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Senators look to take command against Devils

May 2, 2007 - 3:08 PM New Jersey at Ottawa 7:00 pm EDT Eastern Conference semifinal Ottawa leads, 2-1

OTTAWA (Ticker) - The Ottawa Senators are in position to take control of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New Jersey Devils.

With a 2-0 victory on Monday, the Senators took a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven series and can move within one win of taking the series with a win here in Game Four on Wednesday.

Though New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur has a playoff legacy of sorts, Ottawa netminder Ray Emery is beginning to build an impressive postseason resume of his own.

Playing in just his second postseason, Emery is in position to record his third consecutive postseason shutout at home. The 24-year-old stopped 25 shots to earn his second career playoff shutout in Game Three.

"It's always great to play at home with the fans screaming and shouting," Emery said. "It gives you energy when you make good plays and the crowd gets loud. It just adds to the adrenaline."

Though pinned with the loss, Brodeur was equally effective in Game Three, allowing one, albeit controversial, goal on 33 shots.

Ottawa's Tom Preissing scored the go-ahead goal in the third period. As Brodeur was positioning himself in the net, he had his skate clipped by the Senators' Mike Fisher at the edge of the crease.

The two-time Vezina Trophy winner could only wave at Preissing's bad-angle wrist shot from the right side that gave Ottawa 1-0 lead with 15:14 remaining. Jason Spezza scored an empty net goal to preserve the win.

Brodeur said he didn't think the contact on the decisive goal was intentional but he was not as forgiving of the referee.

"The fact is if one of our players is standing in front of the net and gives a hook before the one-timer comes, we get an interference call. The goalie should be treated the same way," Brodeur said.

Both squads could would like to see their power plays get on track after struggling on the man advantage in Game Three. Ottawa, the top team with the man advantage in the playoffs, was 0-for-4 while New Jersey, which ranks second in power-play proficiency, finished 0-for-5.

The Senators' Dany Heatley registered an assist in Game Three to extend his points streak to four games and leads the team with six points in the series. Daniel Alfredsson also registered an assist, giving him eight points in as many games this postseason. Alfredsson has played in all 87 Ottawa playoff games since 1992-93.

New Jersey's Brian Gionta mustered only one shot on goal to see his five-game points streak come to an end. Scott Gomez leads the team with 12 points this postseason, including 10 assists.

The Senators were held to less than three goals by the Devils for the 14th time in 16 career playoff matches on Monday.

The Devils have been in this position once already in this postseason. They trailed the Tampa Bay Lightning two-games-to-one in the quarterfinals before winning three straight to take the series.