NEWARK, N.J. -- On the night when he became the franchise's leader in games played by a goaltender, Pekka Rinne wanted to remember where he came from and the man he passed in the Nashville Predators' record book.

"It's a big honor," said Rinne, who turned aside 22 shots in leading the Predators to their third straight win to start the season, a 3-1 decision over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center.

"Tomas Vokoun was a great goaltender and had a long career here. When I first came here, he was someone I looked up to, so it's fitting that I could pass him. I just hope there's a lot more games left in me to have here."

Rinne, who will turn 33 in a few weeks, wasn't seriously tested in the 384th game of his NHL career, all with Nashville. He allowed a power-play goal to right winger Kyle Palmieri with 1:40 left, ending his bid for a second consecutive shutout.

"You never want to give up a goal, especially late, but I'm extremely happy to get the win," Rinne said. "It's really big to get off to a good start once again. We have to be prepared for every single game, and we've done that so far. It's the sign of a good team, and we have a good team."

Defenseman Roman Josi scored two goals, one on a first-period power play and the other on an empty-netter with less than three minutes left, to pace the Predators, who are off to their best start in a decade.

"I saw it was open," Josi said of the empty-net goal, on which his shot carried the length of the ice. "There was no one in front of me, so I thought I'd go for it. I don't think I've scored a goal from that far before."

Josi's long goal made it 2-0. Palmieri then sliced the lead to 2-1 with his first goal as a member of the Devils, but Predators left winger Eric Nystrom sealed the deal with his own empty-net goal with 52 seconds left.

Josi credited the play of his net-minder.

"He's been great so far this year, like he was great last year," Josi said. "It gives us extra confidence as a defensive unit, knowing he's back there and stopping everything. He's always there to make the save."

In turn, Rinne credited his fine defensive corps.

"We are so fortunate to have so many good defensemen," Rinne said. "They also create a lot of offense as well, but they block shots, they control the game, they have good sticks. They know how to come back and help out. We are comfortable together and have a lot of confidence together. Overall, it's great to have that much talent."

The Devils got solid play from goalie Keith Kinkaid, who started for the second straight game as regular goalie Cory Schneider went home for the birth of his son. Kinkaid was solid, stopping 17 of 18 shots.

"The first goal, I should have had that one," Kinkaid said of Josi's first-period, power-play tally. "I am always hard on myself, but I let that one go. I just had to make sure to keep us there. We just couldn't get the bounce on Rinne. He's tough to beat."

The Devils dropped to 0-3-0 for only the second time in team history. They went 0-4-0 to start the 2001-02 season.

NOTES: Devils G Cory Schneider was not with the team Tuesday night. He returned home to be with his wife, who gave birth to a baby boy. Schneider, the busiest goalie in the NHL last season with 69 starts, should be back in New Jersey in time for the game Friday against the San Jose Sharks. Keith Kinkaid started in Schneider's place. Kinkaid was in goal Saturday night for the Devils' 5-3 loss to Washington. The Devils called up G Yann Danis in an emergency status to serve as Kinkaid's backup. ... The Devils assigned LW Reid Boucher to AHL Albany. Boucher made the team out of training camp but did not see action in either of the team's first two games. ... The Predators feasted on Eastern Conference teams last season, posting a 20-10-2 record.