New Jersey Devils forward John Madden scored twice, including a shorthanded goal, and winger Aaron Asham answered the call as well, as the Devils scored three second period goals in a 4-2 victory over the rival Philadelphia Flyers (16-12-3).

Future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur made 29 saves and defenseman Mike Mottau played brilliant defensive hockey limiting the Flyers to two goals on 31 shots.  The win gave New Jersey (18-12-3) sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.

After a scoreless first period for the second consecutive game, New Jersey went down 1-0 early in the second period on Flyers forward Mike Richards’ 15th goal of the season.  Joffrey Lupul and Randy Jones assisted on Richards’ tally, 40 seconds into the middle frame.

C John Madden responded 2:09 later, burying a loose puck to tie the game at one goal apiece.  D Karel Rachunek and RW David Clarkson assisted on Madden’s first of the night.

Midway through the second period, D Vitaly Vishnevski hooked Flyers superstar Daniel Briere down to the ice, who was consequently awarded a penalty shot.

However, Brodeur (16-11-2) denied Briere’s attempt, which was the game’s turning point.

Merely 40 seconds later, Jaime Langenbrunner, who was given a vote of confidence by Sutter before the weekend, broke into the Flyers zone on a 2-on-1 shorthanded play with Madden, and dished it to Madden, who ripped a one-timer past backup goaltender Antero Niittymaki, starting in place of Martin Biron. 

Nittymaki (3-4-0) made 34 saves in the loss.

Asham, who was called out in practice last week by head coach Brent Sutter, broke a 20-game scoring drought less than four minutes later, when he took a pass from Zach Parise from behind the Flyers net, and fired it in, for his fourth goal of the season.  Asham had been criticized by Sutter for his lackadaisical play over the last two weeks before giving the Devils the 3-1 advantage going into the final period.

The Flyers got back in the game early in the third period when Briere scored on the power play over Brodeur's glove, which cut the score to 3-2.  The Flyers never got any closer.

Mottau led the way on defense for the Devils, breaking up odd-man rushes, stopping quality scoring opportunities.  Jaime Langenbrunner finished the scoring at 4-2 with an empty netter. 

The Devils took six penalties in the contest, two of which were questionable and could have ruined a team that is not as resilient as Sutter's Devils.

In the second period, the referees assessed a double minor high sticking to Patrik Elias for drawing blood.  Video replay showed that it was not Elias' stick, but rather a Flyers stick that had struck defenseman Derian Hatcher.

Later in the second period, with the Devils leading 3-1, Devils forward Brian Gionta jumped on a loose puck and scored the ensuing goal.

However, referees waived off the goal due to a disputed Dainius Zubrus holding penalty.  Zubrus' stick entangled with a Flyers' body, but it looked like both players were trying to break free from one another.

The Devils needed this win following the home loss to the Coyotes on Saturday, and an upcoming west coast road trip.  The Devils immediately left Newark after Sunday’s game to face Vancouver on Tuesday.

New Jersey outshot Philadelphia 38-31 in definitely one of the most exciting and entertaining, high-flying performances at the Prudential Center this season.  Even with the 12 minor infractions, both teams never lost a beat.  It's great that the Devils came out on top.

Notes:

Sutter inserted D Paul Martin and Mike Rupp back into the lineup after Martin missed the majority of the third period against Boston and yesterday’s contest with a left hip injury.  Defensemen Andy Greene and Johnny Oduya were healthy scratches.

Attendance: The announced crowds at the Prudential Center this past weekend were 16,687 on Saturday and 16,636 on Sunday night’s contest at the 17,625-seat arena… very solid numbers…

• First full weekend of hockey at “The Rock”
• First back-to-back hockey games at the downtown Newark arena
• Devils are 3-1 against the Flyers this season; 13-0 when leading after two periods; 9-5-0 at home; 5-2-1 in December
• Madden also contributed an assist in his two goal and one assist night
• Madden’s PPG ended the Devils 1-for-16 slump on the man advantage
• Brodeur is 4-5 on penalty shots; Anaheim's Fredrik Olausson was the only one to beat him on Nov. 24, 1999 (Tom Gulitti)
• With the Rangers 5-1 shellacking courtesy of Wayne Gretzky’s Phoenix Coyotes, the Devils are in sole position of first place in the Atlantic Division with a four-point lead

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