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Kovalchuk's shootout winner sends Devils past Kings

Oct 14, 2011 - 3:58 AM Newark, NJ (Sports Network) - Ilya Kovalchuk scored the game-winner in the first round of the shootout, as the New Jersey Devils snuck past the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1.

Patrik Elias scored in regulation for the Devils, who have won two in a row since opening the season with a loss against the Flyers last Saturday.

Martin Brodeur stopped 10-of-11 shots in the first period, but left the game with upper-body soreness. Johan Hedberg came on in relief and turned aside all 16 shots that he faced.

"I know the results are important, absolutely I'm happy with a 2-1 start," Devils head coach Peter DeBoer said. "More happy with how we're starting to grasp how we want to play, and the identity of the team. I think you saw more of that tonight than in any of the game we played yet. That's a good thing."

Simon Gagne scored the lone goal for the Kings, who played their first game of the season in North America after starting the year with two games in Europe.

Jonathan Quick stopped 36-of-37 shots for Los Angeles, which is off to a 1-1-1 start.

"We came up a little short," Quick said. "We'll watch the video and figure out what we did wrong."

The Kings drew first blood at the 1:47 mark of the first period. Gagne gathered the puck in the slot and was able to put a backhander past Brodeur.

New Jersey made it a 1-1 game at the 13:03 mark, as Elias backhanded a rebound past Quick.

Hedberg and Quick made seven saves apiece in a scoreless second frame.

Kings forward Dustin Penner, who missed the first two games of the year with a lower-body injury, was sent to the penalty box for charging at the 18:16 mark of the third period. The Devils failed to score on the man advantage, sending the game into overtime.

Hedberg made five saves in overtime, while Quick stopped three shots.

Kovalchuk got the shootout started with a nice deke and backhander. After Gagne was stopped by Hedberg, Zach Parise used the backhander to beat Quick. The game was over after Los Angeles forward Anze Kopitar failed to score.

Game Notes

The Kings had won three straight meetings against the Devils...New Jersey went 0-for-2 on the power play, while Los Angeles went 0-for-1 on the man advantage.