Goals 33 seconds apart in 2nd period spark Ottawa; Bratt sets franchise assist record for New Jersey
Senators at Devils | Recap
By Mike G. Morreale
NEWARK, N.J. -- Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson each scored in a span of 33 seconds early in the second period and the Ottawa Senators held on for a 3-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday.
Linus Ullmark made 25 saves for the Senators (37-27-5), who won for the first time in three games. Ullmark made 14 saves in the third period, including a late stop against Stefan Noesen on a shot from the slot with five seconds remaining to secure the victory.
"[Ullmark] was dialed in, especially in the third," Ottawa coach Travis Green said. "You know that when you're up a couple of goals, the other team is going to push. They're going to push hard and he made some big saves in the third."
Ullmark rebounded after allowing four goals on 13 shots before being replaced by Anton Forsberg in the first period of a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
Ottawa leads the Montreal Canadiens by four points for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"At the end of the day, it's just the way the group reacts and just shuts it down and plays defense," Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot said. "We have a goalie who's standing great in front of us, in between the pipes, and we try to make his job as easy as possible for him."
OTT@NJD: Tkachuk scores tip-in goal to make it 1-0
Luke Hughes had two assists and Jake Allen made 16 saves for the Devils (37-28-6), who have lost three of their past four games. New Jersey is third in the Metropolitan Division, six points ahead of the New York Rangers.
Tkachuk scored on a tip-in from the slot after a pass by Jake Sanderson from the left face-off circle to give the Senators a 1-0 lead at 4:05 of the second period.
"Brady sets the tone by being a competitive guy," Green said. "He loves winning, loves competing, loves his teammates. He's everything you'd want in a young captain."
Batherson then made it 2-0 on a shot from the slot at 4:38.
Nico Hischier scored a power-play goal on a slap shot from the right face-off circle to pull the Devils within 2-1 at 7:13 of the second. Jesper Bratt had an assist on Hischier's goal to set the franchise record for most in a season (61 assists), passing Scott Stevens (60 in 1993-94).
"I think we obviously had a good push in the third because we're desperate to win but I just don't think in the first or second period we're starting desperate enough," Bratt said. "Our puck battles and puck play just wasn't good enough and we had a hard time creating any offense in those first two periods. We weren't physically engaged in the battles to come up with pucks."
Ottawa limited New Jersey to 12 shots through two periods.
"Recognizing urgency and being capable of executing it is a whole other thing," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. "It's hard to do it all the time and that's what we got to push through, individually, collectively. It's hard to do it every second night and that's what we're fighting right now. We've lost players (to injury) and we're asking more of different guys and it's hard. We know this period of time will be extremely difficult and, right now, it's getting the better of us."
David Perron pushed it to 3-1 after a one-timer by Claude Giroux from the right circle deflected in off Perron's hip from the slot at 8:44 of the second.
OTT@NJD: Perron redirects Giroux's shot for PPG and 3-1 lead
Erik Haula scored on a snap shot from the bottom of the right circle with Allen pulled for an extra attacker at 19:37 of the third period for the 3-2 final.
"New Jersey is a team that likes movement, especially their top lines," Chabot said. "We worked their defense low all night and that's where our team has had success. When we put it behind them and make their defense and their forwards defend all night ... ask any skilled player in this league. No one likes to play defense."
NOTES: Chabot had two blocked shots in 22:57 of ice time in his 500th NHL game. "It's great for myself, my family, my parents, everybody involved," Chabot said. "But it's just great to get the win. Obviously 500 games is fun but if you lose a game, it's not as fun. I think we can celebrate tonight." ... Hischier extended his point streak to six games (four goals, three assists).
