Nicky Robinson failed with penalty attempts in the fourth and 15th minutes, the latter following Munster's Samoan-born flanker Nick Williams' sin-binning for shoulder-charging Roberts off the ball.
Shortly after Kovalchuk banged a power-play shot off the post, Del Zotto swatted a shoulder-high pass from the corner by Derek Stepan into the net at 11:49 for New York's third short-handed goal of the season.
Laulala fed Rush and then followed the back-row on the inside shoulder, picking a pass off his shins for a deserved try that went unconverted - although Parks' kick was genuinely tricky close to the right touchline.