Buffalo, NY (My Sportsbook) - Martin Brodeur was spectacular between the pipes, stopping 35 shots, including 21 in the third period to lift the Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey Devils past the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2, at HSBC Arena.

Brodeur earned his 17th win of the season for New Jersey (49-26-4), which tied a franchise record for wins set in 2006-07. David Clarkson, Zach Parise, and Jamie Langenbrunner lit the lamp for the Devils, who have won two straight games after dropping six consecutive contests.

"It seemed like in the third we sat back a little bit, but the first two periods were really good for us," Parise said.

The playoff-bound Devils (102 points) sit atop the Atlantic Division and are seven points ahead of Philadelphia, which lost to Ottawa in a shootout on Saturday. New Jersey is tied with idle Washington for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

Jochen Hecht and Clarke MacArthur scored for the Sabres, who have dropped two of their past three outings. Ryan Miller stopped 19-of-22 shots before being pulled after 40 minutes. Mikael Tellqvist turned aside all six shots that he faced in the final stanza.

"We put ourselves in a hole. The same way with the season, we put ourselves in a hole and we have to scramble to get back," Miller said.

Buffalo (85 points) is four points behind the New York Rangers for the eighth and final postseason spot in the East with four games left. The Rangers were shut out 1-0 by Boston on Saturday.

Trailing 3-0 heading into the third, Tellqvist provided a spark for the Sabres.

Hecht's goal at the 6:03 mark of the third period brought Buffalo within 3-1. Hecht, who was being checked from behind, slid a backhander from his knees. The disc snuck past the pads of a sprawling Brodeur and just inside the post.

The Sabres cut the deficit to one on a goal from MacArthur with 3:42 left. MacArthur maneuvered around his defender in front of the net before sliding a backhander that deflected off the right post and into the goal.

With 34.1 seconds remaining, Colin White of the Devils was called for a delay of game penalty, but Buffalo failed to capitalize despite the 6-on-4 advantage as the team had Tellqvist pulled for the extra attacker.

The Devils drew first blood 2:28 into the game on a goal from Clarkson. His shot from the right point sailed past the right shoulder of Miller and into the upper left-hand corner of the net.

Parise scored his 44th of the year on the power play at the 5:38 mark of the first period to extend New Jersey's lead to 2-0. Paul Martin's slap shot from the point deflected off the stick of Parise before he went top-shelf to beat Miller.

Langenbrunner lit the lamp at the 7:04 mark of the second stanza to give the visitors a three-goal margin. Langenbrunner lifted a shot into the upper right-hand corner of the net after controlling a loose puck in front of Miller.

Game Notes

The Devils went 1-for-2 on the power play, compared to 0-for-4 for the Sabres...Buffalo and New Jersey split the season series, 2-2...The Devils improved to 22-15-3 as the guest this year. New Jersey ended a six-game road losing streak...The Sabres dropped to 22-14-3 as the host this year...The Devils were without defenseman Niclas Havelid (lower-body) and forward Patrik Elias, who missed his third straight game with a leg injury...Buffalo forward Jason Pominville played in his 300th career game...New Jersey recalled goalie Scott Clemmensen from Lowell (AHL) on Saturday.