GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion stepped into the press box elevator at Gila River Arena after the second period and asked to ride it down to the 100 level to watch the third period.

"With what I'm seeing up here, I want to puke," said Dorion, whose team trailed the Arizona Coyotes.

The change in perspective proved beneficial. Defenseman Erik Karlsson had two goals and an assist, including the game-winner on a 2-on-0 break in overtime, and Mike Condon made 39 saves as the Senators won their fifth straight game with a 3-2 victory over the Coyotes on Thursday night.

The win pulled Ottawa within two points of Montreal for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Senators have two games in hand.

"We're playing well right now," said Karlsson, who scored the game-winner 40 seconds into overtime after Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson missed a drop pass from Radim Vrbata at the other end. "We're finding ways to win games and we're getting contributions from different guys at different times and the depth is really helping us at this time of year."

Arizona got goals from Brendan Perlini and Lawson Crouse but blew a third-period lead to lose for the sixth time in its last eight games. Mike Smith made 28 saves for Arizona, but he had no chance on the final two goals.

"That's the repercussions of not doing the job," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said of the Coyotes' recent rash of mistakes.

The Coyotes jumped on top when Tobias Rieder chipped a loose puck up the boards to a streaking Brendan Perlini on the left wing. Perlini used his speed to get a half step on the defense and snapped a shot through Condon's pads for a 1-0 lead at 11:30 of the second period for his 11th goal of the season.

It was Perlini's first goal in 11 games since he had two against Los Angeles on Feb. 16.

Senators center Jean-Gabriel Pageau tied it 41 seconds later when he corralled the rebound of Fredrik Claesson's shot from the point and chipped it over Smith at 12:11. It was Pageau's ninth goal of the season and his third straight game with a goal.

Arizona regained the lead at 17:49 of the second period when Crouse blocked a Karlsson shot at one end and then emerged from a scrum with the puck at the other end. The 6-foor-4 Crouse used his long reach to wrap the puck around the far side of the net and in before Condon could get to the post for a 2-1 lead. It was his fourth goal of the season and first in 12 games.

The Coyotes had a chance to widen the lead with a 5-on-3 power play early in the third period, but Arizona's power play went 0 for 4 in the game and has converted just two times in its last 30 chances over 10 games.

"We need to do a better job of capitalizing, shooting things like that on the power play," Perlini said. "Just keeping it simple, doing anything to get a goal."

Karlsson tied the score at 12:47 of the third period when he was left unattended at the far post during a goal-mouth scramble. Smith made a terrific save on Pageau at the near post, but the puck squirted off defenseman Connor Murphy's skate to Karlsson, who pushed it into an open net for his 12th goal of the season and second point of the night. Karlsson has 17 points in his last 14 games.

"I was dreading this game," Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said. "I've seen the other back-to-backs going on in the league right now. At this time of the year, unless the other team is also on a back-to-back or you're playing the same team on a back-to-back, you're so much behind the 8-ball and you could feel it even in the first period.

"We had to reload mentally, emotionally for the third period, which we did. We found a way."

NOTES: Senators RW Mark Stone left the game with upper- and lower-body injuries in the third period and did not return. ... Coyotes RW Radim Vrbata became the 310th player in NHL history to play in 1,000 games and the 12th to do so as a member of the Coyotes/Jets franchise. ... Senators C Kyle Turris missed his second straight game with a finger injury. Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said Turris could miss the team's entire three-game trip, which concludes Saturday in Denver. ... Senators D Mark Borowiecki missed the game with an undisclosed injury. Fredrik Claesson took his spot on the third defensive pairing alongside Chris Wideman. ... Senators RW Christopher DiDomenico made his NHL debut, playing on the third line with C Zack Smith and Ryan Dzingel. ... Coyotes D Kevin Connauton (upper body) and C Alexander Burmistrov (concussion) missed their third and fourth straight games, respectively. They are listed as day to day.