"Their "Flower" in mid-October bloom prevented the Penguins' home opener from becoming a total disaster.

Still, even a 47-save performance Saturday by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury against the New Jersey Devils at Mellon Arena could not mask the obvious.

"We didn't deserve a win," captain Sidney Crosby said following a disappointing 2-1 overtime loss to the Devils. "We didn't deserve a point."

Fleury, though, deserved better than an overtime loss.

He had turned aside 44 shots before New Jersey left wing Patrik Elias sent a puck cross-ice and toward the cage late in the third period.

Youth hockey players note: What follows is the perfect example why sending pucks near the net is never a bad idea, especially when trailing by a goal.

The Devils, down 1-0 at the time of Elias' desperation shot, benefited from a lucky carom off defenseman Hal Gill's right boot. The puck, which would have sailed past the slot clean, bounced off that skate and behind Fleury with 2:29 remaining in regulation.

New Jersey won the game 4:22 into overtime on left wing Zach Parise's goal.

Final shot total: Devils 49, Penguins ...

"Fifteen," defenseman Mark Eaton said. "Not a good effort."

The Penguins registered only seven shots over the final 44:22.

"We had a great first period," Eaton said. "But for some reason, after that, we got away from our game of putting pucks behind (the Devils' defense) and making them go the length of the ice."

Coach Michel Therrien, who praised Fleury for "giving (the Penguins) a point," said simply that his team "didn't work."

"It's pretty simple," Therrien said. "New Jersey played an outstanding game ... (was) extremely hard on us. The result is what we saw."

Fleury saw no reason to pay homage to his individual effort after a defeat, even if his performance upstaged boyhood hockey idol and New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur."