Clarkson breaks tie as Devils keep rolling with win over Ducks

The New Jersey Devils honored their 2003 Stanley Cup team Wednesday night before the game, then did them proud on the ice.

David Clarkson scored to break a tie at 12:52 of the second period and Zach Parise’s shorthanded breakaway tally just under seven minutes later sealed a 3-1 victory for New Jersey over the Anaheim Ducks, the team they beat to win their most recent Cup.

• Boxscore: Devils 3, Ducks 1 – Nov. 11, 2009

Defenseman Scott Niedermayer and his brother, Rob, now have switched sides from their 2003 Finals tilt, although the Devils forward was not eligible for the game because he is on injured reserve. The injury theme continued, but this time before the game, as Brian Rolston was scratched for an undisclosed reason after missing two days of practice.

Andy Greene, the new ironman on the backline, and Jamie Langenbrunner each had two points. Greene set up the first two goals and has five points (one goal) in his last four games. Langenbrunner opened the scoring 38 seconds into the game and sprung Parise for his insurance marker, giving him his second straight multi-point contest.

Martin Brodeur made 31 saves as the Devils extended their overall winning streak to six games and their home run to three. New Jersey surpassed the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Atlantic Division lead, as both teams have 24 points but the Devils have played two less games and have twofewer defeats.

The Devils try for their ninth straight road win to open the season Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

Langenbrunner was in the slot when he deflected Greene’s wrist shot from between the points, re-directing it into the top left corner over Jonas Hiller’s right-hand catching glove. The Devils had allowed the first goal in each of the previous three games.

“I think the start was something we were definitely thinking about,” Langenbrunner said. “We’ve had some bad starts here lately. It’s important, especially the way we play, to get out there and get that lead and it was a good job by us tonight.”

Corey Perry increased his points streak to nine games, scoring his 12th goal of the season to tie it 2:25 into the second period and the game remained tied until Clarkson scored the winner.

Greene poked the puck ahead to Clarkson, who gathered it in the neutral zone and skated in behind the defense. James Wisniewski hustled from left to right, but Clarkson faked right and pulled the puck back to his left before sneaking a wrist shot past Hiller’s glove.

“He has his blocker on most goalie’s catcher’s hand,” Clarkson noted. “I figured if I pull it this way and put it back, it’s going to be a tough play (for Hiller). Thankfully, it went in. It’s one of those plays that you work on, but you don’t know if you’ll get to do it. I tried it there, and luckily it worked.”

Parise gave the Devils some rare cushion – the first five wins of their current streak were by one goal – when Langenbrunner sent him in alone for a clean breakaway on Hiller, which Parise converted with 13 seconds left in the period. It was Parise’s first career shorthanded goal.

“It was definitely nice to get goals and get a lead like that, especially Zach’s goal in the third on the PK (penalty kill),” Brodeur said. “These are the things you need to do to be successful in the long run. You learn a lot winning tight games, but sometimes it’s nice to have a little cushion.”

New Jersey missed a chance in the third period to further increase the lead, failing to score on a two-man advantage. The Devils have not cashed in on any of their seven attempts at the 5-on-3 this season.

“Tonight we had that 5-on-3 again to put the game away and we didn’t so we had to work a little extra hard at the end there with a big PK,” Brodeur said.

Besides Rolston, other regulars who sat out were Rob Niedermayer and Jay Pandolfo up front, and Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya on defense. Patrik Elias returned to the lineup after resting Saturday, a day after his season debut. Tim Sestito, who took Elias’ lineup spot Saturday, stayed in with Rolston sidelined.

“Those core guys that have been here for a while are playing great and the young guys that we have are stepping up and filling voids and filling holes, logging the ice time,” Clarkson said. “It’s just hard work. As a team, we’re working hard. We have a great group of guys in there. It’s a fun place to be right now. You have some guys that are coming up and doing well, and that’s why we’re winning.”