NEWARK, NJ – Fans at Prudential Center were in for a thrilling treat on Saturday night as the New Jersey Devils continued to roll up the Eastern Conference standings after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-0.

The Devils are 15-2-1 in their last 18 regular season games played against the Penguins at Prudential Center since the 2008-09 season.

Though it may be early in the 2015-16 regular season, many hockey enthusiasts would have not projected the Devils to be one of the top teams in the National Hockey League in the middle of November. As of Saturday night, the Devils are ranked third in the Metropolitan Division, fourth in the Eastern Conference, and eighth in the NHL. They currently have 21 points and a 10-6-1 record in 17 games played.

“If people are talking about you, that’s nice, but it’s early,” Devils head coach John Hynes said to NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. “We appreciate that, but it doesn’t guarantee any success, so you have to continue on. One of our objectives coming into the year was that we wanted to make the fans proud of the team, and we have, but we can’t guarantee what will happen in the end. When you play well, the fans appreciate that effort, and that’s great.”

Cory Schneider kept Pittsburgh off the scoreboard with a outstanding 21-save performance. Bobby Farnham, David Schlemko, Mike Cammalleri, and Lee Stempniak each scored for the Devils.

Penguins goaltender Jeff Zatkoff started in his first career game against the Devils, stopping 33 of 37 of New Jersey’s shots on goal. He held a .892 save percentage in a full 60 minutes played.

It was also the first time Bobby Farnham and Lee Stempniak faced off against their former team as members of the Devils. Farnham suited up for a combined 205 career games with the Penguins organization as a member of Wilkes-Barre Scranton (AHL) and Pittsburgh from 2012-2015. Stempniak skated in 21 regular season games and 5 Stanley Cup Playoff games with Pittsburgh in 2013-14 after being acquired from the Calgary Flames at the 2014 trade deadline.

Schneider (21 saves, first shutout of the season), Cammalleri (1G-2A), and Farnham (1G) each earned first, second, and third star honors respectively at the conclusion of the night.

Ironically, prior to Saturday’s win, Devils goaltender Cory Schneider’s most recent shutout was a 2-0 defeat at Prudential Center over Pittsburgh on St. Patrick’s Day last season.

Schneider gave credit to the 18 skaters in front of him for backstopping Saturday’s shutout victory at the Rock, citing their “incredible job” throughout the game.

“Shutouts are nice, but I think [Saturday] was about the 18 skaters in front of me because they did an incredible job and I really wasn’t tested a whole lot,” Schneider told NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. “We didn’t spend a lot of time in their end, and against that team that’s a real testament to how hard my teammates worked. Shutouts are nice, but the win is nicer. I just had to make the saves I needed to make.”

Credits to NHL.com, Mike Morreale, Tom Gulitti, and hockey-reference.com for all quotes and statistics.

The Devils will travel to Western Canada next week for a three-game swing against the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Vancouver Canucks. They will begin their Canadian trip on Tuesday at 9:00 PM EST against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.

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Nick Papadimas is a New Jersey native, New Jersey Devils season ticket holder, and avid hockey fan. He is an aspiring sports journalist who has covered high school sports and local events for TAPinto.net since 2012. Nick can be reached on Twitter (@ngpaps) or by e-mail at papadimasn@icloud.com.