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Parise, Langenbrunner help Devils top Islanders

Feb 12, 2009 - 4:46 AM NEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- With future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur still sidelined, All-Star Zach Parise and captain Jamie Langenbrunner have become the straws that stir the drink for the New Jersey Devils.

Parise recorded two goals and two assists and Langenbrunner scored twice as the Devils skated past the New York Islanders, 4-2, on Wednesday.

Parise, who is tied for second in the NHL with 34 goals, snapped a 2-2 tie with 7:25 left in the third period and defenseman Paul Martin notched three assists in support of Kevin Weekes' 23-save performance for New Jersey, which has won two in a row and 11 of 13.

"I felt pretty good, but it was a tough game to play," Weekes said. "It was kind of a very scrappy game. They would generate a lot of stuff around the net, through the crease. They played well, their goalie played really well. Our guys worked hard enough to be rewarded."

Blue-liner Radek Martinek and rookie Kyle Okposo tallied and Joey MacDonald turned aside 46 shots for New York, which fell for the fourth straight contest.

"I thought I battled pretty hard," MacDonald said. "They've got some quality defensemen back there that just throw pucks through and the guys that just bang home rebounds. They battled hard."

Parise tallied for the second time in this one by converting a wrist shot from the doorstep during a power play, helping the Devils post their fifth consecutive win over the Islanders.

"I think as a line, we keep playing the way we are and we're all getting good scoring chances," Parise said. "We're playing smart. Things are going well for us right now."

Martinek scored his second goal of the season at 2:32 of the first period to open the scoring for New York. Blake Comeau centered the puck to Martinek, who fired a wrist shot past Weekes from the slot.

Parise then netted his career-high 33rd goal of the season with 81 seconds remaining in the session to forge a 1-1 deadlock. Martin's right point shot was stopped, but Parise tapped the rebound over a sprawling MacDonald from near the left goalpost.

"They're a good hockey team, they've got a lot of offensive power out there, and I think this year's a big step for them," MacDonald said. "They're scoring a lot more goals. Parise, he had another great game for them. He just kind of finds the soft spots, and the puck seems to come right to him."

Parise has notched eight tallies and seven assists over his last 10 contests. The 24-year-old also recorded six shots as the Devils outshot the Islanders, 50-25, overall.

"(Parise) is going to score goals every night," New Jersey's Travis Zajac said. "He's always hungry around the net and motivated to score. The guy works hard, he's hungry for the puck. He wants to score goals."

Okposo staked the Islanders to another one-goal advantage with a power-play tally, skating in on Weekes and tapping in his own rebound from the top of the crease at 6:15 of the second.

Despite the goal, Okposo admitted it was difficult for his team to generate chances.

"They're a pretty frustrating team to play against," he said. "They do a very good job with their systems. We just couldn't get anything going tonight. We needed to put more pucks on net and get some more offensive-zone time."

However, Langenbrunner knotted it at 2-2 during a man advantage with 3:39 left in the session by beating MacDonald with a hard slap shot from the left faceoff circle after receiving a cross-slot pass from Martin.

"Good work by the guys down in the corner getting it off the faceoff. Then (Martin) just slid it across to me and I just tried to shoot it across," Langenbrunner said. "(I'm) pretty shocked it didn't hit somebody and go in, but I guess it just found its way through."

Langenbrunner secured the victory and capped his fourth two-goal performance in eight games with an empty-netter with 63 seconds remaining.

"It was a hard-fought game," Devils coach Brent Sutter said. "It was one of those games where you had to work for everything you got. We had lots of shots on net. I thought both goalies played well. We were able to stay with it. Give (the Islanders) full marks, they played hard."

MacDonald, who had allowed 15 goals over his previous five contests, fell to 1-3-1 lifetime against New Jersey.

"(MacDonald) played well," Langenbrunner said. "They do give up some shots, but they do a good job of getting rid of the rebounds. We had to battle pretty hard tonight."