Schwei's Devils Notebook: Little-Known Facts, Odd Stats And Strange Records

By John Schweibacher
» More Columns

After a shutout win against the Penguins and completing a season sweep of the Sabres, the New Jersey Devils were the victims of a shutout and a season sweep by the Islanders.

Jaroslav Halak earned his fifth shutout of the season when the Islanders completed a sweep of their four-game season series against the Devils, winning 3-0 at Prudential Center Saturday night.

Halak, who was in net for all four Islanders victories against New Jersey, is the only NHL goaltender with four wins vs. the Devils this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first Islanders netminder to beat New Jersey four times in a season since Rick DiPietro went 4-1-0 against the Devils in 2007-08.

The shutout was just the fifth by the Islanders on the road against the Devils in franchise history, including one scoreless tie and one in Colorado vs. the Rockies back in 1977:

· 3/21/15: NYI 3 at NJD 0, Jaroslav Halak (26 saves)

· 11/16/07: NYI 1 at NJD 0. Rick DiPietro (26 saves)

· 12/01/00: NYI 0 at NJD 0. John Vanbiesbrouck (26 saves)

· 2/22/87: NYI 7 at NJD 0. Billy Smith (21 saves)

· 3/6/77: NYI 5 at Col 0. Chico Resch (27 saves)

Steve Bernier scored two goals in the Devils' 3-1 victory in Buffalo Friday night. It was Bernier's second two-goal game this season, with the first coming in New Jersey's 5-3 win at Los Angeles on January 14.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Bernier is one of only two Devils with more than one multiple-goal game this season. Mike Cammalleri has four, and he is the only New Jersey player with two multiple-goal road games. Since 2011-12, the only other time a Devil recorded more than one multiple-goal road game in a season was when Bernier notched two in 2012-13.

Here are the Devils' leaders in road goals in 2014-15:

· Mike Cammalleri: 11

· Steve Bernier: 9

· Adam Henrique: 6

· Travis Zajac: 5

· Michael Ryder: 4

· Martin Havlat: 4

· Damon Severson: 4

· Tuomo Ruutu: 4

· Jordin Tootoo: 4

Thanks to the Player Game Finder at hockey-reference.com, here are the Devils' single-season leaders in multiple-goal road games since the 1987-88 NHL season:

· John MacLean: 1990-91, 9

· John MacLean: 1988-89, 7

· Alexander Mogilny: 2000-01, 7

· Brian Gionta: 2005-06, 5

· John MacLean: 1989-90, 5

· Kirk Muller: 1988-89, 5

· Stephane Richer: 1992-93, 5

· Pat Verbeek: 1987-88, 5

Cory Schneider's 2-0 win against the Penguins in Newark on Tuesday was his fifth shutout of the season, matching the career high he set in 2012-13, his final season with the Vancouver Canucks.

Schneider is the first goaltender in Devils history -- other than Martin Brodeur -- to record at least five shutouts in one season. The high before this season was four shutouts by Johan Hedberg in 2011-12. Brodeur had 12 seasons with five or more shutouts for New Jersey.

Schneider's shutout was the seventh in Devils history against the Penguins in New Jersey:

· 3/17/15: Pit 0 at NJD 3 -- Cory Schneider, 35 saves

· 1/20/11: Pit 0 at NJD 2 -- Martin Brodeur, 23 saves

· 12/30/09: Pit 0 at NJD 2 -- Martin Brodeur, 32 saves

· 12/26/06: Pit 0 at NJD 3 -- Martin Brodeur, 26 saves

· 12/26/01: Pit 0 at NJD 4 -- Martin Brodeur, 20 saves

· 1/2/92: Pit 0 at NJD 4 -- Craig Billington, 16 saves

· 3/29/88: Pit 0 at NJD 4 -- Sean Burke, 25 saves

Schwei's Plus/Minus:

Plus: Jordin Tootoo -- He scored his ninth goal of the season -- his most since 2007-08 when he had 11 for Nashville -- in the win over Buffalo. He was also nominated by the New Jersey chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association for the Bill Masterton Trophy. The trophy awards those who exhibit perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Minus: Swept Away -- The Devils finished winless (0-2-2) in a season series vs. the Islanders for the first time since 1983-84 (0-7-0).