NEWARK, N.J. – Adam Henrique couldn't remember the last time he scored twice in a game. The rookie center certainly will never forget the first multigoal performance of his NHL career.
Henrique scored his second goal of the night 1:28 into overtime to give Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
"It's certainly a nice feeling," Henrique said.
Recalled from Albany on Oct. 22 when center Jacob Josefson broke his collarbone, Henrique has three goals in the last two games — both wins for New Jersey.
"Anytime you get a few good games, it's bound to be a confidence booster," said Henrique, who had one assist in limited time with Albany. "If I keep doing the same thing, then maybe I can stay."
Devils captain Zach Parise, who assisted on both of Henrique's goals, thinks the 21-year-old rookie will become a fixture in the lineup.
"I don't think there's much question now that he's here for good," Parise said. "It has to be a lot of fun for him. I didn't know Adam had that kind of speed. He's much faster than I thought."
Patrik Elias also scored for the Devils and Brodeur made 21 saves in his first win of the season. The NHL's career wins leader was much sharper than Wednesday night, when he returned after missing six games with a bruised shoulder.
Mark Flood scored in the third period for Winnipeg, his first NHL goal, and assisted on Jim Slater's goal that tied the game with 3 minutes remaining in regulation.
In overtime, Henrique took a pass from Parise that was bouncing along the ice and managed to secure it in time to beat goalie Ondrej Pavelec for the game-winner.
"The puck was bouncing and I didn't want to blow it," Henrique said. "I was trying not to outthink myself. I just made the shot and we got the win. When I came in from training camp, my goal was to make the team. When I didn't make it, I had to do whatever I could to come back."
The victory was the second straight for the Devils, who defeated Philadelphia in a shootout Thursday night. It was the first of three straight home games for New Jersey.
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for Winnipeg.
Elias and Henrique scored even-strength goals in the second period to give New Jersey a 2-0 lead. Brodeur earned his 626th career win, adding to his NHL record.
Brodeur, a 10-time All-Star, looked rusty and slow Wednesday night in a loss to Toronto. But the 39-year-old goalie made three very tough saves early in the first Saturday, then two more diving saves toward the end of the period.
"He made some good saves when we needed him to," Parise said. "It was good to see him making the big saves."
The Devils also had a positive carry-over from their 4-3 win over Philadelphia on Thursday. They came out with a lot of energy and generated several good scoring chances in the first period, firing nine shots at Pavelec, though none found the net.
New Jersey finally broke through in the second, scoring twice.
Dainius Zubrus made a steal at the blue line and carried in along the left side. He slid the puck across to Elias, whose one-timer went past Pavelec for the game's first goal at 4:08 of the second.
About nine minutes later, Parise made a fine defensive play near center ice and pushed the puck across to a streaking Henrique, who skated through two defenders and fired a high backhand that eluded Pavelec.
"Zach beat his man and I just went to the goal," Henrique said. "It put me in the position for the breakaway."
The Jets sliced the lead in half with 13 minutes remaining when Flood scored on a long slap shot from just inside the blue line. The defenseman trailed the play, then entered the zone and received a pass from Dustin Byfuglien before firing it past Brodeur. Flood was playing in his second game with Winnipeg.
"I just want to make the easy plays," Flood said. "I don't want to think too much. It was pretty neat that I got my first goal against such a great goaltender like Marty Brodeur, but it's never as good when you don't win. It's tough to lose in overtime, but we can take some good out of it, like battling back after being down 2-0. There are some positives."
The Jets tied it at 2 with 2:45 left when Slater got tangled up with Devils defenseman Mark Fayne, but managed to pry the puck free and sent it past Brodeur.
The Devils had a chance to end it in regulation after Evander Kane was called for tripping with 52 seconds left, but Pavelec made three saves in a wild flurry to send the game to overtime.
"We're playing pretty well," Parise said. "We're responding when we hit bumps in the road. We came back from being down two at Philly and came back tonight after giving up a two-goal lead. We didn't get rattled and that's a good sign."
NOTES: Flood didn't get the puck after scoring his first NHL goal. "Since I'm 27 years old, I think everyone thought I already scored one before," he said. "There wasn't much reaction from my teammates after I scored." ... Devils defenseman Mark Fraser and Jets forward Chris Thornburn locked up in a good fight early in the first period, with Fraser getting in a few solid right hands on Thornburn while getting his jersey torn and shredded from his body. ... It was Fraser's second game of the season. ... Fraser got his first point of the season on Henrique's goal. Bryce Salvador got his first point of the season when he assisted on Elias' goal. ... The Devils played without forward Ilya Kovalchuk and defenseman Andy Greene. Both have lower-body injuries. ... The Jets were without leading scorer Nik Andropov.
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