Josh Norris scored the winning goal in a shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night, extending Ottawa’s winning streak to three games.
“I did my best, and it was lucky enough to go in,” said Norris, who now leads the Senators with 10 goals this season. “We’re having fun. We hope to keep this going.”
Tim Stutzle for Ottawa and Tomas Tatar for New Jersey also scored in the shootout.
Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk scored in regulation for the Senators. Anton Forsberg made 22 saves during regulation and overtime and stopped Andreas Johnsson in the shootout to secure the win.
Ottawa entered the game, having defeated Carolina and Colorado.
“We’re playing good hockey. We kept it close right to the end,” said Batherson, who leads the Senators with 20 points skating on a line with Norris and Tkachuk. “Getting three wins in a row helps our confidence.”
The Devils lost their fourth straight in this makeup game for a Nov. 16 postponement due to the Senators’ COVID-19 outbreak. Damon Severson and Nathan Bastian scored for New Jersey, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves.
Severson’s goal put the Devils ahead just 35 seconds into the game when his shot through traffic from the right point beat Forsberg. It was Severson’s third goal of the season, with assists from Jonas Siegenthaler and Jesper Bratt.
Batherson tied the game with his eighth of the season at 7:15 of the second period, assisted by Thomas Chabot and Tkachuk. Bastian, celebrating his 24th birthday, responded just over a minute later at 8:20 to restore the Devils’ lead with his third goal of the season. P.K. Subban and Ty Smith assisted.
“It’s nice to be back with the guys and see my best friends at the rink every day,” said Bastian, a second-round pick by the Devils in 2016. “I feel more urgency now. I’d like to do everything I can to prove I belong in the league.”
Tkachuk tied the game again at 12:42 with his eighth of the season.
New Jersey was hosting Ottawa for the first time since Nov. 13, 2019, when they lost 4-2 at Prudential Center.
“There were a lot of parts of our game that I liked. Our defensive game was good,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “It’s probably a game we have to win 2-1. You have to give them credit. They did a real good job.”
New Jersey fell to 6-4-3 at home, while Ottawa improved to 3-7-1 on the road this season.
Game Notes
The teams will face each other again on April 7 and April 26 in Ottawa. The Senators scratched defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Dillon Heatherington and center Adam Gaudette. The Devils scratched defensemen Mason Geertsen and Christian Jaros and forward Jesper Boqvist. New Jersey was also without injured forwards Tyce Thompson and Miles Wood.
UP NEXT
- Devils: Host Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
- Senators: Host the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
