Cory Schneider made 35 saves in earning his fifth shutout of the season, and the New Jersey Devils beat Pittsburgh 2-0 on Tuesday night, sending the Penguins to their third straight loss.
Jacob Josefson scored in the second period for the Devils, who are 9-3-2 in their last 14 games to keep their faint playoff hopes alive. Adam Henrique iced the game with an empty-net goal with 49 seconds to go.
The shutout loss was the second in three games for the Penguins, who have scored only one goal in that span. This was their second straight game without star forward Evgeni Malkin, who has a lower-body injury.
Sidney Crosby missed the first game in that stretch after being unable to play following warmups.
Thomas Greiss made 17 saves for Pittsburgh.
Schneider was outstanding in the third period, making 13 saves with Crosby seemingly on the ice every other shift.
Schneider stopped two big point shots by defenseman Ian Cole early in the period, made a great pad save on Nick Spaling with 12 minutes to play, denied a blast by Crosby from the right circle two minutes later, and made saves through traffic on shots by Paul Martin and David Perron before the final horn.
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Josefson gave the Devils the lead with a little help from Michael Ryder. Defenseman Eric Gelinas sent a pass into the Penguins zone that Ryder tipped to Josefson, and the Swedish center beat Greiss from the right circle with a shot over his shoulder for his fifth goal.
Ryder, a healthy scratch in three of the Devils' previous 22 games, earned his first point since Jan. 14 when he had a goal and an assist against the Kings. He played in his sixth game since then.
Henrique picked up a loose puck in center ice in the final minute and scored his 16th goal.
Both goalies were outstanding in the opening period. Greiss made an early pad save on Dainius Zubrus, and Schneider faced 14 shots. His best stop was a glove save on Crosby from inside the left circle. Schneider also had a big stop on a rebound attempt by Daniel Winnik late in the period.
NOTES: Devils F Patrik Elias missed his second straight game due to back spasms. ... Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury has given up eight goals in his last two starts. Greiss has started two of the last three games. ... The Devils wore their throwback red and green Christmas uniform for the sixth time since changing the colors.
