Arron Asham rebounded from Friday night's shootout gaffe, leading the Devils to a 3-2 win over the Senators. Asham scored twice and Zach Parise added another on the power play, as New Jersey regained a share of first place in the Atlantic Division. The Senators made a valiant effort to tie this game, but Martin Brodeur made 37 saves, including one in the waning seconds with Ottawa pressing for the equalizer.

 

After wasting a two-goal lead the night before to Atlanta, the Devils were close to replicating the effort on Saturday. However, Brodeur and Asham ensured an enjoyable flight back to Newark.

Despite playing the night before, the Devils certainly had the edge in the first 20 minutes.

Asham opened the scoring 9:05 into the opening frame. He skated down the ice, taking a sharp angled shot at Senators goaltender Ray Emery. The puck bounced back to Asham whose second attempt deflected off Daniel Alfredsson and past Emery. Defenseman Mike Mottau had the lone assist on the ex-Islanders skater’s fourth goal of the season.

It was a physical period, one in which David Clarkson and newly acquired Mike Commodore took off the gloves for a quick fight. The Devils and Senators both had two power plays but were unable to convert, ending the first at 1-0.

Continuing his success in the middle stanza, Asham took a pass from Michael Rupp and blasted the puck top shelf past Emery. Defenseman Paul Martin added the secondary assist on Asham’s fifth at 3:10.

Later in the period, Asham had his first fight since Dec. 21 with Chris Neil, whose 146 penalty minutes ranks third among league leaders (entering Sunday’s action).

With the momentum in their favor, the Devils received another break, a two-man advantage for 1:08.

Chris Phillips and Neil committed minor infractions 52 seconds apart, leading to Zach Parise’s goal, extending the Devils margin to 3-0.

As the first penalty expired, Brian Gionta found Parise on the doorstep. Martin and Gionta assisted on Parise’ team-leading 22nd, silencing the soldout crowd of 20,201.

However, the Devils failed to take advantage of Wade Redden’s hooking shortly thereafter. Emery robbed captain Jamie Langenbrunner at point blank range.

With 3:34 left in the middle frame, Jason Spezza gave Ottawa life. As Brodeur and Karel Rachunek collapsed on the puck behind the net, they turned it over to Daniel Alfredsson, who centered it to Spezza for his 24th of the season.

Langenbrunner had another opportunity to bring the lead back to three goals in the third period, but Emery denied him again.

Ottawa continued to pressure and finally broke through the seemingly unbreakable Devils defense.

Chris Kelly scored with 7:07 left in regulation, trimming the deficit to 3-2. Antoine Vermette and Cory Stillman added assists on Kelly’s 10th for the third consecutive season.

That was as close as Ottawa got. The Devils did not commit a penalty in the final 20 minutes and the Senators relentless attack with their goaltender pulled did not result in the tying effort.

With the win, the Devils improved to 33-21-5 and into first place in the Atlantic. Pittsburgh won on Sunday, evening the standings at 71 points apiece, but New Jersey holds the tiebreaker.

New Jersey is now two points away from securing at least a share of first place in the Eastern Conference.

Ottawa dropped to 34-20-5 with their third consecutive loss. On Tuesday, the Senators host a struggling Philadelphia Flyers squad that has lost seven straight, freefalling from the top seed in the Atlantic to seventh in the conference. The Senators finish the homestand with Columbus on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Devils have not lost in regulation since Feb. 8. In the process, they are 3-0-1 in their last four games. They returned home after the win over Ottawa to host Carolina on Monday at 1pm (President’s Day matinee) and San Jose on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

NOTES:

Asham had not produced a goal in 22 games and a point in 15 before scoring twice versus Ottawa. The night before, Devils coach Brent Sutter inserted Asham as their shooter in the tenth round of the shootout. He whiffed badly and Atlanta came back from a 2-0 deficit to earn a hard fought win in the Prudential Center.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

The Devils penalty kill was 4-4 on Saturday night. They have allowed merely one goal in the last 19 power play attempts. They rank eleventh overall.

Offensively, New Jersey produced a power play effort for the second straight game. The last time they managed at least two consecutive games was Jan. 22-29, a three-game streak.

FRESHER LEGS:

Ottawa was skating for the first time since Wednesday’s 3-2 overtime loss at New Jersey. On the other end, the Devils were participating in the second half of a back-to-back stretch.

Ottawa outshot New Jersey 39-29 and dominated the faceoff battle, 38-21.

However, the Devils pulled off the huge upset and the two points included in the victory.

TIMELY:

Despite scoring twice and adding an assist, Asham and his linemates played sparingly. Rupp's 6:08 led the fourth liners, while Asham placed second with 5:23 and David Clarkson managed 4:23 of ice time.

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