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Thibault stops 25 shots in triumph over New Jersey

Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Alexandre Picard, left, and Anaheim Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin race for the puck in the first period of their NHL match in Anaheim, California, on Wednesday. The Blue Jackets won 5-4. PHOTO: AP

Jocelyn Thibault stopped 25 shots for his first shutout in more than three years and the Pittsburgh Penguins completed a two-night sweep of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference with a 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.

Jarkko Ruutu scored a fluky game-winner off a Devils' stick and set up an insurance tally by Erik Christensen as the Penguins won their third straight and for the fifth time in six games (5-0-1). Jordan Staal also scored.

Thibault posted his first shutout since Oct. 8, 2003.

One night after a 5-4 shootout win over Buffalo, Pittsburgh pulled to within four points of the first-place Devils (92) in the Atlantic Division. Both teams have 10 games left in the regular season.

Martin Brodeur made 19 saves for New Jersey, which had a two-game winning streak snapped and missed a chance to tie Buffalo for first overall in the East.

Red Wings 4, Predators 2

At Detroit, Jiri Hudler scored twice and Detroit beat Nashville to move ahead of the Predators in the NHL and Central Division. Hudler scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period after making it 2-all with 3:37 left in the second.

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer, left, controls the puck against Columbus Blue Jackets right wing David Vyborny of the Czech Repubic in Anaheim, California, on Wednesday. PHOTO: AP

The Red Wings beat Nashville on back-to-back nights, giving them one more point in the division and a league-high 99.

Nashville went ahead on goals by Alexander Radulov in the first, and Jason Arnott in the second but the Red Wings responded each time.

Avalanche 3, Flames 2

At Denver, Paul Stastny extended his NHL rookie record point streak to 19 games with a third-period goal and Colorado stayed in the playoff hunt with a victory over Calgary.

The Avalanche are eight points behind Calgary and the playoff cutoff in the Western Conference with each team having 12 games left. Stastny, who has nine goals and 26 assists during the streak, has recorded a point in each game since Feb. 1 against Minnesota.

Joe Sakic scored his 602nd goal to move past Jari Kurri into 16th place on the NHL career list. Milan Hejduk added a power-play goal, and Andrew Brunette had two assists. Peter Budaj made 17 saves.

Jarome Iginla scored his 34th of the season, and Stephane Yelle added a power-play tally for Calgary. Roman Hamrlik recorded his 500th point. Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 39 shots for the Flames, who have the second worst road record in the West (9-16-8).

Blue Jackets 5, Ducks 4, SO

At Anaheim, California, Nikolai Zherdev scored twice and David Vyborny got the only goal in a five-round shootout, leading Columbus over Anaheim.

It was Columbus' second stunning road victory over the Ducks this season. The Blue Jackets rallied from a 3-0 deficit on Jan. 5 and beat the Ducks with four goals in the final 10:02 against Ilya Bryzgalov.

In the rematch, Columbus twice rallied from one-goal deficits to grab a 3-2 lead. Zherdev had two goals against Jean-Sebastien Giguere during a 63-second span of the second period -- matching his output for his previous 38 games combined.
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