Red Wings win fourth in row, shut out Devils

DETROIT --Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and two assists for the Detroit Red Wings in a 4-0 win against the New Jersey Devils at Little Caesars Arena on Friday.

Jonathan Bernier made 21 saves before leaving after the second period with an upper-body injury. Jimmy Howard replaced him in the third period and made seven saves.
Dylan Larkin and Danny DeKeyser each had a goal and an assist for Detroit (30-38-10), which has won four straight and six of its past seven games.
WATCH: [All Devils vs. Red Wings highlights]
"We haven't given up on the season," Larkin said. "I guess you can look at this as meaningless hockey, but we've called up a lot of young guys and everyone here still has something to play for, so we're playing hard."
Mackenzie Blackwood made 29 saves for New Jersey (29-40-9), which has lost 11 of its past 15 games (4-10-1) and has scored one goal or fewer in five of its past six.
"I thought we played a pretty good game. It was 2-0 before we had a couple bad breaks in the last few minutes, but we have to find a way to score," Devils coach John Hynes said. "We created a lot of chances tonight, including some odd-man rushes, but we aren't finishing when we get the opportunity."
DeKeyser gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 13:38 of the first period, redirecting a pass from Larkin in the slot.

Larkin made it 2-0 at 2:12 of the second period, getting to a loose puck in the slot after Anthony Mantha's backhand pass deflected off the skate of Bertuzzi.
Bertuzzi extended the lead to 3-0 at 17:25 of the third period with an empty-net goal.
"We've got a lot of leaders in this room and everyone is buying in and playing hard," Bertuzzi said. "We're playing simple hockey."
Andreas Athanasiou scored his 30th of the season to make it 4-0 at 18:33 after splitting two Devils defensemen and beating Blackwood with a wrist shot.

"I thought I had a pretty good game, but I would have liked to have that last goal back," Blackwood said. "That was the one I should have had."
Athanasiou and Larkin, who scored his 30th goal in a 5-4 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, are the first Red Wings players to score at least 30 goals in a season since 2008-09.
"I think it is a nice milestone for them and it is big for the organization to have someone do it again after 10 years," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "Now they have to keep working and get there again on a consistent basis."

They said it

"We know we have to be a lot better than the last time we faced them. We weren't ready to play and they embarrassed us. If we don't want that to happen again, we have to come out and play the way we've been playing in the last couple games." -- Devils captain Andy Greene on playing the St. Louis Blues on Saturday after losing to them 8-3 on Feb. 12
"I think [Larkin] and I are doing a good job at center right now, and that's definitely something we've talked about. We need to keep taking steps forward and growing as players, and right now, we're doing that and having fun for ourselves and the fans." -- Red Wings center Andreas Athanasiou
"Our goaltending was outstanding again tonight. Still waiting to see the results of a scan on [Bernier], but [Howard] was going to start on Sunday (against the Boston Bruins). We'll have to see who will be the backup." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill

Need to know

Marian Hossa (40), Johan Franzen (34), Pavel Datsyuk (32) and Henrik Zetterberg (31) each scored at least 30 goals for Detroit in 2008-09. … Red Wings defenseman Jake Chelios was plus-1 in 17:11 of ice time in his NHL debut. His father, Hall of Famer Chris Chelios, was in attendance in the press box.

What's next

Devils: Host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-MW, NHL.TV)
Red Wings:Host the Boston Bruins on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)