Senators 3, Devils 2 (SO)
OTTAWA -- Mika Zibanejad scored the shootout winner, and Ben Bishop made two shootout saves as the Ottawa Senators beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 at Scotiabank Place on Monday.
It was the second time in two meetings this season the Senators and Devils needed to go to the skills competition to decide the game.
The Devils outshot the Senators 29-13 through three periods and 5-1 in the extra five minutes.
Martin Brodeur's glove stop off a Daniel Alfredsson one-timer in the last minute of overtime extended the night.
New Jersey defenseman Marek Zidlicky cut through the high slot and whipped a wrist shot by Bishop with 13:55 left in the third for the goal that set the stage for the dramatics. It was Zidlicky's fourth of the season and first in 11 games.
Colin Greening's fifth goal of the season with 17 seconds to play in the second period broke a 1-1 tie and put the Senators in front, even though they were being outplayed in the game. Shots on goal at the end of two were 20-10 in New Jersey's favor.
Greening ended an eight-game slump when he snuck in behind the Devils defense and fired home a rebound after Brodeur had made a good stop off Kyle Turris.
Chris Phillips scored with a wrist shot from the side boards 2:12 into the first to give the Senators the first lead. Eight minutes later, still clearly unimpressed with the way his team looked, Devils coach Peter DeBoer called a timeout that had the desired effect.
Playing much better, the Devils finally knotted the count when Andrei Loktionov batted down a puck at the side of the net and flipped it past a falling Bishop.
NOTES: Five weeks after having his Achilles tendon sliced by a skate blade in Pittsburgh, Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson said during the first intermission that his recovery is right on schedule. Asked if there was any chance he would play again this season, the Norris Trophy holder left the door open a crack. "Obviously, the guys have been playing great, and obviously that helps my motivation," Karlsson said. "It keeps me going forward and looking forward to going into the playoffs. And if that time comes, it's going to be a decision by them, but right now we don't really aim for playing this year." ... Defenseman Mike Lundin picked up his first point as a Senator when he assisted on Phillips' goal ... After the morning skate, New Jersey's Johan Hedberg was asked about the most recent accomplishment of Brodeur, his goaltending partner who on Saturday won his 666th game as a Devil. "He should retire now. It'd be the perfect ending," Hedberg joked. ... Phillips' goal was his fifth of the season, equaling his total in 80 games during the 2012-13 campaign ... Krystofer Barch and Mark Fayne were the Devils' scratches. Jim O'Brien, Kaspars Daugavins and Andre Benoit were scratched from the Ottawa lineup.
