Devils Down Bruins On Back Of Clemmensen Shutout

Thomas faced just 18 shots and had 17 saves for the Bruins, who got 31 shots on goal but could not take advantage.

Scott Clemmensen recorded 31 saves to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 1-0 shutout victory over the NHL-best Boston Bruins on Friday.

It was the second consecutive shutout performance from the 31-year-old goaltender, who collected 27 saves in a 3-0 win against the New York Rangers on Monday.

His follow up effort allowed the Devils (36-17-3) to notch their third straight victory and pull them within 10 points of Boston for the Eastern Conference lead.

Defenseman Bryce Salvador had the game's only score at 10:54 into the second period. Bryce took a pass from center John Madden, who had won a face off, and beat goalie Tim Thomas with a wrister.

It was Salvador's third goal of the season, and his first since Dec. 17.

"I just had a feeling that Madden was going to win it on his backhand, and it came right to my tape," Salvador told reporters. "I shot it through the screen, and it had eyes and found the back of the net."

Thomas faced just 18 shots and had 17 saves for the Bruins, who got 31 shots on goal but could not take advantage.

It was the third straight defeat for Boston (39-10-7), who have struggled against fellow top teams as of late.

The Bruins fell to the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks 5-2 on Tuesday, and dropped an earlier meeting with the Devils 4-3 on Jan. 29.

Clemmensen continues to fill in admirably for starting goaltender Martin Brodeur, who has been out with an injury since Nov. 1 but is expected to return soon.

"We felt we've been a very solid, very good team all year long," Clemmensen said. "We've really made a strong push to get to the top of the standings here.

"If we're going to make that next push to be an elite-level team, we've got to beat teams like this."

Standings from the NHL on Friday:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION

             W  L  OTL GF  GA  PTS
 1. New Jersey   36 17 3   173 136 75
 2. NY Rangers   30 20 6   141 155 66
 3. Philadelphia 28 16 9   169 158 65
 4. Pittsburgh   27 24 5   169 169 59
 5. NY Islanders 16 32 6   133 182 38
 NORTHEAST DIVISION

             W  L  OTL GF  GA  PTS
 1. Boston       39 10 7   190 127 85
 2. Montreal     30 20 6   170 168 66
 3. Buffalo      29 21 6   168 156 64
 4. Toronto      20 25 10  165 204 50
 5. Ottawa       20 25 8   130 152 48
 SOUTHEAST DIVISION

             W  L  OTL GF  GA  PTS
 1. Washington   34 16 5   182 160 73
 2. Florida      28 19 8   158 151 64
 3. Carolina     27 23 5   142 161 59
 4. Tampa Bay    19 25 11  141 171 49
 5. Atlanta      19 32 5   157 194 43
 WESTERN CONFERENCE
 CENTRAL DIVISION

             W  L  OTL GF  GA  PTS
 1. Detroit      37 12 7   210 162 81
 2. Chicago      30 15 8   175 135 68
 3. Columbus     27 23 5   148 154 59
 4. Nashville    26 26 3   135 156 55
 5. St. Louis    23 25 7   158 171 53
 NORTHWEST DIVISION

             W  L  OTL GF  GA  PTS
 1. Calgary      32 18 5   171 160 69
 2. Vancouver    26 21 8   165 161 60
 3. Minnesota    28 23 3   139 124 59
 4. Edmonton     27 23 4   153 168 58
 5. Colorado     25 30 1   150 173 51
 PACIFIC DIVISION

             W  L  OTL GF  GA  PTS
 1. San Jose     37 7  9   183 129 83
 2. Dallas       27 20 7   164 166 61
 3. Anaheim      28 24 5   159 158 61
 4. Los Angeles  24 22 7   138 147 55
 5. Phoenix      25 26 5   140 168 55