Parise Devils tip Penguins in OT
Nothing in the first two periods gave any indication the New Jersey Devils were on their way to a stirring home victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After all, the new Prudential Center hosted its smallest turnout of its first season, and the Devils didn't provide any spark for the few fans to latch on to.
Suddenly, that changed.
Patrik Elias and David Clarkson scored less than two minutes apart in the third to tie it and Zach Parise tipped in the winner 37 seconds into overtime to lift the Devils to a 4-3 victory Monday night, creating a three-way tie atop the Atlantic Division.
Instead of heading to Buffalo on the heels of a 1-4 homestand, the Devils will carry a two-game winning streak into their one-game trip Wednesday before four more in Newark.
"It wasn't reinventing the wheel," said Parise, who had 2 assists to go with his 20th goal. "We had to put forth a better effort and we did in the third. Hopefully we saw the way we need to play."
Parise won it by tipping Elias' drive past Ty Conklin on the only shot of overtime. New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia all have 63 points in the five-team Atlantic.
"We let that extra point slip away and it feels like we gift-wrapped 2 points for them," Conklin said. "It's not something you want to do, especially against a divisional opponent."
Martin Brodeur earned his 28th win of the season and was credited with an assist on the winning goal. That made up for his tripping penalty in the third period that led to Jordan Staal's power-play goal.
"We got outcompeted and outworked in the second period," Devils coach Brent Sutter said. "In the third, we played the way we need to play and the way we expect to play."
Oilers 5, Flames 0: Mathieu Garon made 24 saves fourth shutout of the season as host Edmonton defeatedCalgary.
Fernando Pisani, Dustin Penner, Ales Hemsky, Steve Staios and Sam Gagner scored for the Oilers, whose second win in five games moved them within 6 points of the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Curtis Joseph made his first start in goal for the Flames after signing with the team last month. He made 23 saves. Calgary has dropped two in a row after winning four straight.
Coyotes 4, Avalanche 3 (OT): Shane Doan was on his knees when he poked the puck between Peter Budaj's pads with 1:37 left in overtime to give visiting Phoenix a come-from-behind win over the Colorado.
The Coyotes forced the extra period when Radim Vrbata scored into a wide-open net with 3:11 left in the third period. Vrbata took a pass from Steven Reinprecht on a faceoff and slapped it past Budaj, who never saw the pass and was still hugging the post on the right side and not challenging the shot.