In Newark, the New Jersey Devils held off the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 2-1 win on Friday night.
Travis Zajac and Blake Coleman helped the Devils build a 2-0 lead into the third period.
“The Penguins pushed hard; we didn’t want to spend quite that much time in our [defensive] zone but all four lines and three sets of D played well and obviously [Blackwood] was an absolute stud,” Coleman said. “Everybody bought in to the little battles, the blocked shots, and it was evident.”
Mackenzie Blackwood made 38 saves in the win.
“[Blackwood] was big, particularly down the stretch,” Devils head coach John Hynes said. “We don’t win the game if Blackwood doesn’t have the performance that he has. It’s nice to see him being consistent in his game and making saves when we need them, and he was a big difference in the game.”
Jack Johnson scored for Pittsburgh in the third period to tighten the game up for the last 12 minutes.
Pittsburgh will be without Sidney Crosby for at least six weeks.
“It’s tough,” Penguins forward Jake Guentzel said. “We played really well and did not get the bounces. On most nights if we play like that I think we’ll come out on top. It’s a good thing we got another one (Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs) to get back at it.”
[WATCH: All Penguins vs. Devils highlights]
Matt Murray made 19 saves in the loss.
“I thought we played a strong game, start to finish,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said. “Both (New Jersey) goals were fluky goals. We generated a fair amount of quality scoring chances and defended hard. I thought our guys played smart, but we just didn’t find the back of the net enough.”
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