Islanders 5, Devils 2 (F)
Brian Gionta was stopped by Wade Dubielewicz on this scoring chance in the third period.


newjerseydevils.com (Dec. 29) – The Devils are halfway through their season series with the New York Islanders, and still looking for their first win against their division rivals.

New Jersey came back from a 2-0 deficit on Saturday night only to allow three unanswered goals, including an empty-netter, in the third period of a 5-2 loss at Long Island.

Goals from Zach Parise and John Madden knotted the game at 2-2, but Andy Sutton's first of the season broke the tie and the Islanders never looked back.

Head coach Brent Sutter's team fell to 0-3-1 against New York this season.

New Jersey's ninth road loss of the season also ended the club's three-game winning streak. The Devils are now winless in five games against the Islanders dating back to a 3-2 shootout loss in the 2006-07 regular season finale.

Martin Brodeur (19-13-2) allowed four goals on 32 shots in his eighth straight start to fall to 0-3-0 versus the Islanders this season. Saturday marked the first time since 1983-84 that the Devils have dropped their first four meetings with the Islanders.

Against Buffalo on Friday night, the Devils rallied to tie the Sabres in the third period and win, 2-1, in a shootout. But at Nassau Coliseum, New Jersey drew even before watching a possible point get away.

Chris Campoli scored the fifth shorthanded goal against New Jersey this season and Marc-Andre Bergeron added a power-play marker to give the Islanders a two-goal advantage.

With Andy Hilbert serving a minor for diving, Mike Mottau coughed the puck up to Richard Park in the defensive zone. Park later found Campoli for a slapshot from the left faceoff dot that beat Brodeur to his glove side at 5:03.

Then, at the 12:02 mark of the second period, Bergeron's centering attempt from the right faceoff dot redirected off Andy Greene's stick and trickled through Brodeur's pads.

It looked as though the score would remain 2-0 heading into the third, until Parise scored his team-leading 16th of the season with 24.6 seconds on the clock.

Mottau took a hit in the defensive zone to clear the puck up to Brian Gionta, who passed to Parise on the left wing before crisscrossing into Islanders territory.

Parise collected a drop pass from Gionta and broke for the net to roof a backhander past Wade Dubielewicz, who recorded 27 saves.

Four minutes into the third period, Madden potted his 12th of the season off of a Sheldon Brookbank rebound. For the third time in four games, the Devils had erased a third-period deficit.

Sutton's 40-foot slapshot at 11:43 of the third made it 3-2, and the Islanders got one from Sean Bergenheim and Mike Comrie's empty-net goal to close out the win.

The Devils' first-place lead in the Atlantic was trimmed to three points with wins by the second-place Rangers and Penguins.

New Jersey lost in regulation for just the fourth time in its last 19 games, and returns home to play three of its next four games at Prudential Center. The Devils host Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 2.

Gallery

NJD NOTES
Zach Parise played in his 200th career game... Saturday's scratches were Patrik Elias (groin), Karel Rachunek (ankle) and Jay Pandolfo (groin)... Mike Rupp was back in the lineup, and has seen action in five of New Jersey's last 10 games.