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Devils thump Blues

Jan 22, 2014 - 5:37 AM Newark, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) - Damien Brunner returned from a 14-game absence and registered a goal and two assists, as the New Jersey Devils notched a 7-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday at Prudential Center.

Eric Gelinas also collected a goal and two helpers, while Mark Fayne, Ryan Carter, Ryane Clowe, Jaromir Jagr and Adam Henrique each scored once for the Devils, who were coming off a 1-1-2 road trip.

Cory Schneider backstopped the victory with 26 saves.

"I thought we all did a great job out there tonight," said Schneider. "We got those quick goals and that always makes things a lot easier for me."

Alexander Steen scored St. Louis' lone goal, while Brian Elliott allowed three goals on nine shots before being removed late in the first period. Jaroslav Halak turned aside just 10-of-14 shots in relief for the Blues, who have lost four of their last six games.

"We've got some tough games coming up in the next couple of days and if we don't come together real quick we're going to have some lessons taught to us," said St. Louis center David Backes.

New Jersey jumped on top with a pair of quick goals, as Fayne found the back of the net 2:27 into the game before Carter backhanded home a rebound 24 seconds later to double the Devils' lead.

Steen sliced the margin in half with his 25th of the season at 8:47, but the Devils answered under two minutes later when Reid Boucher's backhand feed from below the goal line deflected in off the skate of Jagr on the doortstep to make it 3-1 at 10:27.

Halak then entered for Elliott and held New Jersey off the board until the early stages of the second stanza, when Clowe potted a power-play marker at 1:03 to give the Devils a 4-1 lead.

Henrique beat Halak high to the short-side with New Jersey on a power play late in the second before Brunner buried a one-timer from the low left side with the Devils skating on a man advantage at 1:18 of the third to make it 6-1.

Gelinas accounted for the final margin when his blast from the red line took a strange bounce off the ice and snuck past Halak at 12:04.

Game Notes

New Jersey's seven goals marked a season high ... New Jersey's Marek Zidlicky, Travis Zajac and Patrik Elias each picked up two assists ... St. Louis fell to 15-6-3 on the road this season ... Brunner was activated off injured reserve prior to the game ... Steen set a new career high with his 25th goal of the season ... New Jersey went 3-for-4 on the power play, while St. Louis went 0- for-3.