Down 3-1 and outplayed most of the contest, the Devils casually responded with three unanswered goals. The last time these two teams convened, the Penguins managed a 4-2 come-from-behind win without captain Sidney Crosby in the lineup. This time around, New Jersey found a way to fight back against the Crosby-less Penguins.

Merely 37 seconds into overtime, Parise and Elias zigzagged into the opposition's zone, where Elias stationed himself for a blast from the point. Parise positioned himself in front of Penguins goaltender Ty Conklin, easily knocking home Elias’ slapshot. The statisticians credited goalie Martin Brodeur with the secondary assist, on Parise’s team-leading 20th goal. In the process, Parise notched his first career overtime winner and Brodeur earned his first assist of the season.

As expected, Jay Pandolfo returned to his normal spot on the checking line alonside John Madden and David Clarkson after missing 28 games due to a pelvic/ligament injury. However, in the third period, Pandolfo only skated a few shifts before head coach Brent Sutter took him out of the lineup. Pandolfo believed that Sutter benched him for a lackluster performance, while Sutter said that Pandolfo was tired in his first game back since Nov. 28, Tom Gulitti reported afterwards.

In regulation, Pittsburgh relied on an efficient special teams, manufacturing two power play goals. Petr Skyora added an even strength goal for the Penguins, his 600th career point. Incidentally, Sykora’s first career NHL goal came against the Penguins.

Elias and David Clarkson scored less than two minutes apart in the third period, capping an important comeback for the Devils, who did not want to finish a homestand at 1-4.

Brodeur earned the win with 31 saves while his counterpart Conklin made 21 in the losing effort.

Pittsburgh outshot New Jersey 10-6 in the first, 14-8 in the second, before the Devils came alive in the final 20 minutes. Shots were tied at 10 apiece in the third stanza.

New Jersey travels to Buffalo on Wednesday before hosting Anaheim on Friday night.

Pittsburgh returns home to host the Islanders on Thursday.

Notes: Smallest home crowd of season with 13,012 in attendance. Arron Asham, Sheldon Brookbank and Andy Greene were healthy scratches. Coming off IR, Pando replaced Asham in the rotation.

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