Devils 3, Blue Jackets 0
David Clarkson tallied twice and Martin Brodeur recorded his 115th career shutout as the New Jersey Devils cruised to a 3-0 road triumph over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
Nick Palmieri added his seventh goal of the season and rookie Mattias Tedenby notched a pair of assists for New Jersey (34-34-4), which snapped a two-game losing skid and moved to within seven points of eighth-place Buffalo (35-28-9). The Sabres allowed three late goals and dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
Clarkson opened the scoring at 9:24 of the first period after cleaning up a rebound off rookie Jacob Josefson's backhanded attempt. The 26-year-old Ontario native then doubled the advantage at 8:50 of the second period after tapping in a loose puck for his 12th of the season.
The effort marked Clarkson's second two-goal game of the season. He netted a pair of goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 9.
The offensive outburst was more than enough for Brodeur, who turned aside 13 shots for his fifth shutout of the season and eighth win in 11 contests since returning from a knee injury.
Steve Mason finished with 28 saves for Columbus (33-29-10), which fell for the 10th time in 12 outings (2-6-4).