Senators post second win in Detroit this season

DETROIT -- The Ottawa Senators are learning to love playing at Joe Louis Arena.

Left winger Clarke MacArthur scored twice and right winger Bobby Ryan broke a third-period tie and added an assist as the Ottawa Senators beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 on Saturday night.

It was the Senators' second win in two games in Detroit this season. The Senators beat the Red Wings 6-1 on Oct. 23.

"To come in here and win is a testament to our leadership and our preparation," Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said.

Right winger Chris Neil also scored for Ottawa (9-10-4), which broke a three-game losing streak. Defenseman Erik Karlsson and Patrick Wiercioch each had two assists and goaltender Robin Lehner stopped 34 shots for Ottawa.

"Coming here is never easy. You've lost three in a row and you come in here and get a win," MacArthur said.

Centers Darren Helm and Pavel Datsyuk scored for Detroit (10-7-7), which lost eight of its last nine. Goalie Jimmy Howard made 25 saves.

The game was penalty filled with four five-on-three power plays. The Red Wings had three and the Senators one. Four goals came on power plays, including Ottawa's last two.

"I didn't like the (defenseman Niklas) Kronwall penalty (for roughing with 5:51 left in the game -- I thought it was an awful call -- but other than that, you deserve what you get," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "You've got to look out for your stick, and you can't be in the box all night. No one gets into rhythm like that."

MacArthur was suspicious about some of the penalties called on his team.

"I don't know if their (Red Wings) skates were sharpened, but they went down really easy a couple of times," he said with a smirk.

Ryan gave Ottawa a 3-2 lead with a five-on-three power-play goal 3:51 into the third period. He put in a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle for his 11th goal of the season.

The Senators killed off five-on-three disadvantage during the middle of the third period.

MacArthur's second goal of the game, on the power play, made it 4-2 with 4:02 left. It was his sixth goal of the season. That came with Kronwall in the penalty box.

Datsyuk's five-on-three goal tied it at 2, 1:08 into the third period. His attempted pass from Lehner's right went in off Senators defenseman Jared Cowen. It was Datsyuk's 12th goal of the season.

The Senators killed off a 1:34 two-man disadvantage early in the second period.

Ottawa led 2-1 after the first period despite being outshot 16-7.

"Pretty good first period for them. They don't touch the puck, and they end up up 2-1 coming out," Babcock said.

Helm's power-play goal opened the scoring with 6:37 left in the first period. He tipped left winger Tomas Tatar's shot out of the air and past Lehner. It was Helm's fourth goal of the season.

But MacArthur tied it just 1:10 later when he put in a loose puck from the bottom of the left circle. The Senators took the lead with 4:16 remaining in the opening period when Neil was credited with the goal when the puck went in off of Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith's leg.

Ottawa didn't get its first shot until Ryan's effort 8:33 into the game. The Red Wings had eight shots at that point.

"After the first 10 minutes, which we didn't play too good, the guys picked it up," Lehner said. "The second and third periods were good."

NOTES: Detroit C Stephen Weiss returned after missing six games because of a groin injury. But the Red Wings also lost a forward because RW Todd Bertuzzi didn't play due to an upper-body injury. He is day-to-day. ... C Jason Spezza, Ottawa's captain, played junior hockey with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. Windsor is across the Detroit River from Detroit. ... Detroit RW Daniel Alfredsson, the former Senator, missed his fifth game because of a groin injury. ... Ottawa coach Paul MacLean is a former assistant on Detroit coach Mike Babcock's staff with the Red Wings and Anaheim. ... Red Wings G Jimmy Howard returned after missing a game because of the flu.