Devils pull out 5-4 win over Penguins
Aaron Asham scored the tiebreaking goal with 9:22 remaining.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Arron Asham’s tiebreaking goal with 9:22 left gave the New Jersey Devils a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in a wild game Wednesday night.
Asham scored on a tap-in from just to the left of the net off a pass from Zach Parise, who had three assists. Travis Zajac had two goals, and Jay Pandolfo, John Madden and David Clarkson each had two points for New Jersey, which scored 11 goals in two games after netting only seven in its first four.
Sergei Gonchar had a goal and two assists, and Evgeni Malkin and Gary Roberts added a goal and assist each for the Penguins.
The teams combined to go 5-for-12 on the power play. The Penguins nearly scored another goal but it was disallowed due to a disputed too many men on the ice penalty. Pittsburgh argued that Zajac’s second goal shouldn’t have counted because Brian Gionta fell on top of Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in the crease.
There were also several delays when fans threw items onto the ice.
New Jersey’s third line of Pandolfo, Clarkson and Madden combined to give the Devils a 2-0 lead with two goals in a 3:12 stretch midway through the first. Pandolfo scored at 6:46 and Madden at 9:58. Each assisted on the other’s goal and Clarkson earned an assist on each.
Talbot cut the Penguins’ deficit to 2-1 with a pretty deflection goal from in front of Martin Brodeur off a pass from Whitney with 4:02 left in the first. Roberts tied it 1:50 later when he deflected in Gonchar’s shot during a power play.
The teams traded man-advantage goals within the first seven minutes of the second — by Gonchar and Zajac — before the controversy began.
The Penguins appeared to take a 4-3 lead with 7:36 left in the second when Jordan Staal fed Malkin during a 2-on-0 — but Pittsburgh was called for too many men. Defenseman Brooks Orpik made a pass from near his own net to Staal on the opposite blue line as both teams were making line changes. No whistle blew and neither referee appeared to raise his arm before the goal.
That led to several in the sellout crowd of 16,990 to litter the ice and boo throughout the ensuing power play. Just 21⁄2 minutes later, the crowd and the Penguins were angered again when the Devils took the lead during another advantage.
With a loose puck in front of the net and a scrum forming in front of Fleury, Gionta began to fall into Fleury — aided by two Penguins who pushed him. Zajac directed the puck into the net to make it 4-3. No penalty was called and the goal was allowed to stand.
The Penguins were later given a long 5-on-3 advantage, and Malkin scored to tie it at 4 with 1:18 left in the second.