Devils 3, Capitals 2

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The New Jerseys Devils resurrected their power play with hard work in front of the Washington Capitals net.

The Devils, only 5-for-24 on the power play in their previous five games, got all three goals on the power play in Saturday's 3-2 win. Grant Marshall scored the game-winner late in the second period.

Martin Brodeur made 18 saves for the Devils, who beat the Capitals 4-3 Friday in the home-and-home series.

"Our main goal is to get in front of the net and get some pucks through," Marshall said "We have to battle hard in front and keep chipping away."

Vladimir Malakhov and Jamie Langenbrunner also scored for the Devils who, at times, have frustrated coach Larry Robinson by trying for the fancy play with the man advantage.

"If we have people in front of the net for rebounds, we have a better chance of scoring," Robinson said. "The pretty plays don't always work."

Matt Bradley and Brian Sutherby scored for the Capitals, who lost their third straight.

After Washington rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the score, the Devils took the lead at 15:17 of the second period when Marshall scored from the slot on a feed from Scott Gomez.

The Capitals were penalized five times in the first period, but gave up only one goal. Malakhov scored at 13:27, with New Jersey holding a five-on-three advantage, on a point shot past Brent Johnson.

Washington outshot New Jersey 8-7 in the period despite a 5-to-1 disadvantage in power plays.

"It seemed during the first period, they got deep into our penalty kills and that makes the guys tired," Johnson said. "It was rough to go through that in the first period, but we came back."

In the second, Langenbrunner gave the Devils a 2-0 lead at 2:52. Johnson blocked Brian Gionta's tip shot, but the puck rolled through the crease and Langenbrunner swatted it into the net.

Bradley and Sutherby combined on the next two goals as the Capitals pulled even.

Sutherby left a drop pass for Bradley in the left circle and he used Devils defenseman Colin White as a screen to beat Brodeur at 4:02.

Bradley returned the favor as he fed a cross-ice pass to Sutherby in the right circle. Brodeur came out to block the initial shot, but was out of position as Sutherby flipped in the rebound at 6:55.

Brodeur, starting on consecutive days after missing six games with a sprained right knee, had an easy third period as the Devils limited the Capitals to only two shots.

"That's New Jersey hockey," Capitals coach Glen Hanlon said. "They get a lead on you and they can shut it down. They've done it for a lot of years."

NOTES: The Devils shuffled minor-league right wings from their Albany (AHL) affiliate. New Jersey called up Barry Tallackson and sent down Cam Janssen...Capitals G Olie Kolzig missed a second straight game with a hamstring injury...Devils RW Alexander Mogilny was scratched after suffering a concussion in the Friday afternoon game...Malakhov appeared in his 700th game.