What do you get when you mix two NHL clubs who've recently been struggling to take command of their games? A shootout, of course.

Alex Kovalev and Daniel Alfredsson scored in the shootout to help the Ottawa Senators end a tough road trip with a 4-3 win in Anaheim on Sunday night.

Kovalev, who hasn't scored an official goal in 13 games, was at his dazzling best while roofing a backhander on a deke move in the shootout, while Alfredsson fired a wrister that beat Jean-Sebastien Giguere to the short side.

Ryan Getzlaf scored on a goal Senators netminder Brian Elliott might have regretted had two other Ducks not sent their shots off target to give Ottawa (14-10-4) the much-needed win.

It was a game in which the Senators, on three occasions, took the lead. Anaheim needed a grand total of 98 seconds to reply to each of those goals.

"I thought our guys showed a lot of resilience," Senators coach Cory Clouston said. "All three times we scored, they scored the next shift. Sometimes that can be very deflating, but I liked our character."

Jason Spezza was the most impressive Senators skater, finishing with a goal and an assist. Jarkko Ruutu and Filip Kuba also scored.

Elliott, who has been carrying the load since No. 1 goalie Pascal Leclaire went down, battled all night to finish with 33 saves.

The Ottawa goalie was victimized on a fluky Ryan Getzlaf goal in the first that bounced off the glass and in, and went down early on Corey Perry's shot to make it 3-3 in the third. Otherwise, Elliott gave the Senators what they needed.

Perry and Getzlaf assisted on Joffrey Lupul's goal, with Giguere making 26 saves in net.

The Ducks are winless in five games (0-2-3). While they gained a point, Anaheim (10-13-6) is still in the basement of the Western Conference.

"It's desperation for us right now," Perry said. "We're at the 30-game mark. We have to put something together and go on a run here or we're going to be out of it pretty soon. Everybody has to come together and be a team in here. That is how we have to play."

The game pitted the two clubs from the 2007 Stanley Cup final, though each has been overhauled dramatically since then.

Elliott started strongly, denying Saku Koivu in close. Senators defenceman Matt Carkner got the better of George Parros in a fight, which appeared to give the visitors a boost.

Ruutu batted a puck out of the air for his fifth to open the scoring at the 12:01 mark.

Just 15 seconds later, Getzlaf's innocent dump-in caromed wildly past Elliott, who had left his crease to play the puck.

"It just hit one of the stanchions and went to the far side of the net, so I couldn't get it," Elliott said. "Bad bounce, but what are you going to do? That is what you've got to tell yourself — you are playing well, don't worry about that, we'll get it back and just keep going."

Ottawa was resolute during a power-play scramble to go back up at 15:17. Kovalev set up the score with a stickhandling display, and after Alfredsson tested Giguere with his shot, Spezza poked in the rebound.

Spezza has scored two of his three goals on the season within the last six games.

The Ottawa defence responded by backing too quickly into their own end in front of Elliott, which allowed Getzlaf unimpeded progress to setup Lupul for a snapshot goal. Lupul now has four goals and an assist in his last five games.

After a scoreless second, Ottawa found the mark just 64 seconds into the third. Spezza wheeled around the Anaheim net and found Kuba creeping in the slot.

Nick Foligno, back in the lineup Saturday in the loss to Phoenix after time spent in the press box, also assisted on the play.

The Senators' defence again beat a hasty retreat on Perry's goal. Elliott was on his knees, allowing the backhander to go over his shoulder.

Ottawa carried the play in overtime but could not net the winner. The shootout result puts the Senators one point out of sixth in the Eastern Conference.

"This is an end to the first chapter of the year. We've got this long road trip over with and now we are going back home," Elliott said. "We are going to be playing a lot of games every other night now, so it's going to be another big test. But getting a win tonight was big for us."

Going forward, the Senators will want to fine tune the power play. While Spezza's goal came with the man advantage, Ottawa couldn't connect in the second period with 47 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play.

Each goaltender had scary moments late in the game. Elliott was clipped by a skate, emerging unscathed, while Giguere had to shake off a shot to his mask.

Ottawa, which went 1-3-1 on its road trip, return to the friendlier confines of Scotiabank Place for a game Tuesday against division rival Montreal.

With files from The Associated Press