Brendan Smith had a goal and two assists as the New Jersey Devils snapped a three-game losing streak by edging out a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.
Erik Haula, Ondrej Palat, and Nico Hischier also scored for New Jersey, which won the season series 2-1. Jake Allen made 25 saves.
“We’ve had a couple of games with the lead in the third, and we give it up,” said Hischier. “So, it’s definitely good to get this one.”
Jake Sanderson, Claude Giroux, and Brady Tkachuk scored for Ottawa, which trailed 4-1 after two periods. The Senators have lost three in a row and been eliminated from playoff contention.
Anton Forsberg started in net for Ottawa but was pulled in the first period after allowing three goals on just nine shots. Joonas Korpisalo stepped in, allowing one goal and making 18 saves.
Trailing 4-1, Giroux cut the Devils’ lead in half with a power-play goal from the top of the faceoff circle at 3:37 of the third period.
Moments later, New Jersey forward Jack Hughes was awarded a penalty shot after Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot hooked him on a breakaway. However, Hughes whiffed on the puck.
Chabot returned after missing four games with a lower-body injury.
Tkachuk made it a one-goal game with 5:43 left to play. Hischier’s slap shot went wide, wrapping around the boards and down the ice just as Tkachuk was getting on the ice. He broke in alone and beat Allen for his 34th goal of the season.
“The third period felt like it was probably our best period all year,” Tkachuk said. “We just did the little things right, put it behind them, got physical, and many guys stepped up.”
Devils interim coach Travis Green acknowledged the team’s struggles in the third but was relieved to secure the win.
“I thought we got a little panicky when Tkachuk scored his goal,” Green said. “It was an unfortunate play in the offensive zone when we missed the net, and they scored. You could feel it on the bench a little bit. We tried to tell the guys to take a breath, but sometimes you’ve just got to go through it.”
Sanderson put the Senators on the board with a power-play goal 33 seconds into the second period, blasting a shot past Allen from the blue line to make it 3-1.
The Devils regained their three-goal lead at 11:04, with Hischier beating Korpisalo in close.
New Jersey jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first period. Haula beat Forsberg under the arm on the stick side 3:50 into the game.
It was the 20th time this season that the Senators gave up a goal on the opposition’s first two shots.
“It’s tough,” said Senators interim coach Jacques Martin. “You make a mistake, and the puck’s in your net. So we’ve got to be better as a group.”
Palat doubled the lead at 12:36, tipping Luke Hughes’ shot. Smith made it 3-0 with a slap shot from just inside the blue line at 16:34, ending Forsberg’s night.
UP NEXT
- Devils: Host Nashville on Sunday night.
- Senators: Visit Washington on Sunday.
