Schneider's 36 saves, Cammalleri's three points lead Devils over Canucks

Monday, 11.23.2015 / 12:45 AM The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER - Mike Cammalleri had a goal and two assists, and Cory Schneider made 36 saves against his former team as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Sunday night.

Andy Greene and Adam Henrique also scored for New Jersey (11-8-1), which snapped a two-game slide.

Henrik Sedin and Radim Vrbata replied for Vancouver (8-8-6), while Jacob Markstrom made 19 stops in his first home start of the season as the Canucks rested No. 1 goalie Ryan Miller.

Drafted by Vancouver back in 2004, Schneider spent three full seasons with the Canucks before getting traded to New Jersey at the 2013 draft as the first casualty of the protracted goaltending controversy involving himself and Roberto Luongo, who was also eventually dealt away from the organization.

The 29-year-old Schneider picked up his first victory at Rogers Arena as a member of the opposition after going winless in his first two starts in Vancouver with the Devils.

After a scoreless first period, New Jersey opened the scoring 65 seconds into the second when Cammalleri outwaited Markstrom in front to slide home his seventh of the season.

The Canucks were coming off a 6-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday to get back in the win column following a dismal 1-4-2 road trip that included a 4-3 overtime loss in New Jersey.

They had a couple of good chances to tie the score as the period wore on, but Schneider stopped Daniel Sedin twice on a Vancouver power play before making a nice blocker save off Vrbata.

The Devils made it 2-0 at 1:31 of the third when Greene's shot from the point on a New Jersey man advantage found its way past Markstrom off a deflection in front.

The Canucks had a golden opportunity with about five minutes gone in the third when New Jersey defenceman John Moore closed his hand on the puck in the crease, but Schneider stretched to stop Vrbata's ensuing penalty shot.

Henrik Sedin, who recorded the first five-point game of his career on Saturday, gave Vancouver some life with a short-handed goal for his seventh at 7:31 off a Schneider turnover, but Henrique put any thoughts of a comeback to bed just 2:04 later when he snapped his ninth past Markstrom.

Vrbata scored a consolation goal for Vancouver with under a second to go on the power play.

Notes: The Canucks have allowed at least one power-play goal against in nine of their last 10 games. ... Vrbata returned to the Vancouver lineup after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. ... The Canucks open a four-game road trip on Wednesday in Minnesota before travelling to Dallas, Anaheim and Los Angeles. ... The Devils host Columbus on Wednesday. ... Vancouver head coach Willie Desjardins said before the game that rookie defenceman Ben Hutton will be out a few weeks with an undisclosed injury.

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