Senators Get One Past Devils

Shaun Van Allen and the Ottawa Senators displayed a dramatic flair in their first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals.

Van Allen tipped Martin Havlat’s pass into an open net 3:08 into overtime Saturday night, lifting Ottawa to a 3-2 series-opening win over the New Jersey Devils. The Senators won despite squandering an early 2-0 lead.

The Presidents’ Trophy winners haven’t lost a playoff game this season in which they’ve scored. Ottawa was shut out once by the New York Islanders and twice by Philadelphia in the first two rounds.

Chris Neil and Todd White also scored for the Senators, making their first third-round appearance in their 11-year history.

Patrick Lalime, who finished with 32 saves, set a playoff record with his 11th consecutive game of giving up two goals or fewer.

Joe Nieuwendyk and Jay Pandolfo scored for the Devils, and Martin Brodeur made 27 saves. New Jersey is in the Eastern Conference finals for the third time in four years.

Van Allen’s first playoff goal in 55 career games came with relative ease. On a 2-on-1 break, he fed a pass across to Havlat, which drew Brodeur out to the top of the crease. Havlat sent the puck back to Van Allen, who had an open net at which to shoot.

The Senators improved to 9-3 in the playoffs, while New Jersey lost its first Game 1 this season and fell to 8-3.