Patrick Sharp had his second hat trick in five games and the Blackhawks earned a 5-3 victory over the Devils on Friday night at the Prudential Center in Newark.
Sharp helped Chicago build a 4-1 lead, combining with Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa to score in a span of 4:04 early in the third period to give the Blackhawks a 4-1 lead. When the Devils narrowed the margin to a goal with 6:23 to play, Sharp iced the game, breaking in on Martin Brodeur with 1:28 to play and easily beating the NHL’s winningest goaltender for his fourth career hat trick.
“It’s fun to play against a guy like Marty Brodeur, arguably the best goaltender of all-time,” said Sharp, who only had six goals in last year’s lockout-shortened season that ended with Chicago winning the Stanley Cup. “You see guys like that on the ice, Jaromir Jagr as well, it’s crazy to line up against those guys.”
Duncan Keith had three assists and fellow defenseman Brent Seabrook two in the four-goal third period against Brodeur, who faced 24 shots.
“They have three lines that can get you and their fourth line doesn’t hurt them ever, either,” Brodeur said. “We played them well, we were right there, and then they kind of took over. They’re a good team and they showed it. That’s what good teams do.”
After a scoreless opening period, Sharp gave the Blackhawks the lead. Toews set it up, taking the puck off Mark Fayne’s stick and finding Sharp between the circles at 1:34. It came seconds after Brodeur had stopped him in close.
New Jersey needed 43 seconds to tie the game. Steve Bernier started a counterattack in the Devils’ zone with a pass to Stephen Gionta. He carried the puck into the Chicago end and lifted a pass to Greene, who slid the puck between Antti Raanta’s pads.
Marek Zidlicky scored twice and Andy Greene once for the Devils, which lost in regulation for only the second time in nine games (5-2-2). Both defeats have come against the Blackhawks, losing 5-2 on Dec. 23 in Chicago.
“We played well for the first 40, then we hit the pause button,” Devils forward Ryan Carter said. “Against a team like that, you cannot do that. They can score at any time, and they pretty much did.”
The Blackhawks scored three times in the opening 5:34 of the third period to break open a 1-1 hockey game. Zidlicky made the game close again by scoring twice in a little more than 6 minutes, with the second coming on a power play with just over 6 minutes to play.