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Devils aim for 2nd straight win vs. Senators

Dec 18, 2013 - 3:29 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The New Jersey Devils will try to win consecutive games for the first time this month as they continue their homestand against the Ottawa Senators.

The Devils closed out November with back-to-back victories over Carolina and Buffalo, but have gone just 2-4-1 this month. They were able to snap a two- game slide on Monday with a 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning that featured Martin Brodeur's third shutout of the season.

Dainius Zubrus scored a pair of third-period goals and Damien Brunner also lit the lamp, while Jaromir Jagr notched two assists in the opener of a three-game residency.

Brodeur, meanwhile, came up with a number of big saves in his first start since allowing five goals in a loss to Columbus last Tuesday. The effort on Saturday extended his NHL record with 124 career shutouts.

"It's what you play hockey for, to be able to finish and nobody scores on you. That's the job of a goalie, so when you get them (shutouts) it's always nice," said Brodeur.

While the Devils look to come out of a mini-break with a victory, the Senators try to keep the momentum going from a 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues on Monday.

Defenseman Cody Ceci scored his first career goal in his third NHL game, beating former Sens goaltender Brian Elliott with a shot from the right point 3:59 into overtime.

The 15th overall pick of the 2012 draft, the goal was Ceci's first NHL point and came less than a week before his 20th birthday this Saturday.

"It's a special moment. It couldn't have happened at a better time," Ceci said.

Bobby Ryan and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also lit the lamp for the Senators, 3-1-2 in their last six games, and Robin Lehner stopped 30-of-32 shots.

Lehner is expected to make his second straight start since relieving Craig Anderson in last Saturday's setback to the Los Angeles Kings. Anderson yielded two goals on four shots faced before getting pulled.

Lehner has faced the Devils just once before and that came back on Feb. 1, 2011 in New Jersey. He took a 2-1 loss despite 31 saves.

Anderson made 40 saves in a 5-2 home win over the Devils on Oct. 17 in the first meeting of the season between the clubs. The win was Ottawa's fourth straight over New Jersey and seventh in the past 10 meetings.

The Sens have won two straight on the road in this series, but have still lost eight of the previous 11 in New Jersey.

Brodeur gave up four goals on 22 shots in the earlier loss, falling to 36-24-3 with four ties, six shutouts and a 2.20 goals against average in his career against the Senators.