Devils shut out Senators, Schneider wins third straight

NEWARK, N.J. -- Cory Schneider made 30 saves for his first shutout in 15 months, and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-0 at Prudential Center on Thursday.

The Senators were without forwards Matt Duchene, Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel, who were healthy scratches with the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline approaching Monday at 3 p.m. ET. Duchene, Stone and Dzingel, who can each become an unrestricted free agent July 1, have combined for 164 points (77 goals, 87 assists) this season.
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"We all know the circumstances with the situation and finding out late that we are not going to play those guys," Senators coach Guy Boucher said. "(General manager) Pierre Dorion told me [in the] late afternoon and I advised the players of the decision.
"I made a lineup and it took about half a game just to figure out what would work, and I think from the middle of the game on, we were the better team."

Travis Zajac, Steven Santini and Kurtis Gabriel scored, Miles Wood had a goal and an assist, and Will Butcher had two assists for the Devils (24-29-8), who have won three of their past four games (3-1-0).
Anders Nilsson made 27 saves for the Senators (22-33-5), who were 0-for-4 on the power play.
Schneider, who got his first shutout since a 2-0 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 1, 2017, has won three straight games after going 0-17-4 in his previous 24 regular-season games.
"I guess I'm going to try to make up for lost time," Schneider said. "It's tough circumstances with guys getting scratched for both teams, and I thought early on we did a great job being ready to play and not being distracted by that. They made a good push without their top guys, but our penalty kill was phenomenal. We had some big blocks in the end by Brett Seney and Kevin Rooney. You love to see that sacrifice and giving up their bodies like that for you."
Devils forward Marcus Johansson and defenseman Ben Lovejoy were healthy scratches.

"I thought both teams dealt with the same opportunities for distractions with guys being taken out of the lineup, and I thought that our group was mentally ready to play," New Jersey coach John Hynes said. "I thought we had a real strong care factor going into the game and that allowed us to get off to a good start."
Zajac scored on a tip-in from the slot at 11:45 of the first period to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead.
Santini scored his first goal since Dec. 15, 2017, on a slap shot from the point to make it 2-0 at 14:34.
"It's a pretty emotional day because you come to the rink and you don't know if you're playing and then you find out you're playing," Santini said. "To get a goal like that and help us get off to a good start felt really good."
Gabriel made it 3-0 when he scored his first NHL goal on a wrist shot from the left face-off circle at 3:40 of the second period.
"Everyone knows my job isn't scoring goals but of course if I can chip in, I will," Gabriel said. "I work on my shot all the time and they're always encouraging me to shoot every time in practice, letting me know when I make nice plays. They're trusting me and that builds my confidence."
Wood scored on a redirection from the slot to make it 4-0 at 14:52.

They said it

"We want the best players to stay here, but at the end of the day it's the team's decision. They're the ones that own the business and pay the bills. That's their choice and rightfully so. We get a paycheck to go out there and play hockey. It's our job to play to the best of our ability. If that's the direction they want to take it, so be it. It's not much we can do about it except go out there and try to win some games. We owe it to ourselves, our fans. That's all we can do at this point." -- Senators forward Zack Smith
"The consequence of not having a good year to this point is why guys are getting held out or traded. I don't think anyone in here is safe for next year. We have to prove we belong and that we can play a role and be key contributors going forward. We're trying to get our way up the standings, but at the end of the day we have to play for this organization and play with pride." -- Devils goalie Cory Schneider

Need to know

Wood sustained an undisclosed injury and did not play in the third period. … Devils forward Jesper Bratt had an assist and has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games. … Senators goalie Craig Anderson will start against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.

What's next

Senators: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday (7 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS, FS-O, NHL.TV)
Devils: At the New York Rangers on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; ESPN+, MSG, MSG+, NHL.TV)