Senators 5, Devils 2
OTTAWA -- The red carpet was rolled out, but the Ottawa Senators didn't offer up much in the way of fireworks in their long-awaited home opener on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre.
The Senators still managed to light up legendary goalie Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils in a 5-2 victory before 18,867 fans for their second win in a row.
Ottawa scored goals three goals on just 11 shots in the first two periods. Erik Karlsson, Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith were the marksmen for the Senators (3-2-2), who were outshot 41-23 in the game by the winless Devils (0-4-3).
The Devils didn't get a puck past goalie Craig Anderson until 54 seconds remained in the third period when Travis Zajac scored with New Jersey enjoying a five-on-three advantage. Anderson temporarily prevented the game from getting much closer when he made a highlight-reel save against Jaromir Jagr, reaching back with his stick to stop a shot headed for the open net.
Steve Bernier did pull the Devils to within a goal with his first of the season on a shot off the crossbar and 9:01 left in the third period. But Milan Michalek restored the Senators' two-goal cushion with a long slap shot that beat Brodeur over his right shoulder.
Jason Spezza iced the victory with an empty-net goal with 1:46 left. He added two assists for a three-point night.
Karlsson also had two assists for a three-point game.
Smith scored the lone goal of the second period after taking a pass from Karlsson and firing a sharp-angle shot past Brodeur. The goal was Smith's second of the season.
Karlsson scored his second goal of the season -- and first since the opener six games ago -- to give the Senators the lead just 4:32 into the game. Karlsson took a cross-blue line pass from Ryan and sent a slap shot past a defender that snuck by Brodeur's right arm and his body.
Just 2:19 later, Ryan put the home team up by two when he accepted a Kyle Turris pass behind the net, took a stride to the front on Brodeur's right side and squeezed in his fourth goal of the year.
NOTES: No goalie has beaten the Senators more than Brodeur, who entered the game with a 36-23-7 record against Ottawa. ... The Senators put C Stephane Da Costa on waivers at noon Thursday. The 24-year-old has no points in four games this season. ... Da Costa and veteran D Joe Corvo were healthy scratches for the Senators, who went with the same lineup that was successful on Tuesday night in a 4-3 overtime win over the Phoenix Coyotes ... The Devils entered the night on a franchise-long, season-opening winless streak of six games (0-3-3). "It's not fun," RW Dainius Zubrus said. ... The Devils placed LW Ryan Clowe on injured reserve, retroactive to Oct. 13. Signed in the off-season as a free agent, Clowe has one assist, five penalty minutes and a minus-5 rating in six games for New Jersey.