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EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- It's been a long time since Jason Arnott and the New Jersey Devils brought their "A" game. Stripped of his alternate captaincy, Arnott collected two goals and an assist and Martin Brodeur stopped 16 shots as the Devils cooled off the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1, in the finale of a home-and-home series for just their second win in 11 games. The three-point effort came one night after New Jersey coach Larry Robinson gave Arnott's alternate captaincy to Bobby Holik. Reunited with linemates Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora, Arnott lifted the Devils into a 1-1 tie late in the first period, set up Jay Pandolfo's insurance goal midway through the second and capped the scoring on the power play less than three minutes later. "It happens," Arnott said. "Every team goes through it and every team does it. Whether it was to shake us up a bit or whatever, I'm not looking a whole lot into it. I know I'm a huge leader on this team and I have to keep doing it, no matter if I have an 'A' or not." Rookie Andreas Salomonsson got the eventual game-winner for New Jersey, which broke a three-game home losing streak. "It's very nice to know that you can compete on the same level as Detroit," Robinson said. "Most people feel they are one of the best teams in the league, so it's nice to go home with a smile on your face, knowing we have competed with one of the better teams in the league." Rookie Pavel Datsyuk scored 9:07 into the first period to put Detroit in front, but the league-leading Red Wings mustered little offense thereafter and had a nine-game unbeaten streak snapped. "We played well in the first period, pretty even all-around, and then we were outplayed the whole game," Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios said. "The power play, we had a lack of effort, so we just didn't work. That's the bottom line -- they outworked us and they outplayed us." With three Devils defenders unable to clear a loose puck from in front of the net, Datsyuk fished it out and flicked it under the crossbar for his second goal of the season and first since October 30. Arnott tied it with 4:55 left in the first period, shoveling a backhander over Hasek after the goalie stopped Sykora's shot from the right point. Salomonsson broke the deadlock at 5:43 of the second, getting his second goal of the season and first in a month. Scott Gomez centered from behind the net and Salomonsson got his stick on it while positioned above the crease. Pandolfo ended a 57-game regular-season scoring drought just over four minutes later. Arnott broke down the left side on a 2-on-1 and had his shot kicked away by Hasek. But Pandolfo scored off the rebound for his first goal since January 18. "It's great, it's a huge confidence booster for those guys, too," Arnott said. "Especially for Pando. He works so hard in practice and in games, he's just like a bumble bee out there. He goes at all cylinders all the time." Arnott capped New Jersey's three-goal second period with 7:16 left, beating Hasek with a one-timer from the edge of the right faceoff circle. "It's nice to see Arnie get some goals," Brodeur added. "He's been playing pretty good, but he had a tough go a little bit the last five or six games. It's nice for him to get some confidence back. We need him." Brodeur helped the Devils kill a five-minute power play after Turner Stevenson received a major penalty for checking from behind with 1:40 left in the second period. "You don't want to give these guys life," Brodeur said. "We feared them a lot. Even thought it was 4-1, we were scared for them to get a sniff, and the next thing you know, they feel that they can score more goals."
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