OTTAWA, Ontario — The Devils are the only team in the NHL without a win.
The 0-4-3 New Jersey squad was upended by Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza, who each had a goal and two assists, and some marvelous goalie work by Craig Anderson as the Senators roared past the Devils, 5-2, on Thursday night.
Martin Brodeur was far from his best in facing 23 shots and letting up four goals. Travis Zajac and Steve Bernier scored for New Jersey, but the team couldn’t figure out Anderson, who stopped 39 shots for Ottawa.
“He was battling out there,” Brodeur said. “It wasn’t real pretty to watch, but he got it done. It’s exciting goaltending, there’s no doubt about that. He’s the reason they got two points.”
Bobby Ryan, Zack Smith, Milan Michalek also scored for the Senators, who frustrated the Devils throughout.
“It’s never easy,” Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. “We didn’t quit. We dug in and tried to battle out of the hole.”
Karlsson set the tone early, opening the scoring four minutes into the game, taking a great feed from Ryan and beating Brodeur with a blast on the Senators’ first shot of the game, giving Ottawa a lead it wouldn’t relent.
“We’re seven games in and we haven’t found a way to get a win yet,” Ryan Carter said. “You outshoot a team in the 40s and they’re in the 20s and you end up on the wrong end of the scoreboard. There’s no question it’s desperate times.”