DALLAS (Reuters) - The New Jersey Devils shut out the Dallas Stars 1-0 Tuesday to pad their red-hot streak to eight consecutive wins.
Nick Palmieri scored the game's only goal at 14:23 in the third period and goaltender Johan Hedberg continued his superb form with 19 saves to stonewall Dallas (31-23-6).
Hedberg is playing in place of Martin Brodeur, who injured his knee on February 6 and is now serving as backup, and has won seven starts in a row and posted two shutouts in that span.
His play has helped the Devils enjoy a resurgence after a forgettable first half of the season.
"Just like I've never seen anything like our first half, I've never seen anything like this," New Jersey winger Brian Rolston told reporters.
The Devils have gone 16-1-2 in their last 19 games to make a push for the postseason.
With their first win at Dallas since 2002, New Jersey (26-30-4) moved within nine points of the Carolina Hurricanes for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Stars have gone in the opposite direction, losing five in a row. Their 68 points is tied with three other teams for eighth best in the Western Conference, but the Stars are one win behind the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.
Defenseman Alex Goligoski made his debut for the Stars, after he was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins one day earlier, but was serving a hooking penalty when the winning goal was scored.
New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk assisted on the score to extend his points streak to 11 games.
Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen made 22 saves but was beaten late in the third.
"We were lucky. We got a goal," Kovalchuk said. "It was one of those games where there were not a lot of chances."
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
