Devils defense denies Penguins to win third in row

NEWARK, N.J. -- Travis Zajac had two goals and an assist for the New Jersey Devils in a 3-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Prudential Center on Saturday.

Blake Coleman had a goal and an assist, Stefan Noesen had two assists, and Keith Kinkaid made 15 saves for the Devils (27-16-8), who won their third straight game and outshot the Penguins 38-16.
"Those guys work hard," Zajac said of Coleman and Noesen. "I'm just trying to keep up with their speed and tenacity. As a line, we're not going to score every night, but we need to generate chances and make sure we're tough to play against. If we can do that, we'll help the team."
WATCH: [All Penguins vs. Devils highlights]
Evgeni Malkin scored, and Casey DeSmith made 35 saves for the Penguins (29-22-3), who had a four-game winning streak end. They defeated the Washington Capitals 7-4 on Friday and are 5-5-2 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby did not have a point for the first time in 12 games. He scored what would have been his 400th NHL goal 12:54 into the third period but it was waved off for goalie interference by Bryan Rust.
"I think we got outworked," Crosby said. "They seemed to be more desperate; that was definitely the case in the first two periods. We came out a little harder in the third, but we didn't win battles. You get a big win and you've got to be able to turn the page, and emotionally we weren't ready."
The line of Noesen, Zajac and Coleman combined for 12 shots, six hits, five takeaways and seven points. Zajac won 56 percent of his faceoffs (10 of 18).
"[Travis'] line was our motor, they got us going," Devils center Brian Boyle said. "We played well as a whole, but they made the difference when we needed it most. Scoring one goal in this league is hard, and he got two, so good for Travis because we appreciate everything he does for us."

The Devils took a 3-1 lead at 9:51 of the third period when Zajac tipped in a shot from the point by Damon Severson.
"Travis is an unbelievable two-way player," Noesen said. "He's shutting down Sidney Crosby, and any guy who can do that, and put up three points, I want him on my team. He stood up for Kyle Palmieri on Thursday when he fought Radko Gudas (in a 4-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers).
"Truthfully, it's been an honor to play with him; he's been lights out."
Coleman gave the Devils a 2-0 lead 3:05 into the second period off a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle that beat DeSmith over his left shoulder. Zajac scored his first goal in 10 games off a scramble in the slot 30 seconds into the period for a 1-0 lead.
"I think as a line we were in sync tonight and [Coleman and Noesen] were really good on the forecheck, turning pucks over," Zajac said. "They worked up and down the ice and we got rewarded for it."
Malkin scored his eighth goal in four games after taking a pass from Ian Cole down the slot and scoring off his backhand at 6:16 of the third period to pull the Penguins within 2-1.
"When you don't play committed, don't play hard, you're not going to win," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "They wanted it more. They won every loose-puck battle, were quicker with their second man to the puck battles. For whatever reason, we didn't have any jump. We didn't have our legs and we deserved to lose."

Goal of the game

Coleman's goal at 3:05 of the second period.

Save of the game

Kinkaid's save against Zachary Aston-Reese at 3:08 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Zajac's goal at 9:51 of the third period.

They said it

"The [Devils] are young, they have energy. They are hungry. They are quick. They are everything we thought they would be. We knew it would be a hard game and they would play hard. They play a north-south game with speed and we were not prepared to play." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"[Zajac] plays tough minutes; he wants to contribute offensively, but every night he's there, and we're not in games a lot of the time without the thankless things that he does against top guys. This is a great league and he's got to play against those guys every night. You need to build teams around guys like Travis Zajac because he does so many things well." -- Devils center Brian Boyle

Need to know

New Jersey moved past Pittsburgh into second place in the Metropolitan Division and has three games in hand. … Kinkaid, in his fourth season, won his NHL career-high 10th game (10-4-2). … Aston-Reese played 6:24 and was minus-1 in his NHL debut on a line with Carter Rowney and Ryan Reaves. ... The Penguins scratched forward Patric Hornqvist (lower body). There is no timetable for his return but the injury isn't expected to be long-term. ... Devils forward Taylor Hall had an assist on the last goal to extend his point streak to 10 games (six goals, nine assists).

What's next

Penguins: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNO, TVA Sports, ATTSN-PT, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)
Devils: At the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS, MSG+, NHL.TV)