Sens Shutdown Devils

They said all the right things about being ready for the first of two tough tests in a row. But in a possible first round preview, the Devils were shutout by Ottawa 4-0 at Continental Airlines Arena Sunday night. It was their third loss in four, which could be cause for concern heading into a showdown with the archrival Flyers Tuesday.

The Devils offense has disappeared lately, scoring just six goals during this slump which suddenly has them tied for sixth in the East with Tampa Bay, who defeated the Islanders 5-2 earlier in the evening. The Lightning have played one more game though.

Lately, the EGG line has been held in check, which really has taken its toll on the team's lack of offensive balance up front. Outside of third leading scorer Jamie Langenbrunner who plays on the checking line with John Madden and Jay Pandolfo, the team doesn't have another scoring threat who can pickup the slack.

In particular, the second unit of rookie Zach Parise, Sergei Brylin and Grant Marshall have struggled to produce. Parise is without a point in the last five while neither Brylin nor Marshall have any points since the Olympic Break (nine games). That cannot continue if the Devils are to make the playoffs for the ninth straight season. What's more? This ineffective trio has combined for only 27 goals this season. Not enough to merit opponents taking them seriously with most of the focus on stopping Patrik Elias, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta.

Unable to generate much against the Senators, the Devils never solved rookie netminder Ray Emery, who turned aside all 22 shots for his third career shutout.

Interestingly enough, the night didn't start out badly. In an uneventful first period in which they were outshot 8-4, the Devils killed off two penalties and took the body effectively.

But it all fell apart in the second. The beginning of the end came when Dany Heatley took advantage of a Cam Janssen kneeing penalty. Retrieving a John Madden shorthanded rebound, Heatley led a three-on-two rush and setup Daniel Alfredsson for a wrist shot, which deflected off Colin White right to Heatley for a tap-in at 4:08. It was his 39th of the season.

After being called for the game's first three penalties, New Jersey had a golden opportunity to tie it but couldn't convert on a 55 second five-on-three. Emery swatted away an Elias one-timer and kicked out a Gomez chance.

The missed opportunity came back to haunt them when Ken Klee was whistled for hooking less than two minutes later. On a play that appeared offside, Patrick Eaves redirected an Andrej Meszaros one-timer at 13:42 to give the Senators a two-goal lead.

After killing off a late Ottawa two-man advantage, an unfortunate bounce in the final 25 seconds killed any thoughts of a comeback. Sergei Brylin overskated Colin White's pass leading to Chris Kelly feeding a vacated Antoine Vermette for a wrist shot over Martin Brodeur's shoulder to make it 3-0 with 20 seconds left.

Trailing by three, the Devils hardly even threatened Emery's shutout bid until late in the third when Elias and Gomez were denied from in close.

Zdeno Chara added a PPG in the final minute.

Notes: Richard Matvichuk sat out his eighth straight game with a back injury. ... In his 29th consecutive start, Brodeur finished with 27 saves. ... Viktor Kozlov was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row. ... Words were exchanged between the teams after the final buzzer due to an Erik Rasmussen high sticking minor. They will meet again for the last time this regular season in Ottawa March 28th. ... Devils (34-25-8, 76 pts) clash with Flyers (37-21-10, 84 pts) for the first of four remaining games Tuesday at Wachovia Center. They have split the season series thus far with each team holding serve at home.