New Jersey 1, Ottawa 0

DEVILS 1, SENATORS 0:Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 400th NHL goal and Johan Hedberg made 34 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as sixth-place New Jersey extended the gap to five points between itself and seventh-place Ottawa in the Eastern Conference.

The Devils also moved to within three points of Philadelphia for fifth in the conference after the Flyers fell at home to the Florida Panthers.

After the teams played scoreless hockey for more than half the game, Kovalchuk scored his 31st goal of the season at 17:20 of the middle frame.

On the point on the power play, Kovalchuk one-timed a pass from Marek Zidlicky that found the back of the net over goalie Ben Bishop’s right shoulder. It was his first goal in his last five games.

Hedberg was solid throughout the game – particularly in the last few minutes as New Jersey killed off two penalties – but his highlight came in the first period when he stopped Erik Condra on a penalty shot. Hedberg stayed with Condra and shut the five-hole when he snapped a shot.

Bishop, who fell to 3-2-2, stopped 33 of 34 shots.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Ottawa leading scorer Jason Spezza did not play due to an illness. … Ottawa was 0 for 3 on the power play and is 0 for 21 in its last six games. … New Jersey snapped a two-game losing skid. … The Devils were 1 for 4 with the man-advantage.

• Ottawa will play their next game on the road against Ottawa . The Senators have a W/L % of .579 after a win and .417 after a loss.
• New Jersey will play their next game at home against Toronto . The Devils have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .562 after a loss.