Markstrom stops 30 of 31 for Devils in win against Senators 

OTTAWA -- Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves for the New Jersey Devils in a 3-1 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.

“Outstanding,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said of Markstrom. “Just terrible that he doesn’t get the shutout that he deserves in this one here. … I thought in the early going of the game, the first period, he was really strong and really kind of let us get our legs going and keep going in the game. That’s really what you want from your goaltender, to give you a chance to hang around in the game, find your game and then once you have it, you have the confidence that he’s going to be able to help you take care of it.”

Markstrom, who was acquired from the Calgary Flames in a trade for defenseman Kevin Bahl and a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft on June 19, is 3-2-0 in his first five starts with the Devils.

“It feels good,” Markstrom said. “I think the more games we play together, the better chemistry I feel like we’re having, especially me with the [defensemen] and all that stuff. I thought they did a fantastic job today and the penalty kill is doing a great job all year. The guys made it easy for me today.”

Paul Cotter, Erik Haula and Nathan Bastian scored for New Jersey (5-2-0), which was coming off a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

“We’ve been good with our responses so far this year,” Haula said. “Even if a team gets a goal or whatnot, the next couple shifts our response has been good. And same with games. We try to have a motto of not to lose two in a row.”

Brady Tkachuk scored, and Anton Forsberg made 32 saves for Ottawa (2-2-0).

“I definitely thought their goalie played well, but I think collectively, as a forward, we’ve got to get there and make it harder for him,” Ottawa forward Nick Cousins said. “I thought he saw a lot of pucks. We’ve got to make it harder for them to take the ice away and get more traffic. I mean, overall, I thought it was an even game. They just kind of capitalized on some of their chances.”

Haula gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 2:39 of the second period when he tipped Johnathan Kovacevic's point shot past Forsberg.

“I liked our second period a lot,” Keefe said. “We took hold of the game and didn’t give up much. And when we did, I thought it was really from the perimeter.”

Bastian made it 2-0 at 6:26 with a short-handed goal. He elected to shoot on a 2-on-1 and beat Forsberg with a wrist shot low blocker side from the left circle.

“If you're a hockey person and you watch the game, it’s tight. You had to work for everything you got,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “Their top guys weren't getting a lot done, our guys weren't getting a lot done. A lot of NHL games go that way. Maybe you wait for a power play and you strike then. … They get the short-handed goal, which I thought was a big goal in a tight-checking game. There's going to be a lot of nights where you kind of got to earn everything you get.”

Cotter pushed it to 3-0 at 12:39 of the third period, dropping to one knee as he one-timed a rebound in the slot for his fifth goal of the season.

“You need to be able to play with the lead and you need to be good when you’re chasing,” Markstrom said. “Today, we were up 2-0 to go into the third and after we scored in the third, I thought we did a great job and didn’t give them much at all.”

Tkachuk cut it to 3-1 at 18:55, redirecting Claude Giroux’s wrist shot from the slot past Markstrom on the power play with the Senators’ net empty.

“We're also trying to define our game. I think we're getting there,” Green said. “Both teams play fast. It was a fast-skating game. There wasn't a lot of room to move out there for either team. Both goalies played well. We hit a few posts (four). It was a close game.”

NOTES: Cotter has five goals in seven games this season. He had seven goals in 76 games in 2023-24. … Ottawa defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker had two shots and was minus-1 in 14:55 of ice time in his season debut.