NEWARK Youth Jamie McGinn Jersey , N.J. (AP) — Mackenzie Blackwood has provided an expected lift for the New Jersey Devils.Blackwood posted his second straight shutout, stopping 25 shots in the Devils’ 4-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday.He became the first rookie goalie in franchise history to post back-to-back shutouts.Blackwood is 3-1 since joining the Devils on Dec. 18th. He blanked the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 on Saturday.The Devils have won three straight (all Blackwood wins) for the first time since their first three games of the season and Blackwood is a major reason.“The guys are not so tense around here anymore,” Blackwood said. “It doesn’t mean they are complacent. You can see their mood rise.“It seems like the chances that weren’t going in because their sticks were too tight, or mojo or the hockey gods were on the other side. But it’s not going to be perfect forever. “It’s just the way you handle them.”Brian Boyle, Miles Wood, Sami Vatanen and Pavel Zacha scored for the Devils. It was Zacha’s second goal in as many games.Anders Nilsson stopped 19 shots for Vancouver.New Jersey coach John Hynes believes Blackwood has the perfect personality for a young goaltender.“To his credit since he (Blackwood) has been recalled he has the right demeanor,” Hynes said. “He’s said the right things and done the right things and has a strong work ethic. Now the challenge for him is it has to become every day.“You can see he has the talent. Now it’s about living the right way to give himself the best opportunity to perform.”The Canucks had four power-play chances Womens Jared McCann Jersey , but managed only three shots on goal.“They (Devils) won the special teams battle,” said Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler. “If you want to win hockey games, you have to put pucks on the net. They did a great job keeping us out of the lanes and blocking shots.”The game featured two of the top five players taken in the 2017 draft.New Jersey’s Nico Hischier went first overall and has 26 points in his second season in the league. Hischier, who turns 20 on Friday, had 52 points a year ago.Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson was the fifth selection of the draft and has 39 points in his first NHL season. Pettersson outshot Hischier, 3-2 on Monday.Vatanen’s power-play goal early in the third period made it 3-0 Devils.Boyle gave the Devils a 1-0 lead when he scored off a rebound at 12:03 of the first period. That score was followed by Wood’s power-play goal later in the period for a 2-0 cushion.The Canucks are 0-5-1 in their past six games against New Jersey and 3-6-2 in their past 11. The two teams meet again March 15th in Vancouver.NOTES: Devils F Taylor Hall missed his third game with a lower-body injury. He leads the team with 37 points. Hall was replaced at LW by Jesper Bratt on New Jersey’s top line. … Vancouver is on its second six-game road trip of the season after getting wins in Edmonton and Calgary. … Vancouver F Brock Boeser skated in his 100th NHL game. … New Jersey was without G Cory Schneider (lower body) and F Marcus Johansson (upper body). Devils G Mackenzie Blackwood was the NHL’s third star of the week on Monday after going 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .975 save percentage in two games. WASHINGTON (AP) The Washington Capitals scored 13 goals in two games against the New York Islanders, and Alex Ovechkin accounted for none of them.T.J. Oshie Jonathan Huberdeau Jersey , Nicklas Backstrom and Matt Niskanen scored as Washington swept a home-and-home set against the skidding Islanders with a 6-3 win on Friday night.Alex Chiasson had a goal and two assists for the Capitals, who hammered the Islanders 7-3 in New York on Thursday. Jakub Vrana’s goal gave Washington a 5-1 lead with 9:04 remaining, and Lars Eller added an empty-netter.”It’s very important to have balance. I don’t think anyone here is worried about (Ovechkin) not scoring, but it is good we have other guys stepping up,” Oshie said. ”That’s important. We want confidence throughout the lineup offensively going into the postseason.”Braden Holtby gained confidence in his return to the lineup. The 2016 Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goaltender had lost seven of eight and did not play in the previous four games. Holtby made 22 saves against the Islanders in his first game since March 6.”I felt a lot better,” he said. ”Not that I was feeling horrible before. You get refreshed from a week off work.”Washington broke a tie with the idle Pittsburgh Penguins for sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals’ four-game winning streak is their longest since taking five in a row from Dec. 28 to Jan. 9.Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson and John Tavares scored for the Islanders http://www.floridapanthersteamshops.com/authentic-keith-yandle-jersey , who have lost 10 of 11.Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington’s second-leading scorer, left in the second period and did not return after sustaining an upper-body injury. Capitals coach Barry Trotz said Kuznetsov is day-to-day and would be re-evaluated Saturday.Kuznetsov had two assists before exiting. In the final seconds of the second period, he smashed into the boards behind the Islanders net as New York’s Thomas Hickey was called for a slashing penalty. The slow-rising Kuznetsov eventually skated off and headed straight toward the locker room.The Islanders were called for 11 penalties that totaled 41 minutes one night after a lopsided loss. Ross Johnston received a game misconduct following a fight with Washington’s Tom Wilson.”You can’t sit in the box against that team,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said. ”We battled. It wasn’t as hard as we wanted to play in the first, but we took three penalties and guys battled physically, they worked hard. They’ll probably say it was an easy game Womens Authentic Nick Bjugstad Jersey , but we worked hard.”Philipp Grubauer, tied for fourth in the league with a 2.26 goals-against average, went 3-1 in net for Washington over the previous four games. Trotz would not commit to a starting goaltender for Sunday’s pivotal matchup at Philadelphia.The good news for Washington is that Holtby’s performance makes the decision difficult.”I thought (Holtby) was pretty solid. He looked really confident,” Trotz said. ”You could tell by his play with the puck in the corner on the power play the one time. He’s feeling some confidence, so that’s good.”Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves. New York has given up at least five goals in 20 games this season.”Try to come in here and play for each other,” Nelson said of New York’s motivation with postseason hopes rapidly fading. ”We are where we are. It’s tough. But you’ve got to go out there and be professional and do your job and work every day.”Oshie redirected Ovechkin’s shot past Halak for a power-play goal in the first period. Oshie has three goals in two games after a 19-game drought.Barzal’s unassisted goal with 14:30 remaining in the second tied the score at 1. The tie did not last long as Washington took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play. Backstrom’s persistent jabbing at a loose puck in front of Halak led to a 2-1 lead with 7:12 left in the second.NOTES: Nelson and Tavares scored power-play goals. … The Capitals won the season series 3-1. … Washington honored Ovechkin before the game for scoring his 600th goal Monday against Winnipeg. … The Capitals scratched forward Brett Connolly, center Chandler Stephenson and defenseman Jakub Jerabek. Connolly has 14 goals this season. Washington D Christian Djoos played for the first time since March 6. … The Islanders scratched defenseman Dennis Seidenberg Roberto Luongo Jersey , defenseman Sebastian Ho and forward Chris Wagner.UP NEXTIslanders: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.Capitals: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.—