Even though the Buffalo Sabres had already scored merely 58 seconds into its third meeting this season with the New Jersey Devils, it was still not enough to defeat one of the hottest teams in the NHL.  The Sabres' Brian Campell sent a bouncing pass to Daniel Paillem, which eluded Devils goalie Martin Brodeur.  Brodeur was clearly stunned by the puck's odd movement.

Less than 10 minutes later, Paille was at it again, as he fooled Brodeur on another bouncing puck from a bad angle to give Buffalo an early 2-0 edge.

However, head coach Brent Sutter's team, who has been running the wheels all season, and has been playing with a "no quit" attitude, scored two unanswered to force a scoreless overtime, and ultimately the third shootout this season between these two teams.

With Buffalo on a delayed penalty, Devils defenseman Paul Martin scored at 13:47 of the second period.  He shot a "beauty" from the right point, which deflected off Miller's glove and into the net.  Johnny Oduya and Brian Gionta assisted on the Devils first goal, which cut Buffalo's lead in half.

After the Devils pulled Brodeur for an extra skater, David Clarkson of all people tied the game at two from D Andy Greene.  His goal with 1:07 left in regulation stunned the Sabres and their fans and sent the Devils into a frenzy.

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller continued to look shaky in net for the struggling Sabres, who have not won in 2008.  He finished with 23 saves in the loss.

In the shootout playoff, Zach Parise and Patrick Elias scored to nail the 3-2 game for the Devils, who have three victories via the shootout over the Sabres this season.  Parise tallied the lone goal in the first Devils win over Buffalo, while Elias manufactured the game-winner less than two weeks later.

Tonight, both took care of business.

Boy, do the Sabres must enjoy facing the Devils this year!  Only this time, the game was not in Orchard Park, N.Y. rather than the Prudential Center.

Brodeur looked spectacular in the shootout session, stopping attempts by Ales Kotalik and Thomas Vanek.  After Patrik Elias scored the "unofficial" game-winner (since shootout goals are not counted , I thought to myself, What else is new?"  We are definitely seeing the efficient, old-school Elias right now, the one who scores at will and captains this ship, with or without an official title.

The Devils improved to 26-15-3 and are now two pts ahead in the Atlantic as the Pittsburgh Penquins loss 3-2 to the Atlanta Thrashers in the shootout.  As for the Sabres, they are now winless in 9 games, going (0-4-5) over that span.

*Ethan's three stars*

• Patrik Elias- game-winning goal in shootout 
• David Clarkson- game-tying goal with 67 seconds left
• Martin Brodeur- 23 saves, after allowing two early goals in the first 10 minutes

By the numbers

• Brodeur is 8-1-0 in his last nine starts, having allowed 12 goals
• Buffalo's offense has only scored 11 games in the Sabres' past nine games (So I guess tonight was a slugfest for them.)

Top plays

• Henrik Tallinder's one-timer from the slot getting blocked by Brodeur early in the second period
• Brodeur's agile defensive gems in the shootout foiling desperate attempts on net by Thomas Vanek and Ales Kotalik

Next up for the Devils is a team that they still haven't managed to beat this season in four trips, the New York Islanders.  The Devils return home to greet the soraing Islanders on Wed. January 16 that has gone 5-2-3 in their last 10 games.

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