The Devils quickly got back on the winning track with a 6-3 win over the last-place Kings last night. They produced five second-period goals and 12 skaters contributed points in New Jersey's first win on the five-game home stand. Even the defensemen helped out, manufacturing two goals and three assists in front of 15,279 at the Prudential Center.

The Devils new arena plagued them earlier this season with "soft ice." It has since recovered.

David Clarkson gave New Jersey an early 1-0 lead. After receving a pass from D Colin White, Clarkson raced down the right side and used his signature "toe drag" move through both defenseman Bard Stuart and goaltender Jason LaBarbera’s legs.

White and Sergei Brylin assisted on Clarkson’s sixth at merely 4:43 of opening frame. White has one goal and four assists since returning from the disabled list on Nov. 21.

Despite holding a 10-5 shots on goal advantage, the Devils only manufactured one goal.

They extended the lead to 2-0 on hard work by all five skaters to keep the puck in the Kings zone.

Gionta captured the loose puck, carried it behind the net and used a Zach Parise screen to find Elias, who was reunited with Parise and Gionta by head coach Brent Sutter. Elias one-timed Gio's pass for his 15th at 2:30 of middle frame. Oduya was credited with the second helper following Gionta. Gionta, Elias and Parise finished with a +6. Elias now has seven points in his last four games.

I keep on repeating Elias' $7.5 million contract, which places him among the top 25 most expensive players.

Please understand that I love Elias and what he has brought to this organization since day one. I just have some higher expectations for the league's elite.

That score remained the same until Brian Boyle, who was inserted as an emergency call-up, had a night to remember. He pulled L.A. within one at 8:38 of the second. Jeff Guiliano and Brad Stuart, who was earlier abused by Clarkson, helped Boyle manufacture his career NHL goal.

Barely 75 second after Boyle scored, Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner found a cutting defenseman Karel Rachunek for the Devils third of the contest.

Earlier this eason, I was dumbfounded when I read that Rachunek was one of the best at his position on the blueline. Once again, he proved me wrong.

Travis Zajac got the other assist on Rachunek’s second of the season. Rachunek last scored on Nov. 17, a milestone night for Brodeur, who earned his 500th career regular season victory over Philadelphia.

Thankfully, I discussed Brodeur's achievement, while the media focused on Alex Rodriguez's contract situation.

However, the Kings refused to surrender.

Boyle found rookie teammate Jack Johnson, who beat Brodeur for his third of the season, trimming the margin to 3-2.

Yet, the Devils continued their second-period onslaught.

Producing just his first goal this season and second since Feb. 7, 2006, White widened the Devils gap back to two goals. John Madden won the faceoff at the top of the left circle and White did the rest, blasting one past LaBarbera.

The Devils ensured a drive home safely for LaBarbera, notching their fifth of the contest with only five seconds left in the second period.

They pressured the Kings weak defense, which played without captain Rob Blake, who returned to Los Angeles after suffering a stress fracture. Zajac scored his 12th from Dainius Zubrus and Paul Martin.

The Devils were ahead 5-2 after 40 minutes of action, forcing Kings coach Marc Crawford to replace LaBarbera with Jean-Sebastien Aubin. Aubin did not fare much better, allowing one goal on three shots he faced.

Tallying his first in the last 10 games, Sergei Brylin managed to end his drought (and my latest Please Score post) on a rare offensive burst. Madden and Clarkson, who opened the scoring, helped Brylin produce just his fifth thus far.

The Devils, who are well known for low-scoring affairs, scored six goals for the first time

since a 7-3 win over Jan. 22. They knocked Antero Nittymaki out of that contest after he allowed the Devils fifth of seven goals. Brodeur was not spectacular, but good enough against the Kings, making 23 saves on 26 shots.

The night before, he was outplayed by Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist in New York’s 3-1 win here.Brodeur had lost three straight, including a 4-3 defeat to Montreal right before the All Star Game’s shocking Eastern Conference upset.

After skipping out on the festivities, he returned to face the Penguins and Rangers, failing in both contests.

As fans began to question Marty’s capability, I entertained the thought,

“Is Marty’s Clock Ticking?” I quickly rejected the thought as Brodeur may be 35-years-old, but he remains among the league’s elite goaltenders.

I also raised the idea with Rangers forward Jaromir Jagr. I still believe that his body is wearing down and it's time for him to say goodbye.

Parise registered the Devils lone goal on Friday, in the Devils fifth straight loss to their nemesis this season. The Devils, who just completed a difficult back-to-back stretch, have Sunday off (presumably to watch the Super Bowl, in which Gabi predicted a Patriots blow out), but quickly return to action on Monday.

No, they’re not playing in London.

Pittsburgh returns to the Rock eight days after earning a 4-2 come-from-behind win. Just as they played that contest without Sidney Crosby, the Penguins will not have its team leader in the lineup. Crosby was placed on injured reserve after suffering a high ankle sprain on Jan. 18 against Tampa Bay. The Penguins expect Crosby to remain sidelined for 6-8 weeks.The Devils have 11 home games and only 5 on the road this month.

I should be allowed to criticize their inefficient and inconsistent scoring.

As Bill said after the loss, “(They are) Starting to Level off.”

With the loss, Los Angeles is now 1-1-1 on its current eight-game road trip. The Kings, who defeated the Islanders on Thursday, face the Rangers on Tuesday night, before heading to Detroit, Pittsburgh, Columbus and St. Louis.

Notes:

After the game, Langenbrunner told the media that he expects forward Jay Pandolfo (pubic/ ligament) to return to the lineup sometime this week.

Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record has been following Pandolfo's recovery lately and stated that Pando practiced with the team the last few days, but Sutter decided to keep him out of the lineup this weekend.

Cam Janssen also remains on IR with Pandolfo, awaiting his chance to play this season, Gulitti reported on his blog.

When Pando returns, Sutter will have to make a decision on who to bench.

In my opinion, Mike Rupp and Arrron Asham are the two likely candidates, especially since they each played just over three minutes against Los Angeles.

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