Devils 3, Sabres 1

Petr Sykora scored two goals to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. Zach Parise also scored for the Devils, who built a 3-0 lead in the second period. Martin Brodeur made 22 saves and assisted on Sykora's first goal. Patrik Elias helped set up both of Sykora's tallies. Thomas Vanek scored for Buffalo, which received 20 saves from Ryan Miller. Sykora opened the scoring with his ninth of the season 9:52 in. Brodeur sprung Sykora and Elias with a clearing pass up the middle. The veteran forwards weaved through the neutral zone before Elias dropped a pass between his legs for Sykora, who sent a soft shot that rolled in under Miller's pads. Sykora snapped a wrist shot over Miller's glove 1:26 into the second period to double the Devils' lead. Dainius Zubrus forced a turnover, and Elias set up Sykora for a one-timer with a perfect pass. Luke Adam appeared to cut the Sabres' deficit to 2-1 with a deflection at 5:28 of the second but the goal was disallowed after a video review showed that Adam struck the puck while his stick was above the crossbar. Parise made it 3-0 at 6:55 when he tipped in Mark Fayne's point. Vanek scored Buffalo's lone goal 1:14 later. The bad blood between the teams grew as the game progressed, and tempers flared during a 5-on-5 fracas midway through the second period. Buffalo's Paul Gaustad and Patrick Kaleta, New Jersey's Cam Janssen and Bryce Salvador were given 10-minute misconducts. Devils forward Eric Boulton received minor penalties for boarding and roughing, and Sabres center Cody McCormick was given a penalty for roughing. The Sabres and New Jersey both had 23 shots on goal and neither connected on the power play. The Devils were 0 for 3 with the advantage, and the Sabres went 0 for 2. NOTES: The Devils are 47-40-16 against the Sabres. New Jersey won the first meeting of the season, 5-3 on Nov. 16. The teams will meet twice more, once in New Jersey and once in Buffalo. ... Brodeur improved to 32-16-7 against the Sabres. . Vanek's goal was his ninth point in six games. He also has six points in his last five games against New Jersey. . Buffalo hadn't lost in New Jersey since a 2-1 defeat on April 11, 2010.