Scott Levy - NHLI via Getty Images
Rangers' Derek Stepan skates with the puck under pressure by the Devils' Patrik Elias. The Devils won 1-0 when Martin Brodeur earned his first shutout of the season.
NEW YORK -- Martin Brodeur stopped 30 shots for his first shutout of the season and the record 117th of his NHL career, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers 1-0 on Tuesday night for their fifth consecutive win.
Brodeur was sharp and steady throughout, despite going several stretches without facing much action. David Clarkson gave him all the offense he needed with a first-period, power-play goal.
The Rangers appeared to score the tying goal with 3.5 seconds left, but it was disallowed because Marian Gaborik was called for goalie interference when he crashed into Brodeur in the crease after being shoved from behind by New Jersey defenseman Anton Volchenkov.
Henrik Lundqvist took the tough-luck loss, despite making 21 saves.
Rangers rookie Carl Hagelin had two of the best chances against Brodeur, one late in the second and again in the opening minutes of the third, but was denied each time. New York put on the pressure early in the third, forcing the Devils to take a few icings and New Jersey coach Pete DeBoer to use his timeout. The Rangers also had their third power play of the night midway through the third, but were again stonewalled.
The Devils grabbed the all-important lead 8:14 in when Clarkson scored a rare power-play goal against the Rangers. New Jersey was already dominating play on the shot board and finally cashed in on its eighth attempt.
Zach Parise sent a crisp pass from behind the net in front to Clarkson, who quickly snapped a shot in from the slot for his career-best 21st goal.
Petr Sykora nearly doubled New Jersey's lead with 12 seconds remaining in the period, but his shot from the right point during another power play slammed hard off the left post.
Islanders 1, Flyers 0 (SO): Evgeni Nabokov made 45 saves and Frans Nielsen and John Tavares scored in a shootout, to help New York beat host Philadelphia.
Capitals 4, Panthers 0: Mathieu Perreault scored with 13 seconds elapsed, Alex Ovechkin had two goals and Washington beat visiting Florida to take over first place in the Southeast Division.
Avalanche 5, Blackhawks 2: Gabriel Landeskog broke a tie 38 seconds into the third and David Jones added two goals, helping host Colorado beat struggling Chicago.
Blue Jackets 3, Wild 1: Rookie defenseman David Savard scored his first career goal and added an assist to lift the Blue Jackets past host Minnesota and give Columbus' Todd Richards a win in his first game as coach against his former team.
Canadiens 3, Penguins 2 (SO): Tomas Plekanec scored on Montreal's eighth attempt in the shootout to lead the Canadiens to a win over visiting Pittsburgh.
Montreal's Lars Eller and Pittsburgh's Chris Kunitz both scored in the fifth round.
Blues 3, Senators 1: David Perron scored twice and Brian Elliott made 28 saves in his regular-season return to Ottawa and St. Louis handed the host Senators their seventh straight loss.
Kings 3, Lightning: Kyle Clifford and Dustin Penner had second-period goals to lead Los Angeles past host Tampa Bay.
Canucks 4, Predators 3 (SO): Alex Edler scored in the sixth round of a shootout, and Vancouver s beat host Nashville for their fifth win in six games.
Jets 2, Maple Leafs 1: Bryan Little scored the go-ahead in the second period and Winnipeg earned a win over visiting Toronto.
Coyotes 4, Stars 1: Radim Vrbata scored his 25th goal, former Dallas backup Mike Smith made 28 saves and Phoenix improved their playoff positioning with a victory over the Stars in Dallas.
