EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The New Jersey Devils took the pressure off backup goalie Scott Clemmensen before he faced a shot.

The Devils got goals from Jeff Friesen and Scott Niedermayer in the first 3:20 and went on to rout the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1 Wednesday night.

With Martin Brodeur getting a break after starting 13 straight games, Clemmensen made 14 saves in his third career start and second victory - both against Pittsburgh.

He didn't have to work hard to earn this one.

"I didn't have a game like that since I was in college," said Clemmensen, who played four seasons at Boston College. "I haven't played in a while and I'm a little rusty. For us to get two goals before I even have to make a save gave me breathing room."

The Penguins' six-game unbeaten streak came to a halt.

"It was nice to have put a little run together," Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk said. "We were finding a way to win some games."

The line of Friesen, Sergei Brylin and center Viktor Kozlov crushed the Penguins, combining for three goals and 11 points. Friesen had two goals and two assists and Kozlov also had a four-point game with a goal and three assists.

"If we didn't get off to a good start, it could have been a different game," Friesen said. "We didn't give them a chance to get the momentum."

Scott Niedermayer, John Madden and Paul Martin added goals for the Devils.

Matt Hussey scored for the Penguins with 6:52 remaining, spoiling Clemmensen's shutout bid. It was Hussey's second goal in two games since being recalled from the minors on Tuesday.

Friesen and Niedermayer scored in a 1:21 span as the Devils took firm control.

Friesen got the Devils started at 1:59 when he backhanded the rebound from Kozlov's shot past Sebastien Caron. Niedermayer promptly followed with a slap shot from the top of the right circle 1:21 later.

Friesen closed the opening-period scoring on a goal-mouth scramble with 2:56 remaining.

After outshooting Pittsburgh 18-4 in the first period, the Devils added three more goals in the second to make it 6-0.

Madden scored at 5:34 and Martin and Kozlov connected in a span of 27 seconds starting at 7:20. Martin Brochu relieved Caron following Martin's goal.

Notes:

Clemmensen made his first home start.

...

Colin White missed a second straight game with a neck injury as the Devils played without three of their regular defensemen. Scott Stevens missed his 34th straight game because of a concussion, and Brian Rafalski will be sidelined two-to-three weeks with a broken bone in his right leg. ... Kozlov got his first point with the Devils with the assist on Friesen's first goal. New Jersey acquired Kozlov from Florida on March 1, but he didn't make his debut until Monday night after recovering from a concussion.

AP-ES-03-18-04 0443EST