DETROIT -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill's roll of the dice proved to be a winner.

Guy Boucher's gamble didn't pay off, but the Ottawa Senators coach was still delighted to come away from Joe Louis Arena with a much-needed point.

Evgeny Svechnikov, making his NHL debut, scored in the seventh round of the shootout to give Detroit a 5-4 victory over the Senators on Monday.

Ottawa (41-27-10) rallied from a 4-2, third-period deficit and slipped a point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs in the race for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Senators are tied with the Bruins for third, though Ottawa has a game in hand on Boston. Toronto beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on Monday, and the Bruins were idle.

"That was huge, because we stopped the slide and now we've got a chance to get the momentum back tomorrow," said Ottawa forward Kyle Turris, who had a goal and two assists.

The Red Wings and Senators meet again Tuesday in Ottawa.

Svechnikov, called up earlier in the day from AHL Grand Rapids, was the only shooter to score in the skills competition. He beat Craig Anderson with a backhand deke move, slipping the puck through the Ottawa goalie's legs.

"We had talked to Randy Cleves in Grand Rapids, who does the statistics down there," Blashill said. "I think he was 2-for-5, so we knew he had done a pretty good job, so I thought I'd give him a try.

"Obviously, it was a great move."

Looking to counter, Boucher then sent fellow rookie Colin White, who was also making his NHL debut, over the boards to take Ottawa's seventh shot. White failed to beat Detroit's Petr Mrazek, and the Wings were winners.

"They threw their kid, so we threw our kid," Boucher said. "That's where it was at."

Svechnikov made no attempt to temper his delight at such a memorable start to his NHL career.

"It just means so much," Svechnikov said. "I appreciate to be in this moment right now and it's just unbelievable. I think this day I'll never forget."

The Senators welcomed back captain Erik Karlsson, who was a surprise starter after missing two games with a foot injury. Karlsson, who leads the team with 70 points, collected a goal and an assist but was more interested in where the team was situated after concluding an 0-3-2 road trip.

"We have to remember that we're still in a great spot," Karlsson said. "Getting this point was a huge step forward, and now we can go home and make something happen."

Three times Detroit took the lead and each time the Senators rallied to tie the game, Goals by Turris and Fredrik Claesson 4:09 apart midway through the third period pulled Ottawa into a tie to force overtime. Alexandre Burrows also scored for the Senators.

"At 4-2, our guys are battling and fighting and clawing," Boucher said. "That's our season right there. That's us. It's been tough, it's been all kinds of stuff happening to us and we battle back."

The two teams went end to end trading chances in the five-minute overtime session that carried on without a single stoppage of play.

"That was a crazy overtime, a crazy shootout," Boucher said. "Obviously for fans it's great. We got an important point and we've got to keep moving."

Frans Nielsen, Dylan Larkin, Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist scored for the Wings (32-35-12), and Mrazek stopped 41 shots for the win.

Anderson made 29 saves.

NOTES: Ottawa F Bobby Ryan left the game with an upper-body injury and his status for Tuesday was uncertain. .... F Colin White, an alternate captain with Team USA's world junior gold medal-winning team this season, signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Senators on Sunday. ... Red Wings scratches were F Drew Miller, F Luke Glendening (ankle), F Anthony Mantha (finger) and D Ryan Sproul (knee). ... Senators scratches were D Marc Methot (finger), D Cody Ceci (leg), F Zack Smith (upper body), D Jyrki Jokipakka, F Ryan Dzingel and F Chris DiDomenico. ... Detroit F Andreas Athanasiou played his 100th NHL game. ... Detroit F Justin Abdelkader (USA), G Jimmy Howard (USA) and G Petr Mrazek (Czech Republic) all confirmed that they would be playing in the upcoming world championship.