McEachern, Senators end slumps, tame Wild

OTTAWA -- Shawn McEachern can put all those well-intentioned pep talks behind him.

McEachern scored for the first time in 22 games and the Ottawa Senators stopped a two-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

"I was happy to get the goal, that's all I can say," McEachern said. "It's been a while and I've had people talk to me about, 'Keep your confidence' and 'I've got a good feeling tonight -- tonight's going to be the night,' so it's finally good to have a night where you get a goal."

Chris Herperger, Martin Havlat and Marian Hossa also scored for the Senators. Patrick Lalime made 22 saves as Ottawa outshot Minnesota 40-23.

Wes Walz scored for Minnesota, which won 3-1 in Columbus on Friday for its only victory in its past six games (1-3-2-0).

"We looked like a little bit of a tired hockey team in the third period, but credit to them, they jumped all over us," Wild forward Andrew Brunette said.

McEachern, who wasn't initially credited with a goal, swept Radek Bonk's rebound past goalie Manny Fernandez 3:53 into the third to put Ottawa up 3-1.

Bonk, who had two assists, was originally awarded the goal but a review by the official scorer determined that McEachern's stick made contact with the puck to propel it into the net, not Bonk's backhand attempt at his own rebound.

"There's nothing you can do about that," McEachern said about the original goal announcement. "I thought I scored."

The goal, his seventh of the season, was his first since a 4-2 loss in Colorado on Dec. 3.

Senators defenseman Wade Redden lost an assist as a result of the scoring change.

"I'd rather give him a goal than have an assist there," Redden said. "He's been kind of squeezing the stick hard there for a month or more so it's good to see him get one."

Hossa put a wrist shot over Fernandez's right shoulder for his 19th goal with 5:44 remaining to close out the scoring.

With the game tied 1-1 and Ottawa holding a two-man advantage in the second period, Redden and Daniel Alfredsson teamed up deep in Minnesota's zone to strip the puck off Walz and set up Havlat for his 17th of the season.

"I think (Walz) looked up and thought he had a lot of time, and both of us stepped right up -- if he gets it by us, it's probably a breakaway the other way," Alfredsson said.

Havlat beat Fernandez through the legs from the slot with 41 seconds left in the 5-on-3.

"That was a big goal for us," Alfredsson said. "Sometimes you've got to take chances, and I think that was the right time to do it."

Alfredsson was credited with an assist on the goal, while Redden wasn't.

"It went off my foot -- I don't know if Alfie touched it, too, or not," Redden said. "I didn't say anything -- it's not a big deal. Nowadays, points mean something, but you hate to go ask about them. It's a goal and we took the lead there so that's the important thing."

After a scoreless first period, Walz opened the scoring 7:59 into the second with his ninth goal of the season as he got behind Redden to beat Lalime on a breakaway.

Herperger tied it at 10:40. Herperger put Andre Roy's backhand pass from behind the net into the left side of the net from the edge of the crease for his third goal.

NOTES: Minnesota is in the midst of a five-game road trip. The Wild play in Anaheim on Wednesday before completing their longest trip of the season the following night in Los Angeles. . . . McEachern has averaged just over 30 goals per season over the past three seasons. . . . Senators defenseman Chris Phillips returned to the lineup after missing 15 games because of a hyper-extended left elbow.