Playing in his fourth game since a shoulder injury forced him to miss six, Brodeur's best save came with 6 minutes left in the second period when he snagged Jason Pominville's shot from point-blank range with his glove.

Brodeur has allowed 10 goals since his return.

Zach Parise, Mark Fayne, and David Clarkson also scored for the Devils (9-7-1), who won for the second time in three games. New Jersey lost 4-3 at Boston on Tuesday.

Tyler Myers scored twice after a one-game benching, Jordan Leopold added a goal, and Jhonas Enroth allowed five goals on 19 shots. He was pulled in the third period for Buffalo (11-7), which had a three-game, home-winning streak snapped.

Kovalchuk, who missed five games with his injury, scored his third of the season just 5 minutes into the game.

Enroth made his second straight start for the injured Ryan Miller, who sustained a concussion against Boston on Saturday, and lost in regulation for the first time in 15 decisions (13-1-1). He was yanked with 9:33 left in the third period and replaced by Drew MacIntyre, who made two saves.

Elias extended the lead to 4-1 with a goal 3 minutes into the third before Myers scored his second of the game at 7:35.

Clarkson restored New Jersey's three-goal edge just 49 seconds later on a breakaway.

Leopold capped the scoring with 4:53 remaining to make it 5-3.

Up by two goals after the first period, the Devils stretched their lead to 3-1 when Fayne wristed in a shot from the right point that got through a screen 8:36 into the second.

The Devils struck first with a pair of goals within the first 5:21 of the game. Parise opened the scoring with a short-handed goal 2 minutes in, and Kovalchuk snapped a seven-game goal drought with a power-play tally just over 3 minutes later.

The Sabres cut the deficit to 2-1 when Myers scored a power-play goal with 64 seconds left in the first. From in tight, Myers shoveled in a backhanded shot for his first goal of the season.

NOTES: Devils C Dainius Zubrus played in his 1,000th NHL game. ... Brodeur played in his seventh game of the season, and first on the road. He earned his 37th NHL assist on Kovalchuk's goal. ... Buffalo LW Cody McCormick missed his first game with an undisclosed injury. He was replaced by RW Corey Tropp, who was recalled from Rochester of the AHL earlier Wednesday. ... Myers' goal was his first since March 1, a span of 36 regular-season games. ... Enroth's last regulation loss came against Pittsburgh on Nov. 24, 2010.