Mike Condon made 21 saves in recording his fifth shutout of the season, Dion Phaneuf scored on a power play and the Senators beat the Devils 3-0 on Thursday night in Newark.
Erik Karlsson scored on a point shot that crawled into the net and Kyle Turris shot into an empty net in the final four minutes to give the Senators their third win in four games.
Cory Schneider stopped 32 shots, but the Devils lost for the second time in regulation (4-2-1) in their last seven games.
The Devils remain five points behind Toronto for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but it has played one more game.
“I thought for the most part we did the right things in the first two periods and then in the third, they just squeezed us a little harder and we were not able to execute quite as well and get in and get some sustained shots,” Schneider said. “They just outplayed us in the third, and when you are down a goal, that is not the way to go.”
Phaneuf broke a scoreless tie with a rocket from the left point with 1:59 left in the second period. The puck hit the upper right corner of the net and came out quickly, leaving some players wondering whether the puck had gone in the goal. A video review upheld Phaneuf’s ninth of the season and third in four games.
After the goal, the Senators shut down the Devils and did not allow a good scoring chance in the third period.
Karlsson made it 2-0 with a shot from the right point that Schneider slowed down but let trickle into the net.
Condon had the best saves in a scoreless first period. He stopped Beau Bennett in close six-plus minutes into the game. He denied Kyle Palmieri on a shot from the inside the right circle at 4:37 to go and seconds later stopped blast by defenseman Ben Lovejoy from between the circles.
Bennett also hit the post early in the second period.