This was another afternoon where the Red Wings had a short memory, which proved beneficial for them.
Just 24 hours after a drab loss against Pittsburgh, the Red Wings went into New Jersey Sunday and defeated the Devils 2-0.
The Red Wings got goals from Oskar Sundqvist, Tyler Bertuzzi (empty net) and Michael Rasmussen (empty net), and goaltender Alex Nedeljkvoic stopped 17 shots as the Wings rebounded from Saturday's one-sided loss.
It was Nedeljkovic's fourth shutout.
The Wings (31-39-10) have defeated New Jersey (27-44-8) in both games this season, with one more coming Friday in the regular-season finale for both.
A turning point in the game occurred late in the second period, as the Devils' Yegor Sharangovich appeared to score a game-tying goal.
Sharangovich lifted a shot from a bad angle that may have glanced off a skate and past Nedeljkovic with 43 seconds left in the period.
But the Wings promptly challenged the goal, believing the play was off-side. Sure enough, video confirmed the off-side and the Wings maintained the 1-0 lead.
One area where the Wings have been successful this season is the coach's challenge. They are 6-3 in challenges, 3-3 on interference calls and 3-0 on off-side reviews.
Coincidentally, the Wings had a goal wiped out in the third period. An apparent Danny DeKeyser goal was negated because of Adam Erne's goalie interference.
Sundqvist scored his eighth goal, fourth since arriving to the Wings in a deal at the NHL trade deadline, in the first period.
Michael Rasmussen knocked the puck off Devils forward Andreas Johnsson's stick directly into the slot, where Sundqvist quickly poked it past goaltender Andrew Hammond at 15:48.
Nedeljkovic only had to stop four shots in the first period, but he needed to be sharp early, as the Devils blitzed the Wings on the first shift. That New Jersey momentum was short lived.
Nedeljkovic turned aside Sharangovich early in the second period, keeping it 1-0, then barely broke a sweat despite two consecutive penalty kills.
Two Jakub Vrana penalties didn't hurt the Wings, who didn't allow a meager Devils power play even a shot on net, as frustrated Devils fans booed loudly.
Bertuzzi scored his 29th goal and Rasmussen scored his 14th into an empty net, to clinch the outcome.
