The game was lacking offense from the opening faceoff.
Rolston took the first shot 10:06 in, and the teams combined for four shots in the first period.
That established a Penguins record for the fewest combined shots in a single period. It also was the first NHL period with fewer than five shots since Jan. 13, 2007 (San Jose at Phoenix).
Brodeur came in 8-1-0 with an 0.88 goals-against average in his previous nine starts against Pittsburgh. But this shutout wasn’t enough for a desperate Devils team to earn two points. New Jersey is 1-3-1 in its past five after completing a miraculous 23-3-2 run from Jan. 9-March 15.
Sabres 4, Panthers 2 — Jordan Leopold and Drew Stafford scored 13 seconds apart in the third period to help host Buffalo move closer to securing a playoff spot.
Stafford had two goals and an assist, and Pominville had a goal and assist for Buffalo, which won back-to-back games for the first time in three weeks. Ryan Miller was sharp in making 22 saves as the eighth-place Sabres (37-28-9) moved within 2 points of the idle Rangers.
Sergei Samsonov and Evgeny Dadonov scored for the Panthers, who were eliminated from playoff contention.
Canucks 3, Thrashers 1 — Roberto Luongo stopped 30 shots and visiting Vancouver set franchise records for road wins and points in a season.
Mason Raymond and Alexandre Bolduc scored second-period goals for the Canucks, who have won 9 of 10 to improve the NHL’s best record. Alexandre Burrows added an empty-net goal with 13 seconds remaining.
The Canucks earned their franchise-record 24th road win and set another team high with 107 points. They have won seven straight road games.
Bryan Little ended Luongo’s shutout bid with an unassisted goal with 5:30 remaining in the third period.
Senators 2, Capitals 0 — Craig Anderson made 31 saves for his second shutout, and Colin Greening and Erik Condra scored to power host Ottawa.
Anderson has won both of his starts since signing a four-year, $12.75 million contract extension Monday. He stopped 29 shots in a 2-1 shootout win over the Rangers in New York on Thursday night.
Greening opened the scoring 13:25 into the second. Condra made it a two-goal lead with his fifth early in the third.
Semyon Varlamov stopped 21 shots for Washington, which played its second straight game without injured captain Alexander Ovechkin.
Hurricanes 4, Lightning 3 — Erik Cole scored two goals to help lift Carolina past host Tampa Bay and remain 3 points behind Buffalo for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Cole put the Hurricanes up, 2-1, with a power-play goal at 8:23 of the second period and added an unassisted backhander 6:50 into the third.
Eric Staal scored for the first time in eight games to give Carolina a 4-1 lead.
