Bodog Beat

Workhorse Martin Brodeur stopped 37 shots for New Jersey. (AP Images)

The New Jersey Devils are back on top of the Eastern Conference.

Under new coach Brent Sutter, the Devils were expected to regress this season, and they were in last place in the Atlantic Division after the first two months of the season.

But behind the stellar play of Martin Brodeur and a commitment to defense New Jersey has climbed ahead of all division rivals as well as the Ottawa Senators, who had held first place in the conference for 145 straight days until Sunday.

Brodeur stopped 37 saves and John Madden scored the winning goal in overtime as the Devils beat the Capitals, 2-1, in Washington, D.C. Madden beat Caps goalie Brent Johnson with a backhand with 50 seconds to play.

The Devils have won five straight while Brodeur has started 22 games in a row and is 16-4-2 in that stretch. They paid -190 on the puckline (meaning a winning hockey bet of $190 would net $100). The betting total was under five goals.

In other NHL action early Saturday:

San Jose 2, Pittsburgh 1: The Sharks pulled off a road upset with a shootout victory backstopped by Evgeni Nabokov. The San Jose goalie stopped 20 shots during regulation play and sealed the win with a save on the Penguins’ Kris Letang in the shootout. The Sharks paid +110.

Calgary 2, Minnesota 1: Miika Kiprusoff made 38 saves and Daymond Langkow and Craig Conroy scored to lead the Flames, who paid +120 in St. Paul, Minn.

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