The New Jersey Devils crept closer to the top of the Atlantic Division when Brian Gionta scored in overtime to lift them past the Ottawa Senators 3-2.

Martin Brodeur made 23 saves to hit the 30-win plateau in a season as the Devils moved to within one point of the Pittsburgh Penguins and five behind the Eastern Conference-leading Senators.

Brodeur was happy to have reached his personal milestone once again but more pleased with the Devils' form.

"We stuck to our game plan," Brodeur said. "We're happy about the way we played."

Gionta swept a rebound off a shot by Jamie Langenbrunner past Ottawa goalie Martin Gerber 2:14 into overtime to clinch the Devils' second straight home win after losing four of their previous six.

"It's huge for us," Gionta said.

Brodeur was sharp all night, making his 16th consecutive start to reach 30 wins for the 12th season in a row. He has 524 career victories, trailing only Patrick Roy on the all-time list.

Langenbrunner and Karel Rachunek scored the other goals for the Devils and Patrik Elias assisted on all three.

Luke Richardson claimed a goal and an assist for the Senators who lost for the second time in two nights.

Ottawa coach John Paddock is looking for more consistency.

"We have a lot of talented offensive players on this team and we're just not playing as well as we're capable of," Paddock said.

"We need our best players to be our best players every night."

Kari Lehtonen made 39 saves and two more in the shootout to lift the Atlanta Thrashers past the Washington Capitals 3-2. Atlanta, Washington and Carolina are now tied for first place in the Southeast Division.

Alex Kovalev scored in overtime to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers.

The Chicago Blackhawks scored on three of their first four shots before coasting to a 7-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets .

Tim Thomas faced just 21 shots in goal as the Boston Bruins smothered the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1.

Ryan Miller made 35 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 1-0.

Reuters