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Danis shines as Islanders blank lifeless Devils

Feb 22, 2009 - 3:47 AM UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Devils' three-game road trip was surely one to forget.

Yann Danis made a career-high 40 saves in his first shutout of the season and Sean Bergenheim scored early in the first period as the New York Islanders blanked the Devils, 4-0, on Saturday.

Jon Sim also tallied while Kyle Okposo and captain Bill Guerin added power-play goals late in the third for the Islanders, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

"It's always easier to play them when you get the lead," New York All-Star defenseman Mark Streit said. "They play really well defensively. It's harder when you have to play catch-up.

"We didn't pull back and that was one of the reasons they couldn't get a lot. It's hard to play when you take time and room away from good players."

The 27-year-old Danis turned aside 12 shots in the first period, 19 in the second and nine in the third to register his second career shutout.

"To bounce back from last game and get a win against the Devils says a lot about this team," Danis said. "We can definitely play against the best teams."

With Martin Brodeur's return from a devastating injury looming, Scott Clemmensen stopped 34 shots in what could be his final outing as New Jersey's full-time starting netminder.

"I know I was going to play tonight," Clemmensen said. "That's all that I was worried about and you move on from there. It doesn't change anything."

Sidelined since November 1 with a torn distal biceps muscle, Brodeur's four-month absence could end with Thursday's home contest against the Colorado Avalanche.

If the nine-time All-Star does return then, it comes at a rather frustrating time as the Devils finished 1-2-0 on their brief trek, which included a 4-0 setback to the Florida Panthers and a 3-2 shootout victory over the lowly Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Obviously I'm disappointed," New Jersey coach Brent Sutter said. "We played a team here tonight that played hard. They've got nothing to lose. They have no chance of making the playoffs.

"When you play a team like that, you've got to be prepared as ever, and I think we just got caught up as a team. There was no sense of urgency tonight."

Even a vintage performance from Brodeur - a four-time Vezina Trophy winner - would not have been enough to lift the Devils in this one, though.

Their offense was nowhere to be found, thanks to the sparkling effort from Danis, who had lost four straight starts. His last shutout came on October 12, 2005 as a member of the Montreal Canadiens in his first career NHL contest.

"Danis made all the big saves and played outstanding," Streit said.

Bergenheim opened the scoring at 3:50 of the opening session, taking a pass from Streit before firing a hard wrist shot while stationed inside the left faceoff circle that sailed by Clemmensen.

"(Clemmensen) was fine," Sutter said. "He made some big saves. Their goaltender made some big saves, too. There were too many odd-man rushes. The forwards up front didn't do their job. Too many 3-on-2s."

Sim doubled the advantage at 8:45 of the second, when he wristed the puck from the low slot to record his eighth goal of the season.

Okposo added to the lead by lifting a snap shot from the doorstep with 3:53 remaining in the third and Guerin secured the win by tallying on the power play 1:45 later.

"I thought it was a good effort," Islanders coach Scott Gordon said. "They're a hard team to play against. I thought our guys did a good job."