On St. Patty’s Day, Devils Sweep Pens While Wearing Green and Red

New Jersey Devils’ Zach Parise celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wednesday, March 17, 2010, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Though he looks pissed in this picture, Zach Parise was one happy camper as his Devils went on to complete the six game sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The biggest story of the night, however, was the return of defenseman Paul Martin. Martin injured his wrist back in October (against the Penguins). He struggled with this wrist injury, he missed most of the season, he missed the Olympics (USA could have used him), but it was all worth it.

Number seven scored the second goal of the game, which led to the onslaught of New Jersey offense.

The offensive production was outstanding tonight though. The Penguins scored first, a goal from Chris Kunitz, but Dainius Zubrus brought the Devils back into the game.

Zubrus scored his seventh goal of the season when (during a Penguins’ line change) Patrik Elias passed Zubrus the puck and put Zubrus in alone on Marc-Andre Fleury.

Towards the end of the first period, Martin popped in his first goal of the season (in his 10th game). The period ended with the Devils ahead of the Penguins two goals to one.

New Jersey Devils’ Paul Martin celebrates his goal with teammates as he comes back to the bench during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wednesday, March 17, 2010, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

The intensity was like every other Devils/Pens game. The physical beating was great, but only one team could come out on top.

Now as of late, the Devils’ second periods seemed cursed. This, thankfully, was not a cursed second period.

With David Clarkson sitting in the box just a minute and a half into the second period, the Devils penalty killers destroyed the Penguins. Blocking passes and shots, the Devils got two shorthanded breakaways.

Fleury robbed Travis Zajac with the first  breakaway. The Penguins’ goaltender used an amazing glove save to keep the Penguins within one goal.

Not long after though, Elias, on his holiday, broke through the Penguins’ defenseman. The puck bouncing a little, Elias shoveled it past Fleury to get his first shortie of the year. The Devils now had a two goal lead over their foes.

During the first period, Jacques Lemaire reunited the line of ZZ Pops (Zajac, Parise, and Jamie Langenbrunner). They combined for the fourth Devils’ goal just halfway through the second period.

From his knees, Parise popped in his thirty-third goal of the season. He caught Fleury out of position, and the Penguins’ defensemen were helpless.

And that was it. The Penguins had no choice; they pulled Fleury and in came Brent Johnson.

The Devils quickly peppered Johnson with some shots and great chances, but the score remained the same for the remainder of the second period.

For once the Devils actually came out of the second period with the lead, a plus rating (plus two), and did not allow a single Penguins’ goal. This was huge for the Devils.

New Jersey Devils’ Jamie Langenbrunner (15) attempts to get his stick on the puck as Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury makes a save during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 17, 2010, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

There was still twenty minutes to play though.

About five minutes in, Ruslan Fedotenko scored to bring his team within two goals of the Devils. Things looked a little rocky for a few moments, but the Devils picked up their play.

Then something ugly happened. Love the kid, but Pelley’s hit on Alex Goligoski was unnecessary. Pelley nailed Goligoski in the corner (from behind with a bit of a cross-check/push) and received a five-minute major.

Goligoski’s defensive partner, Kris Letang, took matters into his own hands. Letang quickly came over to Pelley and a scrum ensued. Letang received a two-minute minor from the play.

So there it was, with six and a half minutes to go, there would be two minutes of four on four and then a three-minute Penguins’ powerplay.

This was a perfect opportunity for the Penguins to get back into the game. But, Zajac and his fellow penalty killers did an amazing job keeping the Penguins from scoring.

With seconds left on the Pelley major, the Penguins pulled Johnson for the extra attacker. The penalty expired, and not long after Rob Niedermayer sealed the victory with an empty-netter.

Once again, the Devils won on St. Patrick’s Day. Last year against the Chicago Blackhawks, Martin Brodeur became the new leader of wins and Elias became the new franchise point leader.

For one night only, the Devils wore their old retro green and red jerseys. The boys looked dashing in their new colors, and came through on this historic night. Lou Lamoriello stated he would not have his team wear a different jersey more than once a season, so no worries on the third jersey front. (Third jerseys are purely a money ploy in my opinion).

Three Stars of the Game:

1. Patrik Elias:  1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points. +3 rating, 1 shot, 16:58 TOI.

2. Paul Martin: 1 goal, 1 point. +1, 1 shot, 18:05 TOI.

3. Martin Brodeur: Win, 24 saves on 26 shots.

Statistics and Other Notes:

• Martin returned tonight for the first time since October 24th, 2009. He scored on his first shot. He also played just over eighteen minutes.
• Parise finished the Pens/Devils series with the most points. He finished with three goals and six assists for nine points.
• The Penguins outshot the Devils 26 to 19. Only one game during the six-game series did the Devils outshoot the Penguins.
• Only Goligoski, Jordan Staal, Craig Adams, Brooks Orpik on the Penguins finished with even ratings. Only Matt Cooke finished on the positive side (plus one).
• Parise and Elias both finished with two points. They were the only two players from either team to finish with more than one point tonight.
• Only Brian Rolston and Dean McAmmond finished with a minus rating (minus one).
• Zajac finished with the most shots (three) for the Devils.

Here are the updated (and final) point totals from each team throughout the six game series this season:

New Jersey Devils’ Paul Martin, left, and Martin Brodeur celebrate after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 in an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 17, 2010, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Devils:

Mark Fraser: 2 goals

Niclas Bergfors (No longer with NJ): 4 goals, 3 assists

Dainius Zubrus: 1 goal, 2 assists

Rod Pelley: 1 assist

Jamie Langenbrunner: 1 goal, 1 assist

David Clarkson: 1 goal, 2 assists

Zach Parise: 3 goals, 6 assists

Travis Zajac: 1 goal, 7 assists

Bryce Salvador: 1 goal, 2 assists

Andy Greene: 2 goals, 4 assists

Dean McAmmond: 2 assists

Patrik Elias: 3 goals, 2 assist

Rob Niedermayer: 1 goal, 1 assist

Ilya Kovalchuk: 1 goal, 2 assists

Martin Skoula: 1 assist

Paul Martin: 1 goal

New Jersey Devils’ Dean McAmmond, right, is checked by Pittsburgh Penguins’ Pascal Dupuis during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 17, 2010, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Penguins:

Alex Goligoski: 1 goal, 1 assist

Pascal Dupuis: 2 assists

Sidney Crosby: 1 goal, 2 assists

Ruslan Fedotenko: 2 goals

Chris Bourque: 1 assist

Chris Kunitz: 1 goal, 1 assist

Bill Guerin: 1 assist

Kris Letang: 1 assist

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Finally here is a look inside the Devils’ locker room prior to the game today. Those green and red uniforms sure look great:

NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 17: An overall view of the locker room of the New Jersey Devils displaying the red white and green retro jerseys they will be wearing tonight when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Prudential Center on March 17, 2010 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

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