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Brodeur, Devils looking to get back on track against Penguins

Oct 17, 2007 - 2:13 PM New Jersey (2-3-0) at Pittsburgh (2-2-0) 7:30 pm EDT

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Devils have found themselves in an unfamiliar spot, the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings.

Martin Brodeur will try to lift the Devils out of the cellar when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday in a battle of division foes.

Brodeur is coming off his first victory of the season, but he looked nothing like a three-time Vezina Trophy winner. The future Hall of Fame goaltender faced just 22 shots and gave up five goals in a 6-5 triumph over the winless Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday.

The 35-year-old Brodeur has posted a 1-3-0 record with a 3.26 goals-against average and .879 save percentage this season. Since the 15-year veteran took over as the Devils' starting goaltender in 1993, New Jersey has missed the playoffs just once, while winning seven division titles and three Stanley Cups.

Brodeur, who has played in 70-plus games over the last nine seasons, will face a potent Penguins' offense. Last season's Hart Trophy recipient, Sidney Crosby, has not gotten off to the kind of start he wanted to. The 20-year-old Crosby has two goals and two assists this season.

Crosby, who finished the 2006-07 campaign with a league-leading 120 points, does have a game-winning goal but he is also a minus-3 this season.

Maxime Talbot, who had just 18 career goals coming into the campaign, leads the Penguins with three tallies and Evgeni Malkin has collected a team-leading five points in his second season.

Brodeur is not the only goalie having a disappointing start as Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury is 2-2-0 with a 3.82 GAA. However, he is coming off his best outing of the season.

After replacing Dany Saborin at the start of the second period, Fleury played well enough to help the Penguins post a 6-4 come-from-behind victory Saturday over the Toronto Maple Leafs, turning aside 19-of-21 shots.