UPDATE 12:13 AM ET: According to published reports, winger Jay Pandolfo suffered a groin injury in tonight’s win over Dallas and will be re-evaluated tomorrow to determine the extent of his injury. Pando was injured after slamming into the end boards while attempting an off-balance shot on Stars’ netminder Marty Turco in the third period of the contest. Hopefully it’s not too serious, but groins can be pretty concerning sometimes. We’ll surely be on top of this story as it unfolds!

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Let’s get this party started!

Too dorky?

Apologies.

Anyway, our fearless red and black clad clan have successfully beaten the Dallas Stars 4-2 tonight, sparking a now-legitimately awesome five game winning streak. Oh, even more impressive, Black ‘n Red snapped a six-game streak for Dallas, who had earned points in their previous eight contests before tonight. Take that, Texas!

So, what happened tonight?

Let’s recap! New Jersey started off in craptastic fashion, with Mr. Vezina giving up two soft serve ice cream goals about three minutes apart to a couple of jokers named Stu Barnes and Jussi Jokinen. Worse yet, the first softie was also a shortie! Not good.

Surely, many fans were calling for the head of poor Mr. Vezina. He clearly had a bad start. However, Marty simply was in no mood for decapitation, as he turned his game around and made some sparkling saves to help lead his team back into the contest.

Atta boy, Marty Brodeur.

With Marty back in his normal state of awesomeness, it was now time for the rest of the team to right the ship. Fan-favorite Davey Boy Clarkson provided such spark with an EA NHL 2004 trademark wraparound goal that we have all grown to know and love.

So, at this point, it’s 2-1. We have Martin Brodeur on one end doing his thing, and Davey Boy Clarkson on the other end doing his thing. Cue Brian Gionta breakthrough.

Yes, the three-foot-tall forward, who has easily underachieved thus far this season, actually scored a goal. Better yet, he scored said goal off of a prettyful feed from the immune system-challenged forward Patrik Elias, who has been equally disappointing this season.

It’s nice to see familiar faces do what they should be doing, isn’t it?

And we’re tied at two.

Great, but damnit, it’s not enough!

Who better to score the would-be game winner than a third underachieving player in the seven-foot-tall Ruskie that goes by the name of Dainius Zubrus?

It’s like it was in the stars!

Zubbie made it a beauty, too, gobbling up a free gimme from Mike Modano and skating down the ice on a mini-breakaway with Jamie Langenbrunner to face a surely nervous Marty Turco in net. Zubrus would then make good on his attempt, connecting on an awesome pass by the Captain-worthy Langenbrunner to give the Devils their first lead of the night.

Now we’re talkin’!

The only thing that would be the black ‘n red colored frosting on this devil’s food cake, in my eyes, would be an empty net goal. You see, I like empty net goals. Especially when they are scored by the Devils. They certainly please me.

So what happened?

My dreams came true for once!

The achieving (no over, no under, juuust perfect) Zach Parise would net his ninth goal of the season with a lovely empty netter, officially giving New Jersey a very awesome 4-2 win for the night.

While things are looking pretty fantastic for Black ‘n Red right now, there is concern over the injured Jay Pandolfo, who slammed into the end boards after tripping awkwardly attempting an off-balance shot on Turco in the third period. We are surely hoping that the worst to happen to Pando is a bruised ego, as the former Selke nominee unfortunately hit the goal post with his attempt. Ouch.

NOTES: Martin Brodeur was honored before the game by the Devils for achieving his 500th win earlier this season. Brodeur reached the milestone against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 17th, helping the Devils to a 6-2 victory. After a shaky start tonight against Dallas, Brodeur finished with 19 saves on the night…Andy Greene and Johnny Oduya were both healthy scratches as defender Karel Rachunek returned to the lineup. Patrik Elias also returned for the Devils, registering an assist and one shot on goal for the night…Dainius Zubrus was named the game’s first star, tallying a goal and an assist while skating at a plus-two.