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Brodeur stymies Senators as Devils hold on

Jan 7, 2007 - 12:48 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Martin Brodeur continued his dominance of the Ottawa Senators and erased some bad memories from his last visit to Scotiabank Place.

Brodeur stopped 33 shots and Brian Gionta tallied twice to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 3-2 triumph over the Senators.

It was the fifth victory in the last six games for the Devils, who dropped an 8-1 decision here on October 21.

Brodeur struggled in that game, allowing a season-high six goals on 26 shots before being pulled in the second period. But the two-time Vezina Trophy winner looked more like himself Saturday, helping New Jersey successfully kill all three of its penalties against the NHL's eighth-ranked power play.

"It's important how you respond to adversity," Brodeur said. "We got embarrassed by the Senators the last game we were here, so today we were conscious about how we played defensively and about what the coaches were telling us.

"That game, we got beat because we didn't listen and did things our own way. This time we trusted (the coaching staff), and it worked out well tonight."

With the win, Brodeur improved his career record against Ottawa to 27-16-0 with four ties, the best mark vs. the Senators for any opposing goaltender.

"Right now, (Brodeur) is at a different level, even from the time I've been here," said Devils center Scott Gomez, who has been with the club since the 1999-2000 campaign. "It's fun to watch, especially after all those years where he didn't face too many shots. It's all right, he can take them now."

Brodeur is 5-0-1 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .948 save percentage over his last six games for the Devils (24-13-4), who own a four-point cushion atop the Atlantic Division at the season's midway point.

"We're a team that had a tough time early in the season, but we've bounced back," Brodeur said. "So we've definitely got to be excited to be leading our division at this point."

Zach Parise scored his 17th goal in the opening session and Gomez added two assists for New Jersey, which has won two of its three meetings with Ottawa this season.

"They're a completely different team when they're ahead, as opposed to when they are down," said Senators right wing Patrick Eaves, who tallied in the first period. "It's more of a chess match out there because they play the trap so good."

New Jersey took the lead for good at 1:42 of the second period, when Gionta made it 2-1 with his first tally of the game. Standing near the top of the crease, the 5-7 right wing deflected defenseman David Hale's slap shot over netminder Ray Emery's glove.

"It's a huge test coming in here, as it's always a tough game," Gionta said. "Every team in the league at any point in time can beat you. They're a hot team, and it's always a tough one for us."

Gionta pushed the advantage to 3-1 with 3:33 remaining in the third, taking Gomez's cross-slot feed from the left faceoff circle and beating Emery, who was out of position on the play.

"(Gomez) held on to it, allowing me time to get back door," Gionta said. "If he doesn't hold on to it, then I'm stuck at the near post and can't get there. He made a great play to give me the time to get across and, as you saw, it was just an empty net."

"We battled hard in the third to scratch back, but we couldn't do it," Emery said. "You have to take more risks when you're down a couple of goals. Then it becomes a snowball effect when you start to take the risks."

Emery made 26 saves for Ottawa, which had earned at least one point in each of its previous six games (5-0-1).