After the first period ended, the Devils down 2-0, I was confused.  The Devils were coming off an incredible four-game road-trip sweep and were losing for the first time in five games.  Other people, media perhaps were concerned coming in that they had not played in the Prudential Center much this season and were only 3-4-0 in the downtown arena.

No worries though as the Devils came from behind to pull a 4-2 win in front of another small crowd of 13,665.

David Clarkson shortened the gap in half with a wrap around goal in old-school fashion.  Johnny Madden and Danius Zubrus (more on him later) took care of the assists on the play, where you credited their line for their hard work to keep the puck in the offensive zone until Clarkson found the net midway through the second period.

It was great to see the Devils come alive after that point.  They did outshoot the Dallas Stars 10-7 in the first period, but really picked up speed after Clarkson's third tally of the season helped the Devils players play with a chip of their shoulder the rest of the way.

I was also a little bit frustrated when I found out that Patrik Elias, Brian Gionta, and Zach Parise would play on the same line because I thought Gionta was having success on a different line with Travis Zajac and Parise, and with Jamie Langenbrunner on the power play unit.

However, Patrik Elias certainly quelled any discussion of his flu-like symptoms last night with a slick cross-ice one-timer to GIo, which Marty Turco had no chance of stopping.  Gio added an empty-net assist to Parise, giving him eight points over the Devils longest winning streak of the season.

Zubrus had been struggling to find himself in New Jersey and I know that head coach Brent Sutter was definitely working hard behind the scenes to find the ideal line for him, Elias, Gio since the departure of Scott Gomez.  Zube (my new nickname for him) scored the game-winner from Langs with about nine minutes remaining in the third period, which was also dominated by the Devils' 8-4 lead in shots, and penalty kill units.

I mean both teams did not allow a goal on the opposing team's man advantages, but the Devils killed off a 5-on-3 for 1:37 of the second period, at a crucial stage of the game.  They were down 2-1 and one or two more Stars goals could have easily taken the momentum, which was starting to swing their direction, out of the contest.

Madden, Paul Martin and Karel Rachunek (returning from injury and becoming a father) and of course Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur held their ground, cut off Dallas' passing lanes.  Marty made some breathtaking saves on the PP and throughout the contest en route to a win and finally evening his record at 10-10-1 (not including the OT loss).

Turco played well for the Stars making 22 saves on 25 shots, but the Stars just caught the Devils on fire, and he watched his win-loss record lower to 7-5-3 after Wednesday's defeat.

The Devils stay home for four more games, the next of which takes place Friday night, a rematch against Atlanta.  Brodeur earned a shutout the last time these two teams faced off and we are only hoping for more success from him and the rest of the Devils.

Dallas visits Pittsburgh, a team which had off for nearly a week in this unbalanced league schedule, which I discussed yesterday.

Three Stars of the Game:

Danius Zubrus -- GWG, A... five points during the Devils current five-game winning streak

Brian Gionta -- G, A... as I earlier stated, five-game eight-point stretch for Gio, who has certainly found his groove this month

Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner -- both Devils players made beautiful passes on the Devils second and third goals of the game and I need to credit both of them for their feats equally...

Quick Injury Report:

Jay Pandolfo left the game in the third period after slamming into the boards.  He seemed to have hit his head and back pretty hard, walked off the ice, and straight into the locker room.  Sutter and Pandolfo did not discuss the injury after the game and I will attempt to find out what happened to Pandolfo, hopefully by this afternoon, and to ensure that he's OK and able to continue his 307 consecutive game streak.

This was the Devils first completely healthy game in a long time and hopefully Pandolfo will be back in time for Friday night's game.

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