COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- David Clarkson scored twice and Martin Brodeur
made 13 saves to earn his NHL-record 115th shutout as the New Jersey
Devils snapped a two-game slide with a 3-0 victory over the Columbus
Blue Jackets on Sunday.
Nick Palmieri also scored, and Mattias
Tedenby added two assists for the Devils, who are trying to stay in the
Eastern Conference playoff race. New Jersey is in 11th place, seven
points behind eighth-place Buffalo and the postseason cutoff.
The Devils, who have 10 games left, were
on a 23-3-2 tear before back-to-back losses to Ottawa and Washington
this week damaged their already long shot playoff hopes.
Brodeur was rarely tested as he made his
11th straight start. He used his leg pads to stop only a handful of
dangerous chances by Columbus, which looked a step slow one day after an
overtime win at Minnesota.
Steve Mason stopped 28 shots for the Blue Jackets, 2-6-4 in their last 12 games.
New Jersey broke out of a scoring slump
after netting only one goal in the two-game skid. The Devils worked
their game plan of simplifying the attack and fighting for rebounds to
perfection.
Clarkson opened the scoring at 9:24 of
the first period. Jacob Josefson beat two Blue Jackets out of the corner
with the puck and threw a backhander on net. Clarkson, alone in front,
popped the rebound past Mason.
Columbus' best opportunity came off the stick of R.J. Umberger, whose shot from the right dot clanged off the post.
The Blue Jackets didn't register their
first shot on goal until under a minute left in the opening period,
drawing applause from the sparse crowd. Another shot was added during
the intermission by off-ice officials.
The Devils made it 2-0 near the midpoint of the second period.
On the rush, Andy Green fired a shot
that Mason couldn't corral as players were flying everywhere. Tedenby
dug the puck loose, and Clarkson scored into an open net for his 12th
goal.
Moments later, Mason stopped Ilya Kovalchuk, scoreless in four of five games, on a breakaway.
Brodeur's best stop of the period came at the 12-minute mark on a hard snap shot from Rick Nash.
Palmieri stripped the puck from
defenseman Kris Russell, cutting through the low crease, and quickly
snapped a shot past a surprised Mason at 3:22 for his seventh goal.
A few minutes later, Brodeur hugged the post with his pad to stop an in-tight chance by Matt Calvert.
