NEWARK, N.J. -- Cory Schneider didn't have much to do in the New Jersey Devils' 3-0 win against the Boston Bruins at Prudential Center on Monday night. There was nothing deceptive about his 22-save shutout -- it was a relatively stress-free outing for the 30-year-old.

But there was one save that may have changed the course of the game.

With the Devils (15-16-7) leading 1-0 on an early goal by PA Parenteau and seconds away from the first intermission, a turnover allowed Bruins left winger Brad Marchand a chance to the tie the score from just outside the crease. But Schneider was able to extend his stick along the goal line to keep the puck out of the net and preserve a lead the Devils would not relinquish.

The play was reviewed by officials in Toronto but the puck never crossed the goal line. The Devils breathed a sigh of relief, and perhaps no player sighed deeper and bigger than the person who committed the turnover that led to the chance -- Parenteau.

"Yeah, that was a big mistake by me there," Parenteau said with a chuckle. "I got a little ... I don't know what happened. Schneider had my back there. It's what a team does. I might buy him dinner tomorrow night."

Schneider, who was on the bench the past two games while backup Keith Kinkaid started, was happy about preventing a late-period goal, something that has plagued the Devils all season.

"I wasn't quite sure, to be honest," Schneider said. "I was looking right at it and I couldn't see down on it. But it looked like it was pretty close. Fortunately we got the call. Sometimes, the way things are going, that's an inch over the line that's a goal. Just that extra inch tonight the other way made the difference between going in (to the intermission) tied or up 1-0."

The Bruins (20-16-4) had just 10 shots over the final two periods. Even though they fell behind 2-0 early in the third period on Sergey Kalinin's goal, the Bruins had just four shots over the final 19 minutes. That's usually a time when teams that are behind fire everything they can at the net, but the Bruins just couldn't sustain a consistent attack.

"We just couldn't muster up anything tonight," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "I thought we were flat. We were flat from start to finish. Those are things you have to ask those players inside the dressing room. You do your best and we thought we had our team ready but at the same time, it's a two-way street here.

"You have to be ready to play. You have to be ready to put in the effort. I thought we lost a lot of battles, which is not what we normally do. We lost a lot of loose-puck battles. Determination for loose pucks around the net wasn't there tonight."

Taylor Hall capped the win by scoring an empty-net goal with 1:58 remaining in his first game back after missing the previous two with a lower-body injury. He also assisted on Parenteau's goal and started the play by using his speed on the rush that led to a shot that created the subsequent pressure.

"He brings a lot to the team," Parenteau said. "It's nice to have him in the lineup with his speed. I thought he made some good decision with the puck too. Just his speed changes the look of our team."

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped 22 of 24 shots and wasn't offered much support on the scoreboard or around his net on both goals. Poor defensive coverage allowed Parenteau to get multiple whacks at a loose puck near the crease and Miles Wood beat a defender to set up 2-on-1 rush for Kalinin's goal.

"When you lose games, sometimes you can take a lot of positives out of it," Rask said. "But today, I don't think there was too much. You have to realize what you did wrong and what you have to improve on, but you can't start dwelling on these losses. It was 1-0 forever, but we were not in the game."

NOTES: Bruins C David Backes (concussion) missed his second straight game. He is out indefinitely. ... Bruins RW Jimmy Hayes was a healthy scratch. ... Devils D John Moore (concussion) was placed on injured reserve after a hit from behind by Capitals RW Tom Wilson on Saturday. ... Devils C Travis Zajac (illness) did not play. ... Devils D Steven Santini made his season debut and recorded his first career point, an assist on RW PA Parenteau's first-period goal. ... G Cory Schneider played his 200th game with the Devils. ... The Devils claimed LW Reid Boucher off waivers from the Nashville Predators, who had claimed Boucher off waivers from the Devils in December.