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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Keith Kinkaid could not remember the last time he shut out an opponent at any level of hockey.
"It's been a long time coming," Kinkaid said after he made 28 saves for his first NHL shutout in leading the New Jersey Devils to a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.
David Schlemko scored the lone goal, and New Jersey won its third straight. The Devils leapfrogged the idle New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
"You can't say it's a fluke at this point in the season," forward Lee Stempniak said. "We've worked extremely hard."
The Kings, who got 18 saves from Jhonas Enroth, have split the first four outings of their seven-game trip, their longest of the season.
New Jersey broke through on Schlemko's power-play goal 5:19 into the first period. Four seconds after Vinny Lecavalier was assessed a minor penalty for hooking Reid Boucher, Travis Zajac won an offensive zone faceoff back to Schlemko, who fired a shot that beat a screened Enroth.
"I had a clear lane," Schlemko said. "I tried to get the puck on net."
It was Schlemko's seventh goal of the season. The game then settled into the expected defensive battle. The Devils and Kings are among the NHL's leaders for fewest goals allowed.
Both teams cut off the middle of the ice, forcing each other to play on the outside. The few shot attempts Kinkaid and Enroth faced were mostly from the perimeter.
"Both teams checked really well," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said.
The toughest saves of the game came in the third period. Kinkaid made a pad stop on a shot from the slot with two Kings at the top of the crease. Then Enroth matched Kinkaid with pad stops on Stempniak later in the period.
NOTES: Los Angeles did not have Marian Gaborik, who was hurt in the first period of the Kings' 5-4 overtime win Friday night over the Rangers. The Kings announced Saturday that Gaborik had been placed on injured reserve with a lower body injury. Gaborik ranks fourth on the Kings with 12 goals in 54 games. ... Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick missed his second straight game with a lower body injury, despite practicing with the team Saturday. ... With the NHL trade deadline set for Feb. 29, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton and Montreal had scouts listed on the Prudential Center press box seating chart. Philadelphia Flyers President Paul Holmgren was also in attendance.
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