In Newark, Dougie Hamilton scored early in the third period to snap a 3-3 tie and help send the New Jersey Devils to a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.
Tomas Tatar scored into an empty net for the 5-3 final.
“It’s what we wanted, and we got it now, but from here on the work starts,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “We’ll use the remaining nine games to get to our best level we can play as a team.”
The two teams traded goals through the first 40 minutes with Brady Tkachuk getting a goal for a 1-0 lead to Ottawa in the opening stanza, before Jack Hughes tied it, 1-1, headed to the second period.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves in the win.
“It’s my first time we’re in playoffs, so it’s exciting times,” Blackwood said. “It’s a great group here. We’re excited to see what we can do, and we have a lot of belief in the room.”
New Jersey moved to 46-19-8, and clinched a playoff berth.
“I went into the dressing room after the game and said I’m proud of the work that was put in, proud of where we got to clinch tonight, and to be one of three teams that have an X next to their name,” New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. “Part one, we set our goal to play meaningful games and to be in the playoffs, so we accomplished that. Part two is to make sure we don’t mess up what happened in part one.”
In the second period, New Jersey took a 3-1 lead on goals from Jesper Bratt and Dawson Mercer.
The Senators dropped to 35-33-5.
“That’s a good team, some speedy forwards,” Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. “I thought we had some looks in the third period, and we did everything that we could. We tried. They just find a way to win.”
Ottawa rallied to tie the game, 3-3, on markers from Thomas Chabot and Mark Kastelic.
“We knew they were on the second end of a back-to-back (New Jersey lost 5-4 to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday), so we knew they were going to be humming there early,” Tkachuk said. “It’s frustrating because it’s crucial at this point in the season, so definitely frustrating.”
Dylan Ferguson made 30 saves in the Ottawa loss.
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