When the Devils avoid falling on their face, they’re a formidable foe. It’s really just a couple of fixes.
This time, there was no third-period fold-up, no shorthanded goals against, and the result was their eighth victory in 11 games.
“Exactly what the doctor ordered,” coach Pete DeBoer said after the 3-1 triumph over the Sabres in Newark last night. “We needed to show up, play a solid team game, get some goals, get a good game out of Marty [Brodeur] and play a good third period. A couple of power-play goals and it would have been a perfect night.”
In their previous home game, they blew a 3-0 lead in the third before winning by shootout. In their last game, they allowed their NHL-worst 11th shorthander of the young season — on pace to break the all-time record of 22 — and lost in Carolina.
DeBoer cut down to three lines last night to protect his two-goal lead in the scoreless third period, having been outscored a whopping 46-27 in prior thirds.
Those three lines looked like the stuff that make playoff noise.
“I liked our third period, how we handled playing with the lead,” DeBoer said. “That’s what we expect, what we’ve been talking about.
“That’s a critical part going forward for us.”
They prospered on a pair by Petr Sykora, who made the team on a tryout and last night became the seventh Devil with double-digit goals.
“He’s really grown on me,” DeBoer said of Sykora. “He’s taken his second chance and made the most of it.”
Sykora opened the scoring 9:52 into play, his right circle shot glancing off the skate of Buffalo’s Robyn Regehr, and that of goalie Ryan Miller, hopping up to settle just over the line. Brodeur started the play with a breakout pass to Sykora and notched his third assist of the season, already surpassing the two he accumulated last year.
Brodeur has 39 career assists, most among active goalies. With one regular-season goal, he has 40 points, trailing Tom Barrasso’s career record of 48, and the 46 of Grant Fuhr.
Sykora added his second goal of the game, and 10th of the season, 1:26 into the second, set up alone in front after Dainius Zubrus forechecked Andrej Sekera and Brad Boyes into a turnover. Sykora has four goals and seven points in his last six games.
“Since day one, I’ve thought that coming [back] to New Jersey was the right decision,” Sykora said.
Zach Parise stretched the lead to 3-0 at 6:55 by reaching behind himself to deflect in Mark Fayne’s right point shot for his 12th goal.
Buffalo answered at 7:41 of the second with a power play goal from Thomas Vanek, his 18th, after some roughing that threatened to change the game’s momentum. But DeBoer moved Tim Sestito up with Travis Zajac and David Clarkson on the third line, and the Devils played a third period as if they knew how to seal a victory.
* Devils play host to Penguins Saturday afternoon. … C Jacob Josefson was cleared to skate yesterday and took a few trips around the rink, as he comes back from a badly fractured collarbone suffered Oct. 21. … D Henrik Tallinder, idle since Dec. 13, also skated in the morning workout, but missed his sixth game last night with a back injury. He might play Saturday. … Adam Larsson returned to action after missing two games to travel to Sweden to attend the funeral of his grandmother.