Devils 5, Penguins 4 (Final)

newjerseydevils.com – Two road games in which they've scored 11 goals and allowed nine have translated into back-to-back wins for the Devils.

New Jersey got two power-play goals from Travis Zajac and the deciding goal from Arron Asham in a 5-4 victory over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena on Wednesday night.

After Saturday's 6-5 barnburner in Atlanta, the Devils came out on top of another roller coaster to improve to 3-3-0.

Martin Brodeur posted his second win of the season, stopping 26 of 30 shots, including two by league MVP Sidney Crosby.

"(High-scoring games) don't happen too often with us," Brodeur said. "That's two in a row we have gone through. It's just the way it is right now. We're getting two points, so we'll take it."

Asham potted his goal at 10:38 of the third period, as he set up to the right of Penguins goaltender Marc-André Fleury, and slammed home a pass from Zach Parise to snap a 4-4 tie.

Parise, who had three assists in the game, collected his third multi-point effort of the season and now leads all Devils with eight assists.

Moved off the left side Wednesday to center a line with Asham to his right and Dainius Zubrus to his left, Parise was one of five Devils with multiple points in the contest for a second consecutive game.

Tied 2-2 after one, the two teams played a penalty-filled middle frame in which Pittsburgh was whistled for six straight minors. Four goals were scored in the period, two by each team – all on the man advantage.

A Madden hooking penalty carried over from the end of the first period, and Sergei Gonchar managed to put the Penguins ahead, 3-2, on the power play just 52 seconds into the second.

Zajac responded on the Devils' second man advantage, redirecting a Parise pass at 6:57 to even the score at 3-3 with Darryl Sydor in the box for hooking.

Zajac then put the Devils ahead 4-3 at 14:48, poking the puck through a goalmouth scrum and into the Penguins net.

Five of the game's nine goals were scored on the power play. New Jersey finished 2-for-7, while Pittsburgh went 3-for-5.

Once the march to the penalty box had ended for the Penguins, the Devils were called for three consecutive minors of their own, and Evgeni Malkin soon converted, tying the game at 4-4 with 1:18 left in the period.

Jay Pandolfo and John Madden, who staked New Jersey to a 2-0 lead in the first period, were the other Devils goal scorers. The Devils would see that two-goal edge erased on tallies by Maxime Talbot and Gary Roberts.

Pandolfo, who did not score a goal in his first four games, now has goals in back-to-back contests. His marker at 6:46 of the period developed on a Madden dump-in deep in Pittsburgh territory.

David Clarkson, who finished with two assists, was the first man to the puck, but his wraparound attempt slid wide of Fleury. Pandolfo was able to control the errant shot and put it by Fleury for a 1-0 Devils lead.

Pandolfo later started the play that led to New Jersey's second goal, springing Clarkson on a rush through the neutral zone that ended with a one-timer from Madden and a 2-0 score at 9:58.

Talbot trimmed the New Jersey lead to 2-1 at 15:58, and Pittsburgh drew even on the game's first power play, when Roberts tipped a Gonchar shot past Brodeur.

Three games now remain for the Devils on their season-opening nine-game road trip. Brent Sutter's team visits the Flyers on Thursday (7:00 p.m., FSN NY, WFAN 660 AM), followed by the Islanders on Saturday night. The trip concludes against the Rangers on Oct. 25, and the Devils open the Prudential Center on Oct. 27 against the Ottawa Senators.

NJD NOTES
The Devils got caught in a line change on their fourth power play, and appeared to have fallen behind 4-3 when Jordan Staal and Malkin combined to beat Brodeur on a two-man breakaway. But Malkin's goal was disallowed after Pittsburgh was penalized for having too many men on the ice. The game remained even at 3-3, and the Devils continued with the man advantage... Johnny Oduya saved a goal in the first period when he got his stick on the ice in the crease to block a Ryan Malone shot... Nicklas Bergfors has been assigned to Lowell (AHL).