OTTAWA, Ontario _ Cory Schneider had been looking to re-establish himself as a No. 1 goalie, and a reliable No. 1 option at that, following a few years of hip injuries. But with Keith Kinkaid playing like one of the best goalies in the NHL, Schneider has limited opportunities.
He got his second opportunity of the season on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators, but it didn't last long. The Senators scored six straight goals to erase the Devils 2-0 lead and Schneider was charged with four of them in a 7-3 loss at Canadian Tire Center.
But rarely can the blame be placed fully on the goaltender, and it was no different in this instance. One night after an emotional victory in Pittsburgh against the Penguins, the Devils fell back into the same habits that led them into the slump they thought they broke out of back in Pennsylvania.
They took too many penalties, they couldn't get out on the forecheck and they turned the puck over in their own end.
Things got interesting in the final five minutes with Kinkaid (15 saves) pulled and a power play with 4:15 left. But the Devils failed to convert on 6-on-4 chance and Ottawa's Magnus Paajarvi ended the threat with an empty-net goal with 1:59 left on the clock.
Nico Hischier had a two-point night assisting on both of the top line's goals. Taylor Hall sniped one past Craig Anderson 3:14 into the game and at 11:20 Kyle Palmieri made it 2-0 when he caught the puck on his backhand and beat Anderson.
But less than a minute later, Thomas Chabot one-timed a pass from Bobby Ryan past Schneider and 53 seconds later Mark Stone tied the game at 2-2.
Things quickly fell apart in the second period. Colin White scored twice, the first goal coming just 2:27 into play and Stone made it 4-2 at the 7:35 mark.
Schneider was then replaced after stopping only 18 of 22 shots faced. Kinkaid helped keep the game at 4-2 until the final minutes of the period.
Miles Wood crosschecked White behind the Devils' net to give the Senators a power play. White caught a loose puck in the crease and deflected it past Kinkaid to make it 5-2.
Ryan Dzingel pushed the game even further out of reach with a goal at 10:11 in the third. Travis Zajac got a stick on a shot by Blake Coleman to get one back for the Devils with 5:47 left to play but it was far too little too late.
The Senators came into the game reeling after yet another embarrassing public relations incident. Players were caught on an Uber dashcam in Arizona bemoaning the state of the team and most notably, assistant coach Martin Raymond and his inability to run special teams units. The video was posted by the driver and quickly taken down but chaos ensued, as it tends to in Ottawa.
But the Senators ultimately proved to be the more resilient of the two teams on the ice Tuesday night.
