Coyotes 4, Devils 1 (Final)
Martin Brodeur faced a season-high 38 shots against, and posted 34 saves.


newjerseydevils.com (Dec. 15) – For this Devils matinee, it was the Coyotes who owned the stage.

Fredrik Sjostrom scored twice and Mikael Tellqvist made 30 saves against the Devils, who fell, 4-1, to the Phoenix Coyotes at Prudential Center on Saturday.

Zach Parise scored the Devils' only goal, ending Tellqvist's shutout bid with six minutes left in regulation on his first career shorthanded tally.

Martin Brodeur made 34 saves in his second consecutive start, and faced a season-high 38 shots from a Phoenix club that had entered the game in a three-way tie for last place in the league.

The Devils (17-12-3) were shorthanded for a season-high nine times in the contest, and had to contend with four Coyote power plays in each of the final two periods. New Jersey held Phoenix to 1-for-9 with the man advantage.

New Jersey has scored six goals in its last four games to fall to 1-2-1 since its nine-game win streak ended on Dec. 7. Saturday's loss also snapped the Devils' five-game winning streak at Prudential Center.

Phoenix struck first on Sjostrom's sixth of the season from Martin Hanzal and Radim Vrbata at 3:32 of the second period.

In the third period, Vrbata potted his 12th of the season by banking a sharp-angle shot off of Brodeur at 5:19. The Coyotes later jumped out to a 3-0 lead when Sjostrom scored on the power play for his second of the game.

New Jersey's lone goal of the afternoon was generated by Sergei Brylin's hustle on the PK.

With the Devils changing, Brylin battled his way to the front of the Phoenix net against four Coyotes. He missed a chance to put the puck into an empty net when Tellqvist challenged, but a trailing Parise was able to slam it home to get New Jersey on the board.

Just under two minutes later, the Devils went on their fourth power play of the day. Hanzal squashed any chances of a rally with a shorthanded breakaway goal at 17:10. 

The Devils entered Saturday's action with a two-point lead over the Rangers for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, and now look to regroup before Sunday's 5 p.m. meeting with the Philadelphia Flyers at Prudential Center.

Gallery

NJD NOTES
Brylin needs one point to reach 300 for his career... The Devils have scored two shorthanded goals this season, and have allowed four... Paul Martin was out of the lineup for the first time since missing three games from Nov. 16-21 with a lower body injury... Jay Pandolfo missed his eighth straight... Mike Rupp was a healthy scratch... Mikael Tellqvist was 0-1-0 in his only previous meeting against the Devils.