EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Jamie Langenbrunner gave the New Jersey Devils a lead they couldn't cough up.
Langenbrunner scored with 43 seconds left in overtime to give the Devils their fourth straight win, 3-2 over the San Jose Sharks.
John Madden set up the goal with a spinning backhand pass, hitting Langenbrunner for a one-timer that beat Evgeni Nabokov.
"At first, I threw too hard of a pass but I got it back," Madden said. "I could see Evgeni standing there and I just spun on my backhand. I kind of got lucky with where it went. I really don't know how long (a shift) it was. When you score, you don't care too much."
The goal came after a long shift that generated numerous scoring opportunities for the Devils.
"John was really working along the boards and in the corner," Langenbrunner said. "You take chances (in overtime). You already have one point."
Nabokov was otherwise solid, making 29 saves for the Sharks, who have won just once in 10 games.
"I think we played pretty good," Nabokov said. "You're playing a patient game. But I think we're trying to focus and play it right. If you're going to start gambling, you are not going to get those points."
The Sharks, who trailed on two occasions, forced overtime when Scott Thornton netted his second goal of the season.
With 11:50 left in the third period, Mike Ricci gloved Brian Rafalski's clearing attempt, skated around the New Jersey defenseman and slid a pass across the goalmouth to Thornton, who banged it past Martin Brodeur.
"New Jersey is a team that will play for a 0-0 tie going into the 59th minute," Thornton said. "I think our game plan was to be patient."
"They backed up and tried to trap us all night long," Devils coach Pat Burns said. "Teams come in here and are playing like they don't want to lose. They didn't quite mind finishing with a tie. It's a big point for them in this building."
Turner Stevenson scored his first goal since March 30 and Christian Berglund had his first since January 10 for the Devils, who needed just 13 saves from Brodeur to post their fifth win in six games.
Stevenson's goal with 4:32 left in the second period came off a faceoff in the right circle. After picking up the rebound of a shot by defenseman Scott Stevens, Stevenson poked at the puck three times before getting it past Nabokov.
"Their first goal was kind of fluky," Thornton said. "We had five guys down around the net."
Stevens picked up his 900th career point with an assist on Berglund's goal.
The Sharks were within a minute of their sixth tie in 10 games. San Jose is 1-1-2-1 on a seven-game road trip.
