Devils at Senators
THE STORY: With both teams holding tenuous playoff spots, the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils will look to distance themselves from the pack when they clash Monday in Ottawa. The Devils and Senators are tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference with 43 points; the Devils are ranked higher by virtue of having two more victories. The Devils won the first of four meetings, prevailing 5-4 in a wild shootout affair in New Jersey on Dec. 8th. The game saw the teams combine for three shorthanded goals and 56 penalty minutes. The Devils erased a 3-0 deficit, only to allow the Sens to tie the game with five seconds left. Backup goalie Alex Auld made 27 saves in the loss. Future Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur was pulled after giving up two goals on nine first-period shots. Johan Hedberg made 18 saves to earn the win in relief.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus, Rogers Sportsnet East, TVA
ABOUT THE DEVILS (21-15-1): New Jersey is coming off a 3-1 home win over the Atlantic Division-rival Pittsburgh Penguins. David Clarkson and Zach Parise scored, and Ilya Kovalchuk converted on a penalty shot to lead the Devils. Patrik Elias added two assists and Brodeur made 29 saves for his third straight win, improving to 11-9-0 on the season. The Devils have won two straight games, and nine of their last 12. New Jersey is 11-9-0 on the road this season. After Ottawa, the Devils play two at home before a four game road trip.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (19-15-5): Ottawa won its second straight game, downing the Sabres 3-2 in a shootout Saturday in Buffalo. Bobby Butler scored the winner in the fifth round of the sudden-death format. Chris Neil and Matt Carkner scored for the Sens to send the game to extra time. Craig Anderson made 26 saves to improve to 17-12-3 on the season. The Senators are 5-1-1 in their last seven games. They open the New Year with two games at home before a home-and-home series with the Philadelphia Flyers.
OVERTIME:
1. The Senators fired 46 shots on goal and hit six goal posts while dominating much of the game Saturday against Buffalo.
2. With Ottawa and New Jersey both in the bottom half of the league on the power play, the glaring difference is on the penalty kill. Ottawa sits in 26th on the PK at 79.3 per cent. New Jersey dominates the NHL by killing 91.9 per cent of its shorthanded situations.