Cory Schneider helps Devils defeat Lightning

NEWARK, N.J. -- Goaltender Cory Schneider made 32 saves to help the New Jersey Devils to a 3-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Prudential Center on Saturday.
Adam Henrique and Damon Severson each had a goal and an assist, and Devante Smith-Pelly scored for the Devils (4-2-2). New Jersey finished 3-0-1 on its four-game homestand. Schneider made 10 saves in the third period.
"The season is still young but we have skill, speed and youth so we have a little bit of everything right now," Schneider said. "But the whole season is a process and you're going to have ups and downs."

Tyler Johnson scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves for the Lightning (5-3-0). Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper opted to pull Vasilevskiy for an extra attacker with 3:11 left in the third period, but the Lightning could only generate two shots.

"We scored in one game in the first period this year, so that's an issue," Lightning forward Brian Boyle said. "We have to figure out a way to remedy that. Things happen in games some times. It's not huge to emphasize but it is big enough that we need to look ourselves in the mirror and fix it."
The Devils scored two goals in the first period. Henrique scored his 100th career goal to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 3:57.
"If you told me years ago that I would have [scored 100 goals] one day, who knows if I would have believed you or not but it was nice to get that," Henrique said. "I forgot about it to be honest when I scored but that's one to put on the bank and put on the wall."
Severson made it 2-0 at 13:13. Henrique took the initial shot from the top of the left circle that Vasilevskiy stopped with his left pad but couldn't control and Severson broke free from defenseman Jason Garrison for a rebound opportunity low in the right circle.
Smith-Pelly extended the lead to 3-0 on his first goal of the season 5:22 into the second period. Not only did Smith-Pelly get his stick down to redirect a pass from rookie Nick Lappin, but he won a battle for position with defenseman Braydon Coburn.
Johnson scored his second of the season when he collected a pass from rookie Brayden Point in the slot and beat Schneider inside the right post to make it 3-1 at 1:59 of the third period.
The Lightning, who entered the game with the fourth best power play in the NHL, finished 0-for-4 with nine shots on the man-advantage.

Goal of the game

After handling a pass from Severson at the Lightning blue line, Henrique skated around Alex Killorn and broke in 2-on-1 with Kyle Palmieri before beating Vasilevskiy to the short side.

Save of the game

With the Devils holding a 3-1 lead and the Lightning on the power play, Schneider stopped Point on consecutive shots from close range with 5:38 remaining in the third.

Highlight of the game

Vasilevskiy was a bright spot for the Lightning, particularly late in the second period when he used his blocker to deny PA Parenteau off a 2-on-1 with Henrique with 4:18 remaining. Vasilevskiy made 11 saves in the second.

Unsung moment of the game

Severson scored his first goal in 52 games off a rebound for what would turn out to be the game-winning goal. It was Severson's first since Dec. 11, 2015, against the Red Wings.

They said it

"No one [cares] what you did last year as a team or what you did the previous two years. We have to be better and just come prepared to play. We scored a first-period goal in one game so far. You can have all the skill but if you don't stick to the game plan and the structure and work at it, you're usually not going to win in this League." -- Lightning captain Steven Stamkos
"To win in this League you have to get leads and it's hard to get leads. We felt we handled some of the momentum surges after we had the lead very well, and after they scored the first one, it wasn't like they had a major surge against us. We buckled down." -- Devils coach John Hynes

Need to know

Cory Conacher was playing his first NHL game since Dec. 4, 2014, when he was a member of the New York Islanders. Now in his second stint with the Lightning, Conacher had one shot in 13:26. … The Devils received no goals from their defensemen through the first six games, but John Moore and Severson have now scored in the past two; Moore against the Chicago Blackhawks in a 3-2 overtime loss Friday.

What's next

Lightning: At the New York Rangers on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVA Sports, MSG, SUN, NHL.TV)
Devils: At the Florida Panthers on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-F, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)