Alexander Steen gave the St. Louis Blues the early lead and Jaroslav Halak earned his fourth shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory over the Devils on Tuesday night.
Brenden Morrow added a power-play goal midway through the third period and Maxim Lapierre scored into an empty net with 2:08 left. The Blues have won three straight and moved a point ahead of the Blackhawks, who played later at Calgary, for the Central Division lead.
The Blues cleaned up on defense a week after getting whipped 7-1 in New Jersey when Halak surrendered four goals in 14 shots after relieving Brian Elliott. Halak has started all three games since that setback, allowing a total of four goals.
The Devils mustered little offensively three days after losing 7-3 to the Rangers at Yankee Stadium. They were shut out for the sixth time, although this was the first time in 35 games.
