NHL ROUNDUP : Devils Win Again, Close In on the Rangers

The New Jersey Devils got 28 saves from rookie goaltender Martin Brodeur to beat the Dallas Stars, 4-0, Sunday night at East Rutherford, N.J. It was Brodeur’s third shutout.

The Devils reached the 88-point mark, one more than the club record set in each of the last two seasons.

The victory also extended New Jersey’s unbeaten streak to nine (7-0-2), also a team record. The Devils have lost once in their last 13 outings (9-1-3).

The Devils are again challenging the idle New York Rangers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Devils are within four points, their smallest deficit since they trailed the Rangers by three points on Nov. 29.

The Rangers were dealt a blow Sunday when forward Mike Hudson was suspended following a high-sticking incident involving the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Kjell Samuelsson. Hudson was assessed a match penalty for deliberate injury of an opponent in Saturday’s 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh. Hudson is expected to miss tonight’s game against Florida and the league will determine later how long Hudson’s suspension should be.

Pittsburgh 3, Hartford 2--Jaromir Jagr scored the deciding goal for the Penguins at Hartford. Jagr, after taking a pass from Larry Murphy, backhanded in the goal at 14:53 of the third period.

Jagr also scored the deciding goal in a 7-6 victory over Hartford on Dec. 7, but that one came in overtime.

Chicago 5, Vancouver 2--Michel Goulet scored a goal and assisted on Jeremy Roenick’s 37th and 38th of the season as the Blackhawks ran their unbeaten string to six games with a victory over the Canucks at Chicago.

Roenick also had two assists in the Blackhawks’ eighth victory in 11 games (8-1-2).

Philadelphia 5, Tampa Bay 5--Eric Lindros scored his 39th goal of the season with 38 seconds left in regulation at Philadelphia, enabling the Flyers to gain a tie with the Lightning.