NEWARK, N.J. — Rookie goalie Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 37 shots for his first shutout and Pavel Zacha scored short-handed as the New Jersey Devils beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 on Saturday.
It was the second straight victory for Blackwood, giving the Devils their first two-game winning streak since Nov. 13-15. Andy Greene added an empty-netter to seal the win.
Curtis McElhinney made 28 saves for the Hurricanes who have lost four of their last five.
Zacha broke a scoreless deadlock with 36 seconds left in the second period. He poked the puck away from Carolina’s Justin Faulk and sped into the Hurricanes’ zone. McElhinney made the initial stop and Zacha stayed with the play to collar the rebound and flip it into the net.
Pavel Zacha (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Carolina pressed for the equalizer in the third but couldn’t beat Blackwood. He stoned Sebastian Aho with a pad save with about six minutes left to preserve the shutout.
Teuvo Teravainen seemingly netted the tying goal with 1:58 left only to have the goal waved off for accidental goalie interference. The Hurricanes appealed the call, which was upheld by the video review.
Hurricanes outshot the Devils 13-9 in the first period with most coming from the point or the perimeter. In the final seconds, Teravainen had one of the few good in-close chances, only to be denied by Blackwood.
NOTES: Both teams were missing important forwards. For the Devils, Taylor Hall, last season’s Hart Trophy winner sat out a second straight contest with a lower-body injury. Jordan Staal remained sidelined for a third game for the Hurricanes with an upper body injury. … The game was delayed briefly in the first period when linesman Tim Nowak was struck by the puck and needed attention. He remained in the game. … The goal light in one end of the Prudential Center repeatedly malfunctioned, flashing when there was no puck in the net.
UP NEXT
Hurricanes: Host Philadelphia on Monday.
Devils: Host Vancouver on Monday.
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Mike Farrell, The Associated Press
