Fleury, Malkin lead Penguins over Devils

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots for his NHL-leading fifth shutout as the Pittsburgh Penguins edged the New Jersey Devils 1-0 on Tuesday night.

Fleury matched his career high for shutouts in a season and was rarely tested by the Devils, who have just one victory in their last eight games.

Evgeni Malkin scored the game’s only goal 3:32 into the third period, taking a feed from Blake Comeau and tucking it under Cory Schneider’s outstretched arm for his 12th score of the season.

Schneider made 22 saves but received little help. New Jersey generated few quality chances against Fleury, who has won six straight at home against the Devils.

New Jersey forward Jaromir Jagr left in the second period following a vicious collision with Pittsburgh’s Robert Bortuzzo. Scott Gomez played 22 minutes in his return to the Devils after being signed on Monday.

The Penguins dominated New Jersey 8-3 in the teams’ first meeting on Oct. 28. But the rematch looked more like an early December slog between two teams struggling to stay healthy.

Pittsburgh’s patched-together lineup lacked injured defenseman Kris Letang and banged-up forwards Chris Kunitz and Marcel Goc. In their place were fill-ins such as Andrew Ebbett and Scott Wilson, who was called up from Wilkes-Barre Scranton on Tuesday morning when Crosby missed the pregame skate with an illness. While the reigning MVP played in his 574th game — the eighth most in team history — Crosby was surrounded by a sea of largely unfamiliar faces.

Then again, the Penguins received little sympathy from New Jersey. The Devils brought back the well-traveled Gomez hoping he could give the struggling lineup a needed energy boost.

The 34-year-old last played for New Jersey in 2007, when the Devils lost to Ottawa in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He began the night as the young guy on a first line that included the 42-year-old Jagr and 38-year-old Patrik Elias, only to have Jagr and Elias head to the trainer’s room.

Elias lasted only seven shifts before leaving with an injury. Jagr joined him following a frightening run-in with Bortuzzo late in the second period. Jagr chased down the puck in the corner and was circling behind the net when the 6-foot-4 Bortuzzo lined up the future Hall of Famer and crushed him. Jagr laid face down on the ice for several minutes before slowly making his way to the bench.