Surging Devils Fly By Pens

The New Jersey Devils devoted just four minutes to offense Tuesday night, but that was enough to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2.

Peter Sykora scored one goal and set up another as the Devils scored three times late in the first period and beat the slumping Penguins.

"I thought they started pretty well, but we were fortunate to jump on some turnovers and get some quick goals," said forward Brendan Morrison, who started the quick scoring burst.

Martin Brodeur won his 30th game, becoming the sixth goalie in NHL history to have four consecutive 30-win seasons, joining Tony Esposito, Jacques Plante, Terry Sawchuk, Ken Dryden and Ed Giacomin.

"I didn't even know about it until someone asked me about this morning," said Brodeur, who improved to 30-18-8 despite allowing a pair of goals to Jaromir Jagr. "You think it's no big deal, that probably a lot of guys have done it. Then you see those names and you realize maybe it's not as easy as it looks. It's something to be proud of."

The Devils are the NHL's best road team at 22-8-2, which includes a current 9-1-1 streak. Overall, the Devils are 5-1-1 in the last seven games.

"Maybe it's because our style fits the kind of game you should play on the road," Brodeur said. "I know at home maybe we try a little too hard to win real big and make plays. On the road we keep it pretty simple. We've been successful, so that builds your confidence, too."

Pittsburgh is on a season-worst 0-4-2 steak and has gone 2-7-2 since winning 10 straight games from Jan, 28 to Feb. 15. They are feeling the effects of being without No. 1 goalie Tom Barrasso and their two best defensemen, Kevin Hatcher and Darius Kasparaitis. All three are injured and Barrasso and Hatcher are out for a minimum of three more weeks.

"We lost very good players and it's a big loss," Jagr said. "That's what happens to teams. We have to try and battle through this and start winning again."

Jagr scored his first goal at 10:53 of the first period before New Jersey got three goals in less than four minutes late in the period.

Morrison stole the puck from Stu Barnes along the boards and beat Peter Skudra at 15:53. Sykora gave the Devils their first lead at 16:26 when he beat Skudra with a shot from the left circle for his 23rd goal that extended his scoring streak to 10 games. Sykora has 16 points in his last 11 games.

Rookie defenseman Maxim Galanov's turnover led to Jason Arnott's 20th goal at 19:28. Arnott redirected Sykora's pass for the 3-1 lead.

Jagr's first goal was his 30th, giving him eight consecutive seasons with at least 30. He fell short as a rookie in 1990-91, scoring 27.

He scored his second at 17:01 of the second period. He made a move on defenseman Ken Daneyko and put a shot between Brodeur's pads.

Brodeur made two stops against Jagr in the third period.

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