Devils 2, Penguins 1 (OT)
Ilya Kovalchuk scored a power-play goal 4:35 into overtime and Martin Brodeur turned aside 25 shots as the New Jersey Devils skated to a 2-1 home victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday in a battle of Atlantic Division rivals.
Travis Zajac netted his 10th goal of the season and first since Feb. 6 for New Jersey (29-31-4), which improved to 19-2-2 in its last 23 contests.
With the triumph, Brodeur recorded his third win in as many outings since being sidelined for three weeks with a knee injury.
After defenseman Zbynek Michalek was whistled for hooking, Patrik Elias circled the net and found Kovalchuk in the left faceoff circle. The Russian promptly beat an out-of-position Brent Johnson to seal the win.
Kovalchuk has recorded eight goals and six assists in his last 12 contests.
Tyler Kennedy collected his third goal in four games and 15th of the season for Pittsburgh (37-21-8), which has dropped eight of its last 10 contests (2-4-4).
Johnson finished with 28 saves to drop to 2-5-3 in 13 career appearances against the Devils.
All-Star defenseman Kris Letang received a game misconduct after he failed to have his jersey securely tied down. Letang was ejected following his fight with Zajac in the first period.