-- The New Jersey Devils got the early jump on the Chicago Blackhawks and never let up.
Jamie Langenbrunner scored the first of his two goals only 10 seconds into the game Saturday, leading the Devils to a 5-1 victory. New Jersey built a 3-0 lead in the opening period and cruised thereafter.
"If you get one goal early and then fall off your game, it's not going to do you a whole lot of good,'' said Langenbrunner who got his first goals of the season. "We stuck with it and kept making it tough on them.''
Jay Pandolfo also scored as the line of Langenbrunner, Pandolfo and John Madden combined for six points. Their primary role is checking the other teams' top line, so any offense is a welcome contribution.
"Madden's line was right there playing against the top line and shutting them down,'' Devils coach Pat Burns said. "They get more opportunities because you play against an offensive line. When you play your position well defensively, you cause turnovers when the defense is thinking to go one way and you get it going the other.''
Joe Nieuwendyk and Patrik Elias added goals in the third period, and Martin Brodeur made 18 saves as New Jersey improved to 4-1 in its last five games.
Lyle Odelein scored for Chicago, which had been unbeaten in four (3-0-1) games. The Devils went immediately to the attack as Madden rode Blackhawks defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev off the puck to create the scoring chance for Langenbrunner at the goalmouth.
That line struck again at 3:32, again attacking the net. Pandolfo knocked in the puck as it rolled through the crease for his first goal.
Langenbrunner stripped Chris Simon of the puck for an unassisted score with 1:41 left.
"I know that I was at fault there,'' said Simon who made his Blackhawks debut along with Andrei Nikolishin. "You can't make those kind of mistakes.''
New Jersey outshot Chicago 11-4 in the first period with the shots reflecting the lopsided level of play.
Chicago regrouped with a more competitive period in the second, and was rewarded when Odelein beat Brodeur at 1:19.
The Devils stamped out any Chicago comeback hopes when Nieuwendyk scored 36 seconds into the third period for a 4-1 lead. Elias added a goal at 7:51.
"Give the Devils credit,'' Blackhawks coach Brian Sutter said. "They played hard. They controlled the neutral zone and made it very difficult for us.''
| SCORING |
PENALTIES |
First Period: 1, New Jersey, Jamie Langenbrunner 1 (Jay Pandolfo, John Madden), 0:10. 2, New Jersey, Jay Pandolfo 1 (Oleg Tverdovsky, John Madden), 3:32. 3, New Jersey, Jamie Langenbrunner 2 (Unassisted), 18:19.
Second Period: 4, Chicago, Lyle Odelein 3 (Sergei Berezin, Chris Simon), 1:19.
Third Period: 5, New Jersey, Joe Nieuwendyk 2 (Sergei Brylin, Brian Gionta), 0:36. 6, New Jersey, Patrik Elias 4 (Oleg Tverdovsky, Jeff Friesen), 7:51. |
First Period: J Mckenzie, Njd (major fighting), 5:49; S Thornton, Chi (major fighting), 5:49; B Mironov, Chi (obstr hooking), 18:56.
Second Period: O Tverdovsky, Njd (cross checking), 2:55; M Bell, Chi (slashing), 5:39; P Elias, Njd (diving), 6:04; A Nikolishin, Chi (interference), 6:04; A Zhamnov, Chi (hooking), 6:35.
Third Period: A Zhamnov, Chi (slashing), 0:58; J Mckenzie, Njd (interference), 4:13.
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Attendance: 16,027.
Referees: Kerry Fraser, Mike Leggo.
Linesmen: Lyle Seitz, Pat Dapuzzo.
