Brodeur posts another shutout, Devils beat Canes and tie Penguins atop Atlantic Division

Devils top Hurricanes, tie Penguins atop Atlantic

RALEIGH, N.C. — Dainius Zubrus and Patrik Elias scored first-period goals for the New Jersey Devils, who beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 and moved into a flat-footed tie with Pittsburgh atop the Atlantic Division on Saturday night.

Martin Brodeur made 26 saves to record his NHL-record 109th shutout and 599th victory.

The Devils (45-26-7) kept pace with Pittsburgh, which won earlier Saturday. New Jersey, which also got third-period goals from Zach Parise and David Clarkson, improved to 31-1-1 when leading after two periods.

Zubrus took a pass from Parise late in a power play and scored between goalie Cam Ward’s legs with 6:47 left in the first. Elias netted his 16th goal when he took a pass from Ilya Kovalchuk and fired a shot over Ward’s left shoulder of Ward with 1:42 remaining in the opening period.

In the third, Parise gathered a loose puck at the side of the net and put a shot in off Ward’s skate with 12:26 remaining. Clarkson sealed the win with an empty-net goal.

The Devils, who outshot the Hurricanes 29-26, won the season series 3-1.

Carolina was shut out at home for the second time in eight days. Atlanta beat the Hurricanes 4-0 at the RBC Center on March 27. The Hurricanes have lost five of the last seven at home.

NOTES: Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner was a healthy scratch. He had played in each of New Jersey’s first 78 games this season. Travis Zajac played in his 315th consecutive game for New Jersey, and Zubrus played his 900th NHL game. New Jersey improved to 11-5-2 in the second of back-to-back games. The Devils lost 2-1 in a shootout on Friday at home against Chicago. Ward, who had been 2-0 after returning to the lineup after a back injury, made 25 saves.