ATLANTA — Martin Brodeur got his 600th career victory with his second straight shutout, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Thrashers 3-0 on Tuesday night in Ilya Kovalchuk’s return to Atlanta.
Kovalchuk, the former Thrashers captain who was traded to the Devils two months ago, didn’t score but returned to see the Thrashers eliminated from playoff contention for the ninth time in their 10-year history.
Dean McAmmond, Zach Parise and Travis Zajac scored, and Brodeur stopped 19 shots. The shutout was Brodeur’s league-leading ninth of the season and the 110th of his career.
The Devils began the night tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for first place in the Atlantic Division and second place in the Eastern Conference.
McAmmond scored on a pass from Dainius Zubrus in the first period, and the Devils padded the lead with goals in the opening minute of each of the next two periods. Parise pushed the puck past Johan Hedberg 51 seconds into the second period, and Zajac scored 10 seconds into the third.
