David Clarkson was out to prove his 30-goal 2011-12 season was no fluke. He had some doubters even after notching four goals in the Devils’ first five games this season.
But those critics are dwindling, especially after Clarkson scored his 10th goal of the season, the game-winner in the Devils’ 5-3 come-from-behind victory over the Flyers Friday night in front of a sellout crowd of 17,625 at the Prudential Center in Newark.
Clarkson’s goal, coming just past the halfway point of the third period with the score knotted at 3-3, started on a play created by Adam Larsson, who used his glove to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Larsson then fired a shot on net that Clarkson tipped home for his third game-winner of the season.
“[Clarkson] has a knack for being in the right place at the right time in the right moment of the game. It was a big play,” Devils head coach Pete DeBoer said. “You have to win all sorts of ways in a shortened season, and not all of them are pretty.”
After Tuesday’s poor start in a 4-2 loss to the Hurricanes, the Devils wasted no time in getting an early lead last night, scoring on the game’s first shift. Forward Alexei Ponikarovsky, re-acquired this week in a trade with the Jets, got the play started in the Devils’ zone before Travis Zajac took a feed from Ilya Kovalchuk and one-timed a shot past Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov for his third goal of the season, and first in 12 games.
But the Flyers came charging back, with three goals in 2½ minutes at the midpoint of the first. Philadelphia got the game even at 1-1 on its first power play, when Wayne Simmonds slipped a backhander past Martin Brodeur and increased the lead to two on goals by Mike Knuble and Matt Read. Despite allowing three goals on 11 first-period shots, Brodeur held the Flyers scoreless over the final 47:57 of the game, making 17 saves.
“That shows the type of guy [Brodeur] is,” Clarkson said. “No matter what happens he stays on top of it. Some of those easily could have been in and he ends up getting a piece of it and it allows us to come back.”
The Devils’ rally started early in the second period. They scored on the first shift, with Ponikarovsky getting his third goal of the season in his first game back with the Devils.
Patrik Elias had a three-point night, with a goal and two assists. He scored off a Flyers turnover with under five minutes left in the second to tie the game 3-3. That goal was one of three helpers on the night from Kovalchuk, who was thrilled to see his linemate, and fellow Russian, Ponikarovsky back with the team and joining him on the top line.
“He played with us the last 4-5 months [last year] and we missed him for 13 games [this season] so, let’s look at it like he’s got a suspension for 13 games,” Kovalchuk joked. “Everybody really liked the fact that he was coming back.”
Steve Bernier added an empty-net goal to seal the win for the Devils, who had two goals on three third-period shots.
The Devils avoided losing consecutive games in regulation for the first time all season, improving to 9-2-3 and maintaining their one-point Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference lead over the Penguins.
Ponikarovsky — who also scored a goal in his Devils debut last year against the Flyers — was happy to get the win, but made it clear this was just one game.
“It’s nice to be back and start with a win,” he said. “Came back from down 3-1, so it’s a great win and we have to do it [tonight against the Islanders] again.”
david.satriano@nypost.com