Nilsson makes 45 saves for Senators to shut out Ducks

OTTAWA --Anders Nilsson made 45 saves for the Ottawa Senators in a 4-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.

It was Nilsson's first shutout with the Senators and fifth in the NHL.
"I felt pretty comfortable, even though I think I had more than a few lucky bounces, and caught a few lucky breaks," Nilsson said. "But some nights, you need that on your side."
WATCH: [All Ducks vs. Senators highlights]
The Ducks (21-25-9) lost their sixth straight game and are 2-15-3 in their past 20 games.
"It's not fun," forward Corey Perry said. "There's some dark clouds over this team right now. We've got to find a way to get the sunshine back out and play with confidence and have fun again. Hockey's a fun sport to play, but you've got to find a way to dig yourself out of it."
Matt Duchene scored two goals, and Mark Stone had a goal and an assist for Ottawa (20-29-5), which ended a five-game losing streak (0-5-0).

"Five [losses in a row] was probably more than we deserved," Duchene said. "It was nice tonight to get rewarded. I thought we were really sound, we got great goaltending tonight from [Nilsson], I thought it was a great effort, top to bottom."
Anaheim goalie John Gibson allowed two goals on 24 shots and did not return for the third period after he collided with teammate Jaycob Megna late in the second. Gibson was replaced by Chad Johnson, who made nine saves on 10 shots.
"We didn't score, you've got to score a goal to win a game," Ducks forward Adam Henrique said. "The details aren't strong enough to get away with winning 1-0 right now. Tonight, we had 40-something shots, but couldn't score. It's the same thing night in, night out right now. It's tough, but the only way out of it is together. We want to win in here, but we have to find a way."
The Senators took a 1-0 lead at 7:23 of the first period when Brady Tkachuk scored on the rebound of a Stone shot at the edge of the crease.
"He plays hard every night," Stone said of Tkachuk, who scored for the first time in seven games. "You can't ever question his work ethic or compete level. He works hard every night, every day he comes to the rink. It's always nice to see those guys score."

Duchene chipped the puck over Gibson's glove on a breakaway to make it 2-0 at 18:08 of the second period.
Stone scored with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle at 6:26 of the third for a 3-0 lead.
Duchene scored an empty-net goal with 31 seconds left to make it 4-0.
"I think the shutout was a bonus," Nilsson said. "It was great to get back winning again, and I think it's great for the whole team to snap this losing streak."

They said it

"Yeah, we had 40 shots or whatever it was, but did we have second opportunities? Were we inside trying to battle their [defense] and working for those second rebounds and third rebounds and hemming them in for periods at a time? That's where I think we've been a little lackadaisical." -- Ducks forward Corey Perry
"We still have to defend better. If you look at where their goals were scored from, in the area, they cannot have multiple chances in those areas." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle
"Coming in and getting a new opportunity, [Nilsson's] definitely showed us that he not only belongs, but he performs at a high level and he's given us some wins and again tonight he was very steady throughout the entire game." -- Senators coach Guy Boucher

Need to know

The Ducks have been outscored 31-6 during their losing streak. … Carlyle said Gibson was taken out of the game for precautionary reasons and will be re-evaluated. … Duchene's second goal was his 100th point with the Senators (47 goals, 53 assists in 113 games). … Ottawa forward
Jack Rodewald
left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. Boucher said he will be out "a couple of weeks."

What's next

Ducks:At the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NBCSP, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Senators: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday (2 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN1, TVAS, NHL.TV)