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Devils' Hedberg blanks Kings as Quick sits

Oct 26, 2011 - 5:46 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Johan Hedberg made 31 saves to pick up his first shutout of the season, as the New Jersey Devils cooled off the Los Angeles Kings, 3-0.

Dainius Zubrus had two goals for the Devils, who snapped a two-game skid. Patrik Elias added a goal and an assist.

"We believe [the Kings] are one of the better teams and have a lot of skill plays and good players on their team," Zubrus said. "First game of the road trip and to win the way we did it's a good confidence boost and we've got to keep building."

Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, who had recorded a franchise-record three straight shutouts, was given the night off. Jonathan Bernier made his second start of the season and turned aside 20-of-23 shots for the Kings, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

"Bernier was fine," Kings head coach Terry Murray said. "Bernier I thought made some big stops. We gave up some quality chances in the first period. He played well. This was not about the goaltending. This is all about managing the puck and turnovers and giveaways that ended up being very easy goals against."

Zubrus broke a scoreless tie at the 13:12 mark of the second period. The puck stayed in the crease after Bernier made a save. Zubrus crashed the net and guided the puck past Bernier. Zubrus went sliding across the crease as the puck crossed the line.

The Devils made it a 2-0 game over two minutes later. Petr Sykora's cross-ice pass found Elias in the right circle. Elias' shot beat Bernier at the 15:31 mark.

With 1:34 to play in the second, Zubrus made it a 3-0 contest. Following a neutral-zone turnover, Zubrus beat Bernier with a shot from the top of the left circle.

Game Notes

The Devils beat the Kings in a shootout on October 13...Hedberg now has 18 career shutouts...Quick is the first goaltender in Los Angeles history to post three whitewashes in a row and holds a current shutout streak of 188 minutes and 10 seconds...Bernier allowed four goals on 26 shots in his first appearance of the year, a loss to Buffalo on October 8...There was only three penalties in the game...The Kings have been involved in shutouts four straight games (the last time that happened was during the 2000-01 season)...The Kings 5-2-1 record is tied for the fifth-best eight-game start in club history.