James van Riemsdyk had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings (25-15-4), who had lost two in a row (0-1-1) but are 6-2-1 in their past nine games.
Tim Stutzle had two assists to extend his point streak to 13 games (eight goals, 13 assists) for the Senators (20-16-5), who had won two in a row.
Leevi Merilainen was pulled after allowing three goals on eight shots in the first period. Hunter Shepard made 10 saves in relief.
Nick Cousins appeared to give Ottawa the early lead at 4:06 of the first period after David Perron’s one-timer deflected in off him near the right post. However, Detroit coach Todd McLellan challenged the play for offside, and the call was reversed after a video review.
Andrew Copp then put the Red Wings ahead 1-0 at 7:06. He scored glove side from the left circle on a breakaway after Tyler Kleven's dump-in attempt hit him in the neutral zone.
Dylan Larkin made it 2-0 on a power play at 13:51. Van Riemsdyk got the rebound of Alex DeBrincat's initial shot in front and passed over to Larkin for a one-timer past the outstretched right pad of Merilainen.
Van Riemsdyk extended the lead to 3-0 at 19:43 on a spinning shot from the right circle.
Claude Giroux cut it to 3-1 at 7:33 of the second period, quickly finishing Fabian Zetterlund’s backhand pass through the crease.
Dylan Cozens pulled the Senators to within 3-2 on a power play at 14:10. He got to the rebound of Jake Sanderson's shot in the slot and beat Gibson five-hole.
Lucas Raymond responded at 15:42 to make it 4-2. He poked the puck away from Cozens along the left boards, took a short pass from J.T. Compher, then toe-dragged Thomas Chabot before scoring under Shepard's glove.
Brady Tkachuk cut it to 4-3 at 6:55 of the third period, tapping in a backdoor pass from Stutzle at the right post.
Michael Rasmussen scored a short-handed goal on a 2-on-1 rush to push the lead to 5-3 at 12:53.
Shane Pinto looked to make it 5-4 just 23 seconds later, but the officials ruled that Ridly Greig interfered with Gibson on the play. Senators coach Travis Green challenged the goaltender interference ruling, but the call stood after a video review.
