Mrazek, Red Wings shut out Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Petr Mrazek made 37 saves for his second straight shutout in the Detroit Red Wings' 3-0 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Monday.
Tyler Bertuzzi, David Booth and Dylan Larkin scored for the Red Wings (19-20-7), who won for the second time in six games.
It was the second consecutive shutout for Mrazek, who defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 on Jan. 14 in his previous start. Mrazek has three shutouts this season. He is 5-5-1 in 13 games but has played three times since Dec. 19.

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"I'm trying to get some confidence every game I play, every save I make. I haven't played a lot of minutes, so every game I am trying," Mrazek said. "Guys did a great job blocking a couple of shots. They hit the post twice. A couple of lucky bounces there. That's how it is sometimes."
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill especially liked how Mrazek played on the penalty kill; the Red Wings were shorthanded five times in the final two periods.
"I thought our compete level was high," Blashill said. "I thought we skated well. I thought we were on top of them. That's the recipe for success. When we got in penalty trouble, especially in the second, the penalty kill was a huge thing. In the third, we had a couple of big kills.

"Guys are getting reps and it's a hard league to learn in, but they're having to learn by fire a little bit and they're doing a good job."
Mrazek made a nice blocker save on Pavel Zacha in the second period. At 3:49 of the third, with Henrik Zetterberg in the penalty box, Mrazek robbed Brian Boyle, who had an uncontested one-timer in front, somehow pushing the puck out of play.
"It sounded like his stick, but he kept it out of the net," Boyle said. "I put it right where I wanted it. He just competed."
Cory Schneider, who missed the past three games with an illness, made 27 saves for New Jersey (24-14-8). The Devils are 2-5-3 since Dec. 29.
"We need to get back to playing consistent winning hockey," Schneider said. "It's tough to win some, lose some. We did a good job earlier in the year of stemming the bleeding and not going on a slide and picking up points and winning games. It obviously helped us get to where we are, but that is the past. We have to look forward and understand how hard it is going to be to accumulate wins and points. We just need to figure out what is going to get us back there."

Bertuzzi gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 6:36 of the first period. Schneider made a right-toe save on an initial shot by Larkin, but Bertuzzi was first to the rebound.
Booth made it 2-0 at 18:12 of the second period with a slap shot that hit Sami Vatanen's stick and beat Schneider to the short side. It was Booth's first goal since Dec. 5, a span of nine games.
Larkin scored on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle at 11:02 of the third period.

Goal of the game

Larkin's goal at 11:02 of the third period.

Save of the game

Mrazek against Boyle at 3:49 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Tyler Bertuzzi's rebound goal at 6:36 of the first period.

They said it

"It makes us feel good that [the Devils] didn't have anything. What they did, Petr was there to shut it down. That's the way we've got to play. We've got to be hungry. We got bodies to the net and scored some rebound goals. Our power play can be better and I think our penalty kill took a step forward. That's the way we've got to play." -- Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin
"We need to be more competitive and harder in front of both nets. Having said all that, we still need to stick together. We understand we have had success doing it the right way and I think we have a close-knit group in here where we can be honest with one another and still be supportive of one another. It's something that we are going to have to collectively get ourselves out of." -- Devils forward Brian Boyle

Need to know

Red Wings defenseman Joe Hicketts made his NHL debut and had three blocked shots. … The Devils were without forward Taylor Hall because of a hand injury. He has 17 goals, 31 assists and 48 points in 43 games this season. He will also miss the game against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

What's next

Red Wings: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.; NBCSN, NBCSP, NHL.TV)
Devils: At the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SN, NESN, MSG, NHL.TV)