Sens hand Devils 4th straight loss
Josh Norris scored the decisive goal in a shootout to lift the Senators over the Devils, 3-2, on Monday night in Newark, extending their winning streak to three games.
The Devils lost their fourth straight in a game that was a makeup for a Nov. 16 one postponed because of the Senators’ COVID-19 outbreak. Damon Severson and Nathan Bastian scored for the Devils, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 21 shots.
“I did my best and it was lucky enough to go in, said Norris, who leads the Senators with 10 goals this season. ”We’re having fun. We hope to keep this going.”
Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle and the Devils’ Tomas Tatar also scored in the shootout.
Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk scored for the Senators. Anton Forsberg stopped 22 shots in regulation and overtime for Ottawa, and stopped Andreas Johnsson in the shootout to secure the victory.
Ottawa had beaten Carolina and Colorado heading into Monday’s game.
“We’re playing good hockey. We kept it close right to the end,’’ said Batherson, who leads the Senators with 20 points skating on a line with Norris and Tkachuk. “Getting three wins in a row helps our confidence.”
Severson’s goal put the Devils ahead just 35 seconds into the game when his shot through traffic from the right point found its way past Forsberg. It was Severson’s third goal of the season, with assists going to Jonas Siegenthaler and Jesper Bratt.
Batherson tied the game with his eighth of the season at 7:15 of the second with assists to Thomas Chabot and Tkachuk. But Bastian — on his 24th birthday — answered for the Devils just over a minute later at 8:20 to restore the lead with his third goal of the season and his second since rejoining the Devils on waivers from Seattle on Nov. 25. P.K. Subban and Ty Smith assisted.
“It’s nice to be back with the guys and see my best friends at the rink every day,’’ said Bastian, a second-round pick by the Devils in 2016. “I feel more urgency now. I’d like to do everything I can to prove I belong in the league.”
Tkachuk tied the contest at 12:42 with his eighth of the season.
VIGNEAULT OUT IN PHILLY
The Flyers fired coach Alain Vigneault on Monday following eight straight losses, two shy of matching a team record of 10 in a row, and with the franchise far from ending a 47-year Stanley Cup drought.
The Flyers have been one of NHL’s biggest flops of the season. Vigneault’s last loss was a 7-1 defeat to Tampa Bay on Sunday night. The coaching change didn’t affect their luck. They lost again Monday night, their 9th straight, to the Avalanche in Philly.
“Right now, we’ve lost our way,” Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said.
The Flyers are 8-11-4 and in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division. Vigneault, the former Rangers coach, went 147-74-54 with the Flyers and missed the playoffs last season.