned in a second straight strong offensive performance to edge the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Wednesday, Travis Zajac leading the attack with two second period goals.
The normally defensive-minded Devils out-shot the Penguins 35-30 to follow up Friday's 6-5 victory over Atlanta with another win in a wide-open contest.
"That's two in a row we've gone through," New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur told reporters.
"We're getting two points so we'll take it."
The Devils have been one of the NHL's premier defensive teams for many years and they scored just seven goals in their first four games, three of them losses.
However, New Jersey got back to .500 (3-3) with the win, as they continue their season-opening nine-game road trip while they wait for their new arena to be completed.
Devils coach Brent Sutter was pleased his team was able to tighten up after Aaron Asham's goal at 10:38 of the third period put the Devils 5-4 ahead.
"We kept our composure when we had to and did what we do best after we got the lead," Sutter said.
John Madden and Jay Pandolfo each had a goal and an assist for the Devils, while Zach Parise added three assists and David Clarkson had two.
Sergei Gonchar had a goal and two assists for Pittsburgh (2-3), while Evgeni Malkin and Gary Roberts both had a goal and an assist.
Brodeur made 26 saves for the Devils and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30 shots for the Penguins, who had a second period goal wiped out because of a disputed too many men on the ice penalty.
*The St. Louis Blues recorded their fourth straight win as Manny Legace made 28 saves in a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
*Jussi Jokinen scored the only goal of the shootout as the Dallas Stars edged the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2.
Only 11,820 fans attended the game, the smallest crowd in Columbus's regular season history.
*The Anaheim Ducks got a 28-save performance from Jean-Sebastien Giguere to secure a 3-1 victory at the Nashville Predators.
