Brodeur, Devils Shut Out Bruins

Martin Brodeur got his third shutout of the season, turning aside 40 shots as the New Jersey Devils kept the Boston Bruins in an offensive slump with a 2-0 victory Thursday night at FleetCenter.

Bobby Holik and Jason Arnott scored for the Devils, who are 7-0-2 in their last nine games against the Bruins. While Boston took more shots than in any other game in which it didn’t score this season, Brodeur didn’t have to make many outstanding saves to get his 35th career shutout.

The Devils matched their season-long four-game winning streak. Boston is 1-5-1 in its last seven games and has scored just two goals in its last three games.

One of Brodeur’s best saves came about 11 minutes into the game when he kicked away Dmitri Khristich’s shot from the slot. The goalie had sat out Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Ottawa after playing in Sunday’s All-Star game.

He preserved his shutout with 6:23 left when Joe Thornton carried the puck to the right corner of the crease and tried to jam it between his pads. The puck trickled free, but Brodeur covered it with his glove.

The Bruins had outshot the Devils 10-2 before Holik gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead with his 20th goal at 7:21 of the first period. He had the puck behind the net and, as he came out, swept it between goalie Byron Dafoe’s legs.

Arnott made it 2-0 at 12:00 of the second period on a 3-on-1 break against defenseman Darren Van Impe. Steve Heinze rushed back to help and initially broke up the play, but Arnott came up with the puck and jammed it inside the right post.

Two seconds later, Ken Belanger tried to fire up his Boston teammates by fighting with Krzysztof Oliwa. Both ended up with five-minute penalties and the Bruins’ offense remained dormant.

*

The Chicago Blackhawks acquired center Josef Marha from the Mighty Ducks for future considerations.

Marha played in 10 games this season for the Ducks, recording one assist. He also played three games with Cincinnati’s AHL team, scoring one goal.

Marha has played for Anaheim and Colorado in his four seasons in the NHL, scoring 21 career points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 41 games.

The 6-foot, 205-pound native of the Czech Republic was picked 35th overall by Quebec in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. After three years of playing in the Czech Republic, he came to North America in 1995 and played for Cornwall of the AHL. In 74 games, he scored 48 points.

The next season, Marha helped the Hershey Bears to the 1997 Calder Cup Championship, leading the AHL in playoff assists (16) and points (22) in 19 games.

He split time between Hershey and the Colorado Avalanche last season before being traded to Anaheim in March.