|
 "Right now, I'm playing more frequently than ever before," said
Schneider, who stopped 38 shots en route to his third shutout of the
season and 15th in his career, leading the Devils to their fourth
straight win, a 3-0 whitewash of the Arizona Coyotes Monday night at
Prudential Center.
"There are a lot of the other distractions that are out of the way,
knowing that you're going to get the start," said Schneider, who won
for the 22nd time, the high-water mark of his NHL career. "You have
a lot less things to worry about."
The win enabled the Devils (25-26-9) to pull within one game of the
.500 mark with their first four-game winning streak in two years.
The Devils once again moved to within eight points of idle Boston
for the final wild card playoff slot in the NHL Eastern Conference
with 22 games to play.
Left winger Mike Cammalleri scored two goals, his second two-goal
performance in the last three games, and center Scott Gomez tallied
one for the Devils.
Cammalleri gave the Devils some breathing room with a backhanded
goal in the first 1:49 of the third period and scored an empty
netter on a backhand with 1:48 remaining, giving him a team-high 22
goals on the season.
In the offseason, the Devils made the move to secure Schneider as
their main man in goal, signing him to a seven-year extension and
allowing sure-fire Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur to pursue free
agency and options elsewhere. It's a move that now looks like a
stroke of genius, as Schneider has become the NHL's hardest working
goalie. Monday night was the 52nd game Schneider started this
season.
It was the third shutout in six starts that Schneider has enjoyed
against Arizona.
"I've been lucky to have some good games against them over the
years," said Schneider, who has posted a goals-against average of
less than 1.00 against the Coyotes. "They were able to put some
pucks on net early and that got me going."
The struggling Coyotes (20-33-7) lost for the seventh straight time
and the ninth time in 10 games.
"I felt we deserved a better fate tonight," Arizona head coach Dave
Tippett said. "I thought our players played well. We just didn't
score. The bottom line is that you need to score to win. You can't
expect your goalie to be perfect every night. When you get
opportunities, you have to finish. Finishing is the key. It's all
about the scoring of the goals."
Mike Smith played a solid game in goal for the Coyotes, stopping 25
shots, but he lost his sixth straight decision.
"Mike made some big saves for us, but we need to score some goals,"
Tippett said.
Left winger Lucas Lessio agreed.
"I think this is where we are right now," Lessio said. "We have to
find the net. We did what we needed to do to win the game. That's
why this one is a real stinger. We gave it our best effort, but we
have to find a way to start scoring goals, me included."
[to top of second column] |
The Devils drew first blood with seven minutes left in the opening
period, when Gomez, one of the best reclamation projects in the NHL,
stole the puck near the blue line, then skated in alone, faked
goalie Smith, then pushed the puck through Smith's legs with a
backhand.
"Note to the kids watching at home," Gomez said. "Try to use your
backhand. It's always a thrill when you score a goal in the National
Hockey League."
Gomez, who spent the first two months of the season training with
New Jersey without a contract, scored his fifth goal of the season.
With the score, Gomez moved past Bobby Holik into fourth place on
New Jersey's all-time scoring list with 473 points (121 goals, 352
assists).
Cammalleri then gave New Jersey a 2-0 lead with a fine goal off a
backhand that was placed over Smith's shoulder to the high right
corner of the net just 1:41 into the third period. Right winger
Jordin Tootoo and defenseman Jon Merrill were credited with assists
on Cammalleri's team-high 21st goal of the season.
"I think we're playing with a lot of confidence right now," Devils
center Stephen Gionta said. "We're finding ways to win and that's
what happens."
Gomez said that the Devils can't get caught up in a playoff race.
"We're worrying about getting the two points right now, not what's
going on in the league," Gomez said.
NOTES: With Devils backup G Keith Kinkaid not fully recovered from
the lower-leg injury he suffered Saturday against Carolina, the team
recalled veteran G Scott Clemmensen on Monday from Albany of the
AHL. The 37-year-old Clemmensen, who is in his fourth tour of duty
with the Devils, saw action in three games earlier this season,
surrendering eight goals. ... The Devils, in the midst of their
longest homestand of the season, played their fourth of six straight
games at Prudential Center. ... The Devils have secured points in 14
of their last 16 games at Prudential Center, posting an 11-2-3
record. ... Coyotes D Keith Yandle leads all NHL defensemen with 36
assists and is three assists away from third place for assists by a
defenseman in franchise history.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
