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Neuvirth, Caps blank Devils

Mar 19, 2011 - 5:53 AM Newark, NJ (Sports Network) - Michal Neuvirth stopped 33 shots for his fourth shutout of the season to help Washington take a 3-0 win over New Jersey.

Mike Knuble had two goals and an assist while Jeff Schultz scored the other goal for the Capitals, who bounced back from Wednesday's loss to Detroit that snapped a nine-game winning streak.

"He was pretty good and you could tell he wanted it tonight," said Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau on Neuvirth. "He was pretty upset with the last goal he gave up to Detroit and wanted to prove himself tonight. He was the difference in this game."

The Capitals sit in the second spot in the Eastern Conference with 94 points and hold a six-point lead over Tampa Bay for the lead in the Southeast Division. The Capitals have the same amount of points as the Conference- leading Flyers, but Philly has one more win and three games in hand on the Caps.

Martin Brodeur stopped just nine shots for the Devils, who have dropped two straight for the first time since losing their first four games to start the new year.

"Defensively we handled their big players pretty good," said Brodeur. "They didn't get many chances out there, but they made the most of them."

Following the four-game losing streak New Jersey sat in the basement of the NHL standings. However, the team got back into the playoff hunt by going 23-3-2 in the following 28 games prior to the recent two losses. The team sits six points back of Buffalo for the final playoff spot, but has three teams in front of them and 11 games to play.

Schultz's first goal of the season came 6:10 into the contest when his one- timer in the slot off a setup from Knuble beat Brodeur.

Knuble made it a 2-0 game with just over four minutes to play in the second when John Carlson fired a pass from the low right side to the front where Knuble stuffed it home.

It was 3-0 on Knuble's 19th goal of the season when his wrister on the fly from the right circle beat Brodeur over the glove at 11:24 of the third.

Neuvirth made 12 stops in the first period and eight in the second before stopping all 13 in the third to complete his fourth career shutout.

Game Notes

The Capitals play in Philadelphia on Tuesday...New Jersey hits the road for the next four games, starting in Columbus on Sunday...Washington took three of the four games with New Jersey this season.