Devils' Wedgewood get 1st shutout in 3-0 win over Penguins
PITTSBURGH (AP) Kyle Palmieri scored twice in the first period and Scott Wedgewood stopped 39 shots for his first career shutout as the New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 on Thursday night.
Palmieri, who set career highs with 29 goals and 52 points, has a four-game points streak. He scored twice early and Wedgewood held off the high-scoring Penguins until Adam Henrique sealed the win for the Devils with his 27th of the season midway through the third period.
New Jersey has won five of seven.
Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 21 saves as Pittsburgh snapped a season-high six-game winning streak. The Penguins ended a run of nine straight games against Metropolitan Division opponents at 7-2.
They remained four points behind the second-place New York Rangers in the division - and home-ice advantage in a first-round playoff series. The Islanders are one point back in fourth place and hold the Eastern Conference's first wild card spot.
Devils starting goaltender Cory Schneider hasn't played since injuring his knee on March 4. He returned to practice and could play next week.
Wedgewood spent the season in the ECHL and mainly the AHL before an emergency recall earlier this week. He allowed one goal in his NHL debut against Columbus on Sunday, stopping 27 shots to become the first Devils goaltender to win in his debut since Martin Brodeur in 1992.
Wedgewood, New Jersey's third-round pick in 2010, followed his initial win with his first career shutout against a Penguins' team that ranks third in the league since Mike Sullivan took over as head coach in December.
Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby saw a 12-game point streak come to an end. Crosby scored six goals and 20 points during a streak that was the longest active in the league.
Palmieri opened the scoring 26 seconds into the game on a breakaway. He took a pass from Travis Zajac off the boards and squeezed a wrist shot through Fleury's pads to give the Devils the early lead.
Palmieri scored 8 seconds into a Devils power play later in the period as his slap shot from the left point beat Fleury to the glove side.
NOTES: Patric Hornqvist and Eric Fehr both played in their 500th NHL game. ... Penguins F Beau Bennett returned to the lineup after missing 42 of the previous 43 games. ... Devils F Blake Pietila made his NHL debut. ... Pittsburgh scratched D Ben Lovejoy, D Derrick Pouliot, C Oskar Sundqvist and G Jeff Zatkoff. ... New Jersey scratched D Jon Merrill, D David Schlemko, D Seth Helgeson, C Jacob Josefson, and F Jordin Tootoo.
