BOSTON - Daniel Alfredsson scored three goals in his second game after missing 11 with a shoulder injury as the Ottawa Senators ended an 11-game losing streak against goalie Tim Thomas with a 5-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Monday.
Mike Fisher had three assists and Filip Kuba, who returned from a four-game injury layoff, assisted on two of Alfredsson's goals as the Senators won their third straight game after losing five in a row. Thomas was replaced immediately after Alfredsson's second goal at 9:56 of the second period made it 3-0 on just nine shots by Ottawa.
Alfredsson completed his ninth career hat trick, including two in the playoffs, about three minutes later on a power play against goalie Tuukka Rask.
Daniel Paille ruined Brian Elliott's shutout bid when he converted a rebound at 4:23 of the third. Ottawa's final goal came at 11:05 of the period after Boston defenceman Dennis Wideman lost the puck when he skated into referee Dan O'Rourke, and Jonathan Cheechoo collected it and easily beat Rask.
The Senators tied the Bruins for second place in the Northeast Division with 54 points, 10 behind the Buffalo Sabres before their game at Phoenix on Monday night. Boston lost for the fifth time in six games.
Alfredsson also excelled in his first game back, a 4-2 win Saturday night over the Montreal Canadiens in which he had one goal and two assists. On Monday, he contributed to an impressive start by the Senators.
They scored on their second and third shots against Thomas, who entered with a 16-5-2 record and 1.43 goals-against average against the Senators.
Alex Kovalev scored his 12th goal at 7:39 of the first period after taking a pass from Fisher. Then Alfredsson scored the next three goals.
He made it 2-0 at 14:24 of the first with a shot over Thomas's right shoulder as Chris Phillips screened the goalie in the slot. Alfredsson's second goal came after Kuba's shot from the right point to the left of the crease, where Alfredsson was waiting and deflected it in.
At 13:14 of the second, Alfredsson completed his first hat trick since he had three goals and four assists Jan. 24, 2008 in Ottawa's 8-4 win at Tampa Bay. This time, he shot the puck from the left point through a crowd and past Rask.
The Bruins finally scored when Paille got his sixth goal on a rebound of a shot by Johnny Boychuk.
NOTES: The Boston Celtics were scheduled to play the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night in the same building, the TD Garden. ... Bruins forward Drew Larman made his NHL debut after being called up from the Providence Bruins of the AHL on Monday. ... The teams play again Saturday in Boston, wrapping up the season series. The Bruins lead 4-1-0. ... Ottawa's Anton Volchenkov played his 400th career game.
