OTTAWA — Jonathan Bernier made 35 saves for the Detroit Red Wings in a 2-0 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.
It was Bernier’s first shutout of the season and 17th in the NHL.
“It was nice to get a few shots right off the bat, coming back from the [mandatory five-day] break,” Bernier said. “But I felt pretty good. My morning felt good, even if I didn’t practice. Mentally, I felt sharp.”
[WATCH: All Red Wings vs. Senators highlights]
Danny DeKeyser and Darren Helm scored for the Red Wings (21-25-7), who have won three in a row and five of their past seven.
“We kind of salted a way to win, defensively,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “You’d like to score that next one, that’s the easiest way to make sure you win the hockey game, but from a defensive standpoint, I thought we were good.”
Video: DET@OTT: DeKeyser opens scoring with slap shot
Craig Anderson made 19 saves for the Senators (19-28-5), who lost their fourth straight after winning four of their previous five games.
“I don’t think the effort was disappointing, the result was,” Ottawa defenseman Dylan DeMelo said. “I think we were right there. I think we dictated the play for good chunks of that game, I think the majority of the game.”
DeKeyser gave Detroit a 1-0 lead at 12:04 of the first period on a slap shot from the point that got through traffic.
“It’s funny how this game works,” DeKeyser said. “Sometimes you’re getting tons of chances and everything just stays out, hits the post, wide, whatever, and then sometimes they just start going in. It’s definitely nice when they go in.”
Helm scored 41 seconds later to make it 2-0, finishing a give-and-go with Martin Frk on a backhand after deking Anderson.
Video: DET@OTT: Helm scores in 600th NHL game
Ottawa outshot Detroit 35-21 in the game, including 13-5 in the third period.
“It’s always tough when you’re playing against a defensively responsible team when you go down 2-0 in the first period,” Senators forward Zack Smith said. “I thought we did a good job keeping our heads up and pushing forward. We had lots of shots, but [Bernier] played well. He didn’t give up a lot of second chances in front of the net and we couldn’t find a way to get one past him tonight. It was a bit frustrating.”
Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin did not play because of an oblique muscle injury, but Blashill said before the game there’s a chance he could play in Detroit’s next game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
“When you lose guys, you feel it way more if guys don’t step up,” Blashill said. “When guys step up and play great hockey, then you don’t feel those losses as much. We’ve got a number of forwards that, I think, on a consistent basis, would like more ice time.”
Video: Bernier earns Saturday’s Pepsi Zero Sugar Shutout
They said it
“We didn’t really play well enough, not even close to where it needs to be. We had a great goaltending performance tonight and that’s what made the difference. It’s nice to be on the right side of these things where you’re not necessarily playing your best but you still get away with two points. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to be better than that.” — Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall
“It’s a tough one because it was probably our biggest disparity of the year between shots, [ours] and theirs, and we’ve got nothing to show for it. So that’s tough.” — Senators coach Guy Boucher
Need to know
Red Wings general manager Ken Holland won his 914th regular-season game, moving him past Jack Adams for most in Detroit history. … Helm played his 600th NHL game. … Senators forward Mark Stone has three points (two goals, one assist) in his past eight games.
What’s next
Red Wings: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-D, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)
Senators: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SN, SN360, TVAS, NHL.TV)
from A Viral Update http://bit.ly/2D4vf6A
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