Devils 3, Penguins 1: David Clarkson scored twice and Johan Hedberg turned aside 23 shots as visiting New Jersey recorded its fifth straight victory by completing a home-and-home sweep of Pittsburgh.
Ilya Kovalchuk also tallied and Adam Henrique extended his point streak to five games with an assist for the Devils. Clarkson scored on the lone power play for New Jersey, which took advantage of 10 opportunities with the man advantage on Saturday en route to a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh.
Clarkson opened the scoring with 6:54 remaining in the first period. After Deryk Engelland was caught up ice, Clarkson staved off the backchecking Penguins defenseman before wristing a shot past Tomas Vokoun and into the top left corner of the net.
After Kovalchuk doubled the advantage midway through the second period with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle, Clarkson netted his second of the game and ninth of the season just over two minutes later. Clarkson tapped home a loose puck on the doorstep before taking a vicious hit to give New Jersey a 3-0 lead.
James Neal ended Hedberg's bid for a second straight shutout by scoring his eighth goal of the season - and fifth power-play tally - just 15 seconds into the third period. Vokoun finished with 20 saves for the Penguins, who fell to 2-3-0 at Consol Energy Center.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Pittsburgh veteran LW Matt Cooke was held without a shot while playing in his 900th career NHL game. ... Clarkson has five more goals than the next closest New Jersey player (Henrique and Kovalchuk). ... Penguins D Kris Letang (lower-body) was placed on injured reserve, but is eligible to return for Wednesday's game versus Ottawa.
New Jersey | Pittsburgh | |
David Clarkson 2 | Points | James Neal 1 |
David Clarkson 2 | Goals | James Neal 1 |
Patrik Elias 1 | Assists | Chris Kunitz 1 |
David Clarkson 1 | Power Play Goals | James Neal 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Johan Hedberg .958 | Save Percentage | Tomas Vokoun .870 |
Johan Hedberg 23 | Saves | Tomas Vokoun 20 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
New Jersey | 23 | 3 | 1-1 | 2-3 | 11 | 21 |
Pittsburgh | 24 | 1 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 7 | 34 |