Undermanned Devils rally in Ottawa, stun Senators for eighth straight road win

November 8, 1:30 AMNew Jersey Devils ExaminerJoe Rizzo

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Mark Fraser (2) and the Devils have KO'd all comers on the road, including Ottawa and Mike Fisher.
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Adrian Wyld)

Be it road games, one-goal games, injuries or lineup changes, nothing has stopped the New Jersey Devils.

Zach Parise, David Clarkson and Andy Greene scored power-play goals over the final two periods as the Devils rallied from a two-goal deficit Saturday to pull out a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators, extending their season-opening road winning streak to eight games.

• Boxscore: Devils 3, Senators 2 - Nov. 7, 2009
  

The road streak is the second-best in NHL history.  The 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres won 10 straight, and that team will maintain the record at least until Nov. 16, when the Devils visit the Philadelphia Flyers.  New Jersey must win Thursday in Pittsburgh to set up a chance to tie the mark. 

Should it win those two games, New Jersey could set the record Thursday, Nov. 19 in Nashville.

On the night of Martin Brodeur's 1,000th career start, the Devils finished with the most common score among the goaltender's career.  Brodeur is obviously comfortable with one-goal games.  But the roster of skaters in front of him is so fluid that it's difficult to believe this team has, in 11 victories, eight by one goal, plus two more with empty-netters in the final moments. 

That means just a single win in which New Jersey had room for one error.

Missing from the lineup were forwards Patrik Elias, Jay Pandolfo and Rob Niedermayer, plus defensemen Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya.  That makes three forwards from the top nine in addition to their top two defensemen. 

Tim Sestito was recalled from Lowell of the AHL and put right into the lineup for almost nine minutes.  Rookies Niclas Bergfors, Matt Halischuk, Ilkka Pikkarainen and Mark Fraser also were in the lineup, with Fraser playing a career-best 15:12.

Milan Michalek scored from the slot in the first period after a barrage against Brodeur, but Brian Lee's tally from the half-boards on the right side midway through the second was a bad goal that sneaked through the pads.

Parise halved the deficit at 15:35 of the second when he shoveled the puck over Pascal Leclaire in a goal-mouth scramble that started after captain Jamie Langenbrunner's shot from the right point found traffic in front.

Clarkson caught Leclaire napping to tie it 4:38 into the third, firing a wrist shot from a sharp angle to the netminder's right and beating him on the short side.

Greene broke the tie less than three minutes later when his wrist shot from between the points found the top right corner of the net, getting through traffic and past the screened Leclaire.

The Devils are back in action Wednesday at the Prudential Center in Newark against the Anaheim Ducks.  New Jersey will honor the 2003 Stanley Cup championship club of which the Ducks' Scott Niedermayer was a part.  Brother Rob was on the Ducks at the time.

Rob Niedermayer cannot play in the game because he is on injured reserve and has to miss at least a week.