Ottawa in Control After 5-2 Victory

So much for the Ottawa Senators being vulnerable in the first round of the NHL playoffs because of rookie goaltender Ray Emery.

Emery stopped 30 shots and Martin Havlat scored for the fourth straight game Thursday night at Tampa, Fla., leading the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded team to a 5-2 victory that pushed the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning to the brink of elimination.

The Senators lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series, 3-1, and can close it out by winning Game 5 in Ottawa on Saturday night.

To stay alive, the Lightning has to win three in a row against an opponent it has beaten only three times in 24 meetings over the last five seasons.

Dany Heatley had a goal and two assists for Ottawa, and Jason Spezza, Chris Phillips and Chris Neil each scored a goal.

Havlat, who assisted on Heatley’s goal, has eight points in the series after sitting out 58 regular- season games because of a dislocated shoulder.

Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards scored in the first period for Tampa Bay, which sputtered after a strong start.

Detroit 4, Edmonton 2 -- Nicklas Lidstrom scored the winning goal during a two-man advantage in the third period at Edmonton, and the Red Wings evened their best-of-seven Western Conference series at 2-2 with Game 5 Saturday in Detroit.

Mathieu Schneider had three assists for the Red Wings, who ended a two-game losing streak despite playing without captain Steve Yzerman, who was out because of a back injury.

San Jose 5, Nashville 4 -- Patrick Marleau scored three goals at San Jose for his third postseason hat trick, and the Sharks pushed the Predators to the brink of elimination in their best-of-seven Western Conference series.

Marleau had two power-play goals in the second period and a third-period tip-in.