The Devils are in the fifth wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The New Jersey Devils dropped a critical game on Saturday night at Prudential Center as the Ottawa Senators earned a 5-2 victory in front of 16,514 hockey fans in Newark. Goaltender Jake Allen made his fourth consecutive start and made 20 saves on 25 shots for a .800 save percentage.
The Devils were awarded a power play when Tim Stützle tripped John Marino. Dawson Mercer skated towards the offensive zone with 33 seconds remaining on the man advantage. He passed the puck at Ottawa's blue line but missed the mark. This resulted in a turnover, and Mathieu Joseph scored his 11th goal of the season shorthanded.
New Jersey surrendered the game's opening goal for the 50th time this season. The club trailed Ottawa 1-0 five minutes after the puck drop.
The Senators led 1-0 after 20 minutes, and outshot the Devils 6-4 in the first period.
Jesper Bratt tied the game a mere 23 seconds into the second period. His 23rd goal of the season was unassisted. Entering the game, the Swede was coming off a four-point performance against Ottawa with five points over his last two games.
The Devils would take the lead 36 seconds later when Tomas Nosek's snap shot beat opposing goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. His linemates Dawson Mercer and Ondrej Palat were credited with the assists.
Ottawa tied the game minutes later. Ridly Greig potted his 11th goal of the season. Joseph earned the primary assist and his second point of the night.
The visiting team regained the lead with Angus Crookshank's second goal of the season six minutes into the period. The 24-year-old earned a point in every career game against New Jersey.
Defenseman Thomas Chabot extended Ottawa's lead to 4-2 9:01 into the period. Brady Tkachuk and Chabot's defensive partner Erik Brannstrom collected the helpers.
The fans inside Prudential Center booed the Devils off the ice after 40 minutes. Ottawa held a 17-12 shot advantage and led 4-2 on the scoresheet after two periods.
Drake Batherson made it 5-2 10:15 into the third period. Tkachuk earned his second assist of the night. It was Ottawa's fourth straight goal after the Devils earned a 2-1 lead early in the second period.
Korpisalo made eight saves on eight shots in the third period to secure his team's 5-2 victory.
UP NEXT: The Devils will face the New York Islanders on Sunday, March 24.
LINES:
Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Jack Hughes - Erik Haula - Alexander Holtz
Ondrej Palat - Tomas Nosek - Dawson Mercer
Kurtis MacDermid - Chris Tierney - Curtis Lazar
Kevin Bahl - John Marino
Luke Hughes - Nick Desimone
Brendan Smith - Simon Nemec
Jake Allen
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