OTTAWA -- An emotional night at Canadian Tire Centre ended with a big sigh of relief from the Ottawa Senators.

Sparked by the return of veteran winger Clarke MacArthur from an 18-month absence battling concussion issues, the Senators snapped a five-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

The victory inched the Senators closer to securing their first playoff spot since 2015.

"It was nice to just get back and play," MacArthur, who saw 9:44 of ice time in his first game since Oct. 14, 2015, said while fighting back tears. "I was just managing the emotions throughout the game.

"I wasn't sure I was going to get back. It's great to get back with the guys. Obviously it's a big win, so it's nice."

The victory lifted the Senators (42-27-10) into second place in the tight Atlantic Division. Ottawa and the Boston Bruins (44-30-6) have 94 points, but the Senators have a game in hand. The fourth-place Toronto Maple Leafs (39-25-15) have 93 points.

Craig Anderson made 24 saves for his fifth shutout and a single season franchise-tying 10th for the Senators.

"It was a good win for us," said Anderson, who was also emotional while being acknowledged prior to the opening face-off for playing his 500th career game last week. "We were due. We were starting to play some good hockey and we weren't getting rewarded for it. I think tonight everything kind of turned for us a little bit, but it started a couple of games ago."

Erik Karlsson and Tom Pyatt scored for the Senators. Jimmy Howard made 22 saves for the Red Wings (32-36-12), who will miss the playoffs after 25 consecutive appearances.

"It was two teams that didn't really have much going," said Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, whose team beat the Senators 5-4 in a shootout Monday night in Detroit. "They scored two, we didn't score any. Overall there was not much going on."

Karlsson's opened the scoring at 12:59 of the first period with his 17th of the season, a sharp angled shot from below the right wing face-off circle that beat Howard over the left shoulder.

Pyatt scored his ninth at 7:49 of the second period with a shot that changed directions before going through Howard's legs.

"Both of those can't go in," Howard said. "Just can't go in.

"Guys don't quit in here. There have been mistakes over the course of the year that really cost us. When it comes to hard work, I don't question it one bit in this dressing room."

After a slow start, the Senators limited the Red Wings to three shots on goal in the second period.

"I can remember (those) shots," Anderson said. "You've just got to be ready for every occasion. Sometimes we give up 12 or 15 shots a period, sometimes we give up three or four. That's the battle of playing in the net."

Karlsson, who missed two games last week with a lower body injury, saw only 21:16 of ice time. His workload was reduced after he banged his foot in the third, and because rookies Ben Harpur and Fredrik Claesson were picking up the slack.

"(It's) nothing really," Karlsson said of the injury. "I'm watching guys like Claesson and Harpur especially, and they played really well yesterday and even better today. The guys did a great job in controlling the game and we felt it wasn't really necessary to use me at the end, unless we really needed to, and it never got to that point. Just took some ice time off and rested up."

Karlsson also said the Senators received a boost with the return of MacArthur.

"We're really happy for him," Karlsson said. "He's battled really hard to get back this year, and this is just a statement of all the work he's put in."

MacArthur tested himself on his first shift, when he ran Niklas Kronwall into the boards to create a turnover and a scoring chance.

"You have a chance to forecheck, you go in and make that hit, and you don't know how you're going to react, or how it's going to go," he said. "I made the little play and felt good. Gave me a little confidence going forward."

Asked if it was the biggest game he has ever played, MacArthur struggled to maintain his composure.

"Probably the most nerve wracking game I've played, for sure," he said. "Just with the standings and everything on the line ... you just want to come out and do what you can do. Thankfully we got the win."

NOTES: Senators GM Pierre Dorion said before the game that three injured players, D Cody Ceci, LW Zack Smith and RW Bobby Ryan, should all be ready to return for the playoffs. The status of injured D Marc Methot is expected to be updated later this week ... Senators C Colin White was a healthy scratch one night after making his NHL debut in Detroit. The Senators also scratched D Jyrki Jokipakka ... Red Wings scratches were LW Drew Miller, RW Anthony Mantha and D Luke Glendening, all three of whom are injured ... This was the Red Wings last road game of the season. They played Montreal on Saturday and New Jersey on Sunday to close Joe Louis Arena ... Senators D Dion Phaneuf played his 900th NHL game.