Sens prevail in MacArthur's return, move into 2nd
OTTAWA -- Sparked by the return of veteran winger Clarke MacArthur, the Ottawa Senators snapped a five-game losing streak and moved closer to securing a playoff spot with a 2-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday night.
It was MacArthur's first game since Oct. 14, 2015, when he sustained a concussion in Columbus.
The win lifted the Senators (42-27-10) into second place in the tight Atlantic Division. Ottawa and the Boston Bruins (44-30-6) both have 94 points, but the Senators have a game in hand. The fourth-place Toronto Maple Leafs (39-25-15) have 93 points.
The Red Wings (32-36-12) remain last in the division and second to last in the conference.
Erik Karlsson and Tom Pyatt scored for the Senators. Craig Anderson stopped 24 shots for his fifth shutout of the season.
Jimmy Howard made 22 saves in the Red Wings cage.
Karlsson opened the scoring at 12:59 of the first period, beating Howard with a sharp angle shot from below the right wing face-off circle. It was his 17th goal of the season and second in as many nights.
Pyatt scored at 7:49 of the second with a shot that appeared to deflect off the stick of Detroit defenseman Danny DeKeyser's stick before going through Howard's legs. It was Pyatt's ninth of the season.
NOTES: Senators GM Pierre Dorion said before the game that three injured players -- D Cody Ceci, LW Zack Smith and RW Bobby Ryan -- should all be ready to return for the playoffs. The status of injured D Marc Methot is expected to be updated later this week. ... Senators C Colin White was a healthy scratch one night after making his NHL debut in Detroit. The Senators also scratched D Jyrki Jokipakka. ... Red Wings scratches were LW Drew Miller, RW Anthony Mantha and D Luke Glendening, all three of whom are injured. ... This was the Red Wings last road game of the season. They play Montreal on Saturday and New Jersey on Sunday to close Joe Louis Arena ... Senators G Craig Anderson was honored before the opening face-off for playing his 500th NHL game last week. ... Senators D Dion Phaneuf played his 900th NHL game.