Devils ease past Senators for 12th straight win

OTTAWA -- The New Jersey Devils won their 12th straight game, 5-1 against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

Yegor Sharangovich and Michael McLeod each had a goal and an assist for New Jersey (15-3-0), which is one win shy of tying its record (13 straight from Feb. 26-March 23, 2001).
"I thought tonight was a total team game," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "We got production, we got a key short-handed goal from Sharangovich, but all four lines were in on it. I thought our defense played well, and again, our goaltender made some big saves at key times."
Akira Schmid, who made 25 saves, has won three straight games since being recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League on Nov. 5.
"He's just looked comfortable every time he's been in the net," Ruff said. "He made big saves the last time we played these guys (4-3 overtime win on Nov. 10), and again there were key saves at key times. The breakaway save (on Senators forward Brady Tkachuk in the second period) I thought was a key save. This year's a whole different story. Last year we got a little taste. Then he had a good [training] camp, a good preseason when he played for us, and I think he's just carried it through."
Derick Brassard scored for the Senators (6-10-1). Cam Talbot made 16 saves in relief of Anton Forsberg, who allowed three goals on 18 shots.
"For us as players, it's a Saturday afternoon, it's close to a sellout, so it's on us," said Tkachuk, the Ottawa captain. "It's on us for not getting ready. It's on me for not helping my group get ready, so I'll take responsibility for that one. There were times tonight when we played solid, played our game, but it wasn't enough."
Erik Haula gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 7:10 of the first period when his wrist shot from the slot beat a heavily screened Forsberg on a power play. It was his first goal with New Jersey since being acquired in a trade from the Boston Bruins on July 13.
"We were just resilient," Haula said. "There were a couple holes in our game, I thought, where we got a little bit comfortable, and that's when they kind of took it to us a little bit and got some chances. But overall, good for Schmid, great game from him, and 12 in a row. We've got to feel good about this one."

Nathan Bastian made it 2-0 at 15:54 with a backhand off a rebound of Miles Wood's initial chance at the edge of the crease.
Jesper Boqvist scored on a rebound in front to extend the lead to 3-0 at 3:00 of the second.
Brassard got the Senators to within 3-1 at 17:29, receiving a cross-ice pass from Erik Brannstrom and scoring five-hole on Schmid. It was his first goal in 10 games.
"We just didn't create anything," Ottawa forward Tim Stutzle said. "I feel like we had some chances here and there, but just not good enough."
Sharangovich scored a short-handed goal off the rebound of a shot by Nico Hischier to make it 4-1 at 19:25.
"It really was a big kill at the time," Ruff said. "If we kill it off, that in itself is a big moment. I think Nico just realized that we can't miss the net short-handed or it traps both guys. He got a great shot off the pad, it went right out to [Sharangovich], and he made no mistake."

In addition to giving up the short-handed goal, the Senators were 0-for-2 on the power play.
"We shot ourselves in the foot," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "We've got all the momentum in the second period and it ends up in our net short-handed."
McLeod shot into an empty net at 17:31 of the third for the 5-1 final.
"I think the strength of any team when you get good is that all lines play the same way," Ruff said. "They trust the system."
NOTES:The Devils have also won nine straight road games, the longest streak in the NHL since 2019-20 and tied for the second-longest in their history. New Jersey won 10 straight on the road from Feb. 27-April 7, 2001. ... New Jersey is the third team in NHL history to have a winning streak of at least 12 games after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs the previous season, joining the Columbus Blue Jackets (16 straight in 2016-17) and Florida Panthers (12 straight in 2015-16). ... The Devils were playing their 18th game. Last season, it took them 39 games to win 15 games. ... Senators defenseman Artem Zub had four hits and was minus-1 in 21:01 of ice time in his return after missing nine games because of an upper-body injury.