PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby helped chase Martin Brodeur by late in the second period with two goals and an assist during a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

The Penguins responded to trading deadline deals that sent away their second-leading scorer, Mark Recchi, and defenseman Ric Jackman with their best performance since they beat the Devils – without Brodeur that night – 6-2 on Dec. 29.

Brodeur had won six in a row in Pittsburgh since Nov. 27, 2001, only to be pulled after allowing six goals on 16 shots while starting for the second night in a row. While the Penguins hadn’t played since Wednesday, the Devils won 4-3 at Washington in a shootout on Friday night.

The Penguins, especially Crosby, looked to have far more jump from the start and led 3-1 midway through the first period and 6-1 early in the second, when Brodeur was pulled. Crosby scored his 30th of the season only 42 seconds into the game off Sergei Gonchar’s excellent pass and set up Ryan Malone’s short-handed goal less than four minutes in. On that goal, Crosby knocked down Gonchar’s pass while skating toward the net and Malone tipped it in for his 16th.

Crosby is only 18 but, with Mario Lemieux and Ziggy Palffy now retired and Recchi traded to Carolina on Thursday, has been in Pittsburgh longer than 12 of the 20 Penguins who dressed Saturday.

Andy Hilbert, playing his first game for Pittsburgh after being claimed from the Blackhawks, also had a goal – his first in 17 games, or since he scored twice against the Penguins on Jan. 13 – and an assist. His two points in the first nearly equaled the three points he had in his final 15 games with Chicago.

Crosby made it 5-1 slightly more than three minutes into the second on a power play, taking John LeClair’s pass to score from the edge of the left circle. With 72 points in the Penguins’ 64 games, he has a chance for a 100-point season as a rookie.

New Jersey began the night sixth in the Eastern Conference overall standings, four points ahead of Tampa Bay, only to give away two points against a team that was 0-4 since the Olympic break and was 0-4-2 in its last six home games and had lost 11 of 12 in Pittsburgh.

Notes: Crosby’s three points were one short of his season high of four against Washington on Jan. 25. … Scott Clemmensen stopped all 10 shots he faced after replacing Brodeur following Colby Armstrong’s second goal of the season 5:29 into the second. Clemmensen hasn’t started since that Dec. 29 loss in Pittsburgh. … The Penguins, playing their 64th game of the season, avoided their 50th loss, counting shootouts and overtimes. … Pittsburgh is 8-18-7 at home. … Brodeur is three wins away from tying Jacques Plante for fourth place in NHL history with 434 career wins. … John Madden, Erik Rasmussen and Jamie Langenbrunner scored for New Jersey.

AP-ES-03-11-06 2211EST