The New Jersey Devils' mistakes finally caught up to them as they could not contain a speedy Penguins team or get much offensive pressure sustained in a 5-1 rout on Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh. Andy Greene scored the only goal for New Jersey, a shorthanded goal in the second period.
Sidney Crosby led the Penguins to the victory with a goal and two assists, but Martin Brodeur kept the Devils in the game through two periods with a 2-1 deficit before they unraveled in the third, giving up three unanswered goals. Brodeur finished with 25 saves on 30 shots against, but the Devils were only able to muster up 16 shots as Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 15 shots for the win.
The Devils dropped their fourth in a row, their first loss in regulation, to fall to 3-1-3 on the season as Pittsburgh took over first place in the Atlantic Division.
"If you're going to play like that, you might as well get beat 5- or 6-1 rather than 2-1 and fool yourself," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. "It wasn't pretty and, against a good team like that, if you don't show up with your 'A' game they can make you look bad, and that's what happened."
"It was a 2-1 game at the end of two periods," DeBoer said. "We came out in the third and had a couple good shifts and a couple opportunities to tie it, but it got away from us."
First-round draft pick Stefan Matteau was scratched for the Devils, who are deciding whether to return him to junior hockey after playing in five NHL games. Devils defenseman Mark Fayne missed his second game with an arm injury. The Devils look to make a quick rebound as they head to Long Island for a 3 p.m. meeting with the New York Islanders on Sunday.
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