NEWARK, N.J. — The father-son trip for the Ottawa Senators turned into something special for goaltender Mike Condon.
Condon made 21 saves in recording his fifth shutout of the season, and his father, Ted, got a gift to commemorate the Senators’ 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
Mike Condon said it was the first time his father has been in attendance for one of his six NHL shutouts.
"I got the puck for him, and that’ll be special, and he’ll have this memory for a long time," Condon said. "(I) saw the video of him cringing up in the stands during the game. Not easy for goalie dads to be out there watching their kids play, and I can’t even imagine what it’s like. I’m happy to give him a good result."
The tight checking game was scoreless until Dion Phaneuf scored on a power play late in the second period. The Senators didn’t ice the game until the final four minutes, when Erik Karlsson scored on a point shot that crawled into the net and Kyle Turris shot into an empty net.
The win was the Senators their third in four games, and it moved them within four point of first-place Montreal in the Atlantic Division. The Canadiens also have played three more games than Ottawa.
"We’re not looking at that," Karlsson said. "We need to take care of ourselves. We can’t really focus on what other teams are doing. I feel we’ve done a good job to put ourselves in this position, and we’re happy where we are, but we’re here to win games."
Cory Schneider stopped 32 shots, but the Devils lost for the second time in regulation (4-2-1) in their last seven games.
New Jersey remains five points behind Toronto for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but it has played one more game.
"I thought for the most part we did the right things in the first two periods and then in the third, they just squeezed us a little harder and we were not able to execute quite as well and get in and get some sustained shots," Schneider said. "They just outplayed us in the third, and when you are down a goal, that is not the way to go."
Phaneuf broke a scoreless tie with a rocket from the left point with 1:59 left in the second period. The puck hit the upper right corner of the net and came out quickly, leaving some players wondering whether the puck had gone in the goal. A video review upheld Phaneuf’s ninth of the season and third in four games.
Karlsson made it 2-0 with a shot from the right point that Schneider slowed down but let trickle into the net.
Condon had the best saves in a scoreless first period. He stopped Beau Bennett in close six-plus minutes into the game. He denied Kyle Palmieri on a shot from the inside the right circle at 4:37 to go and seconds later stopped blast by defenceman Ben Lovejoy from between the circles.
Bennett also hit the post early in the second period.
NOTES: Senators LW Tom Pyatt, who turned 30 on Tuesday, played in his 300th NHL game. … Bennett returned to the lineup after missing nine games (ankle). … Condon picked up a delay of game penalty eight seconds after the opening faceoff. … Ottawa RW Curtis Lazar was in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for four games. Chris Neil was scratched. … Senators D Marc Methot was ill and did not play. … Devils are 6-19-2 when trailing after two periods.
UP NEXT:
Senators: Visit Toronto on Saturday night for the fourth and final game of season series.
Devils: Host the New York Islanders on Saturday night in the first of a home-and-home on consecutive days.
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