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Islanders blank Devils to end lengthy skid

Nov 26, 2010 - 9:10 PM Uniondale, NY (Sports Network) - Rick DiPietro made 29 saves for his 16th career shutout as the New York Islanders snapped a 14-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils at the Nassau Coliseum.

Jesse Joensuu and Rob Schremp scored goals for the Islanders, who had been 0-11-3 since an October 21 victory over Tampa Bay. The club also gave coach Jack Capuano his first win in five tries since taking over for the fired Scott Gordon last week.

"It's a good feeling for the boys," said Capuano. "The key was to get through the neutral zone and get pucks to the net and we did a good of that for about two periods and then the tide turned. The penalty kill came up big for us in the third."

The Devils brought their first winning streak of the season into the contest, having won games earlier this week against Washington and Calgary. Johan Hedberg stopped 18 shots in defeat.

Joensuu opened the scoring just 1:32 into the contest with his first goal of the year. Michael Grabner fed the puck from left wing boards to the left circle for Frans Nielsen, who sent a pass to the right circle and Joensuu snapped a quick shot just inside the right post for his third career goal.

"I actually lost the puck in the neutral zone, then I was open and was calling for it," Joensuu said about the play on his goal. "The two guys made a great play."

The Islanders failed to extend their lead despite three minutes of major power-play time midway through the first after New Jersey's Colin White was called for a boarding major on Bruno Gervais, who retaliated and was given an instigator penalty prior to the two dropping the gloves.

New Jersey managed a mere five shots on goal in the first period, while Hedberg kept his team in the game with 12 saves.

The Islanders made it 2-0 at 5:15 of the second on Schremp's second goal. Blake Comeau had the puck along the left wing boards and fired a pass that made its way through the top of the crease. Schremp was alone along the goal line to gain control and he fired a high shot from a sharp angle to give the Islanders their first two-goal lead since October 16 against Colorado.

New Jersey came out in the third with a little more fire and had a couple of early chances, but DiPietro kicked a puck out of the crease during a scrum and turned aside quality opportunities from Mattias Tedenby and Ilya Kovalchuk in the first seven minutes.

The Devils were then given a two-man advantage for 58 seconds when James Wisniewski was whistled for a high-sticking double-minor with Dylan Reese already in the box for interference. New Jersey failed to dent DiPietro, who had to make just one save during the two-man advantage and stopped several other shots after the first penalty expired.

"Your best penalty killer is your goaltender and Rick did a great job," added Capuano.

Hedberg left the New Jersey net with more than 90 seconds to play, but the Devils were unable to beat DiPietro, who turned aside 24 shots over the final two periods.

Game Notes

DiPietro posted his third career shutout against New Jersey...The Islanders had just one shot on goal in the third period...New Jersey was blanked for the fourth time this season...The Islanders' record for games without a win is 15, a mark that included three ties and was set from November 22 through December 23, 1999...The Devils return home Saturday afternoon against Philadelphia, while the Islanders are off for the next five days before beginning a home- and-home set with the Rangers on December 2.