Devils Stay Hot in Win Over Kings, 4-2

Left wing David Maley of New Jersey was clutching a videotape as he spoke with reporters after the Devils’ 4-2 victory over the Kings Thursday night at the Meadowlands Arena.

It is a tape that Maley is likely to cherish because it contains rare footage of the first two-goal game of his NHL career.

Maley, who previously had only one goal this season, said his scoring outburst was inspired by a pep talk from Max McNab, executive vice president of the Devils.

“Max told me that when he was playing he had trouble scoring once and asked a 50-goal scorer what the goalie looked like to him and the 50-goal scorer said he was just a blur,” Maley said. “He asked a five-goal scorer what the goalie looked like and he said all he saw was pads.

“I could tell you the brand of pad worn by any goalie in the league.”

In addition to scoring, Maley also did a nice job of checking Wayne Gretzky, holding the King center to only one shot.

“I thought David Maley did a helluva job,” Devil Coach John Cunniff said. “And he did a great job on Gretzky. He does that and he scores two goals. I don’t know what else you can do.”

What was the Devils’ game plan?

“I told Maley, ‘Look, tonight I want you to go out there and score two goals, cover Gretzky and take on (King defenseman Marty) McSorley, in that order,’ ” Cunniff said.

Whatever the expectations, Maley’s performance was made-to-order, as he scored twice, checked Gretzky and appeared to instigate a third-period fight with McSorley.

Maley was smiling from ear to ear as he skated off the ice after being voted the No. 1 star of the game.

“I thought I’d go the whole year with just one goal,” Maley said. “I’ve been having a lot of chances here and there and the guys on the team say keep shooting. Even though I was on the checking line it’s nice to get a couple of goals.”

With the score tied, 2-2, Maley scored his second goal of the game with 7:57 remaining in the third period. Right wing Doug Brown threw the puck in front of the net and Maley stuffed it in for what turned out to be the game winner.

King goaltender Kelly Hrudey said the Devils took him out of the play because they did a good job of crowding the area in front of the net.

“I couldn’t get my arm free and (Maley) just jammed it through there,” Hrudey said.

The Devils added another goal just 16 seconds later when right wing Janne Ojanen scored his 11th goal of the season.

“It was on end when he shot it and I had no idea where it was going,” Hrudey said. “Those are just going to beat you when you shoot it and it hops up on end.”

For the second consecutive game the Kings ran into a hot goaltender.

Devil goalie Sean Burke frustrated the Kings, making 28 saves as he extended his unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1) in helping the Devils move into sole possession of first place in the Patrick Division.

“Sean played terrific. He kept us in the game,” Cunniff said. “You could see the team get confidence behind him.”

Burke’s most spectacular save was stopping King defenseman Steve Duchesne on a second-period breakaway.

“Against a team like L.A. you can have a good night and they still might score five or six goals,” Burke said. “To only allow two is very gratifying.”

Burke is one reason that the Devils (20-18-4) are 9-3-1 in their last 13 games and off to the second-best start in club history.

The Kings (20-17-4), who have lost two in a row, haven’t been playing well on the road recently, losing four of their last five.

But King Coach Tom Webster is not worried about the road record, because he believes the team is working hard and creating scoring chances.

“The effort is being put forth and that’s the encouraging sign,” Webster said. “I think we’re working hard for our chances but we’re just not finishing them, and I think it’s the result of some hot goaltending. That’s the name of the game.”

The Kings took a 1-0 lead when Mike Krushelnyski scored his seventh goal of the season at 6:34. Gretzky deflected the puck off the side of the net and into the slot, where Krushelnyski knocked it into the far side of the net.

“Gretzky saw he couldn’t get it to me and he banked it off the net,” Krushelnyski said. “It was a designed play. He practices it. He fooled everybody when he put it right on my stick.”

The Devils were outshot, 14-6, in the first period, but in the second period they outshot the Kings, 9-5, and outscored them, 2-1.

The Devils tied it, 1-1, when left wing Brendan Shanahan passed it to Maley, who was alone at the bottom of the left circle. Maley skated across the slot and scored on a backhander inside the right post at 1:02 of the period.

The Kings went ahead, 2-1, when McSorley scored on a low 50-foot shot from the right point at 5:31 of the second period. McSorley said he was trying to set up teammate Mikko Makela, who was camped in front of the net.

“I was hoping to keep it low for a rebound because I saw Mikko,” McSorley said. “I was fortunate that it went in.”

But the Devils had a run of three consecutive goals to take control. Patrik Sundstrom tied it, 2-2, when he tipped in a shot through the legs of Hrudey at 8:02 of the second period. Maley put the Devils ahead at 12:03 of the third, and Ojanen added an insurance goal at 12:19.

King Notes

Defenseman Bob Halkidis, who was recalled from the minors Sunday, was sent back to the Kings’ minor league team in New Haven, Conn., a club spokesman announced after the game. . . . King Coach Tom Webster juggled his lines, double shifting center Wayne Gretzky. Webster also started rookie Todd Elik at center on a line with John Tonelli and Keith Crowder. . . . Defenseman Alexei Kasatonov of the Soviet Union made his NHL debut with the Devils. What did Webster think of Kasatonov? “What number was he?” Webster asked. “I was more concerned with my own team.”