Devils 2, Penguins 1 (FINAL)
Brian Gionta, who registered an assist on New Jersey's first goal, sets up in front of the net against Sergei Gonchar and Marc-Andre Fleury.


newjerseydevils.com (Nov. 21) – A resurgent power play and a perfect penalty kill gave the Devils the edge they needed Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.

Zach Parise scored twice with the man advantage and the Devils' penalty killers went 4-for-4 in a 2-1 win over the Penguins at Mellon Arena.

Parise registered his second of the game 2:33 into the third period, banging home the winner on a Jamie Langenbrunner rebound from the bottom of the right circle for a 2-0 Devils lead.

A Devils' power-play attack that had gone 0-for-11 in the last three contests came to life in the Steel City, potting two goals in a game for the first time since Oct. 17, a 5-4 win at Pittsburgh.

Parise put that streak on ice late in the first period to give New Jersey the first lead of the evening. The third-year winger set up near the goal line to the left of Marc-Andre Fleury, and beat the Penguins' goaltender with a sharp-angle one-timer off of a Langenbrunner pass.

Parise now has eight goals on the season – four on the power play – and leads the Devils with 20 points. He has six multipoint games this season, and points in 12 of 21 games overall.

Langenbrunner, who returned to the Devils lineup on Oct. 14 after missing the first 17 games of the season with a groin injury, posted assists on both goals and has collected four points in his first four games back.

New Jersey (9-10-2) has won back-to-back games for the third time this season, and prepares for a visit to Atlanta on Friday (7:30 p.m., FSN NY, WFAN 660 AM).

Martin Brodeur (7-10-1) made 25 saves for his second straight win and his 501st career victory, as the Devils moved past the Penguins into fourth place in the Atlantic Division.

Brodeur made what might have been his most important save of the night when he denied Sidney Crosby's shorthanded breakaway with 2:30 remaining in the second to preserve what was, at the time, a 1-0 lead.

In the end, New Jersey held Crosby scoreless, snapping his 19-game point streak.

The Devils welcomed back Colin White, who returned to the lineup after missing the first 20 games of the season with an eye-area injury he suffered in training camp.

White made his presence felt, logging 17:25 of ice time – including 3:41 with the team shorthanded – and blocking two shots. The Penguins, who entered the game with the seventh-best power play in the league (21%), were shutout on six shots over nearly eight minutes with the man advantage.

Three of Pittsburgh's power plays came in the third period, but New Jersey rose to the challenge, fighting off 29 seconds of a 5-on-3 with both Johnny Oduya and Vitaly Vishnevski off for minor penalties.

The Devils' power play enjoyed 58 seconds of 5-on-3 play in the first period with Pittsburgh's Erik Christensen and Adam Hall in the box.

Christensen's holding minor expired five seconds before Parise converted to give New Jersey the first lead of the game.

Evgeni Malkin scored Pittsburgh's only goal, an unassisted even-strength marker at 7:11 of the third.


NJD NOTES
The Devils improve to 8-2-1 when scoring first... New Jersey has three one-goal wins in Pittsburgh this season... Head coach Brent Sutter's group has not allowed a power-play goal in its last three games, going 13 for its last 13... Travis Zajac left the game after the first period and did not return... Karel Rachunek has returned to New Jersey to be with his wife, who gave birth Wednesday to the couple's first child, a baby boy... Paul Martin was out of the lineup for a third straight game with lower body soreness.

After Friday's game in Atlanta, New Jersey visits Tampa Bay on Saturday (7:30 p.m., MSG, WFAN 660 AM). The club returns to Prudential Center Wednesday, November 28 vs. Dallas (7:00 PM, MSG, WFAN).

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
The next promotional night at Prudential Center is set for Friday, Nov. 30, against the Montréal Canadiens, when all fans in attendance will receive a Devils souvenir puck featuring the Prudential Center Inaugural Season commemorative logo, courtesy of Dale and Thomas Popcorn.