Sergei Bobrovsky, Blue Jackets defeat Devils

NEWARK, N.J. --Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves for his second straight shutout to help the Columbus Blue Jackets defeat the New Jersey Devils 3-0 at Prudential Center on Sunday.
It was the 34th win of the season for Bobrovsky, setting a new Blue Jackets record; Steve Mason won 33 games in 2008-09. It was Bobrovsky's fifth shutout of the season; he made 38 saves in a 1-0 win against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

"It is obviously great, but there is the team in front of me helped me a lot," Bobrovsky said. "I give big credit to them for that and thanks to them. ... A win at this time of the year, the guys play really tight defensively. They make great blocked shots at the perfect time. They execute and they contribute a huge piece in the success."
WATCH: All Blue Jackets vs. Devils highlights
Columbus (41-17-6) won for the fourth time in six games and remained tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins (who defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Sunday) for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Blue Jackets have one more win than Pittsburgh.

"[Bobrovsky's] been pretty good all year long," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "He has just locked himself in so it gives us an opportunity to keep on climbing, and that's your most important position in the game there and we have a pretty good one."
Cory Schneider made 19 saves for New Jersey (25-28-12), which has lost seven straight games (0-5-2). The Devils also lost seven straight from Dec. 8-20 (0-6-1).
New Jersey was shut out for the sixth time this season and second time in three games.
"It's tough," forward Kyle Palmieri said. "You go through lengthy losing streaks and you try and hit the reset button every night. It's important to not let things fester and grow into longer losing streaks. It's been a tough couple weeks, but the most important game is the next one."

Boone Jenner gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 2:45 of the second period with his 13th goal of the season putting a rebound past Schneider.
Oliver Bjorkstrand made it 2-0 at 5:35 of the second period with his third goal of the season.
Sam Gagner scored his 16th of the season at 8:56 of the third to make it 3-0. After going scoreless in 30 straight games, Gagner has goals in back-to-back games.

"You never want to go that long without getting one, but it's nice to contribute in a win," Gagner said. "That's part of my job, finding way to create offense and the chances are there and I have to keep going to the net."
Columbus and New Jersey each was playing the second game of a back-to-back set; the Blue Jackets had 35 shot attempts, the Devils had 42.
"There are no excuses," Devils defenseman Ben Lovejoy said. "They had the same schedule we did with playing [Saturday] night, and they came out and were better than us tonight. We need to find ways to win and find ways to be better."

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Goal of the game

Bjorkstrand took a pass from Gagner in the offensive zone on the left side before skating right, faking out Devils forward Blake Coleman and shooting off-balance from the right circle, beating Schneider over his shoulder.

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Save of the game

With the Devils trailing 2-0, Bobrovsky made an impressive shoulder save on Taylor Hall's shot from the left circle 31 seconds into the third period.

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Unsung performance of the game

Blue Jackets defenseman Kyle Quincey prevented New Jersey from taking a 1-0 lead by hooking Palmieri, who had the puck and an open net, at 3:26 of the first period. Columbus was able to kill off the ensuing two-minute minor. "It's a great penalty," Tortorella said. "Those are the ones you kill off. ... It was ugly, but he got the job done because it's in the net if he doesn't do it."

Highlight of the game

Jenner deflected a shot on goal by Brandon Dubinsky past Schneider for the game's first goal. The assist was the Dubinsky's 400th NHL point.

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They said it

"That's a back-to-back game by both teams there, playing a 5 o'clock game after playing the night before, slogging around. But I liked our structure. I think that's the most important thing in those type of games -- to make sure you are playing well away from the puck and just try to keep it as simple offensively as you can." --Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella

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Need to know

Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson sustained a lower-body injury and did not play in the third period. ... Quincey played against the Devils for the first time since he was traded to the Blue Jackets by New Jersey on Wednesday. Dalton Prout, who was traded for Quincey, played against Columbus for the first time. ... Devils defenseman Andy Greene missed his second straight game (personal reasons). ... Forward Miles Wood and defenseman Damon Severson also did not play because of undisclosed injuries.

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What's next

Blue Jackets:Host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNP, FS-O, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Devils:At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNP, FS-O, MSG+, NHL.TV)