Kyle Palmieri had a goal and an assist, Cory Schneider made 25 saves and the Devils defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Jordin Tootoo, David Schlemko and Sergey Kalinin also scored for the Devils. They had goals on three straight shots midway through the first period, ending Jimmy Howard's night, and the Red Wings never caught up.
Dylan Larkin, Mike Green and Riley Sheahan scored for Detroit.
New Jersey took the game's first penalty when it was called for delay of game exactly midway through the first period. Henrik Zetterberg took a holding penalty 37 seconds later, ending Detroit's power-play chance.
The Devils scored on their power play, though. Palmieri fired the puck off the end boards, and the rebound bounced back at Howard. He was only able to knock it out in front of the net, and Palmieri snapped the rebound past him for his 14th goal at 12:05.
Just 42 seconds later, the Red Wings turned the puck over in their own zone. Andy Green slapped the loose puck toward the net, and ex-Red Wing Tootoo tipped it for his third goal.
Schlemko made it 3-0 at 14:17, beating Howard on a pass from Palmieri and giving the Devils three goals on consecutive shots. Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill didn't hesitate, yanking Howard in favor of Petr Mrazek.
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The game was the second-shortest of Howard's career not involving an injury.
The Red Wings got on the board late in the period when Larkin ripped a power-play shot over Schneider's shoulder. Larkin leads all rookies with 13 goals, but this was his first career power-play goal.
Detroit got a second power-play goal at 12:31 of the second, with Green one-timing a slap shot past Schneider for his second of the season.
The Devils regained a two-goal advantage early in the third when Kalinin beat Mrazek for his fifth of the season after Jakub Kindl's turnover.
Sheahan made it 4-3 at 14:23, scoring his fourth of the season.
The Red Wings pulled Mrazek late, but Niklas Kronwall was called for interference at 19:02 when Stephen Gionta threatened a breakaway on the open net.
NOTES: Kronwall played his 708th game for the Red Wings, moving him into a tie for fourth place on the career list for Detroit defensemen. He is still 856 games — almost 11 full seasons — behind leader Nicklas Lidstrom. . On Jan. 10, 2011, Howard was pulled at 14:15 after allowing four goals to the Avalanche. . Palmieri has four points — two goals and two assists — in two games against Detroit this season.
