Bruins 5, Senators 2
Daniel Paille scored two goals and Rich Peverley added a goal and an assist as the Boston Bruins cruised to their third straight win, 5-2 over the host Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.
Chris Kelly and Patrice Bergeron each added a goal and Tim Thomas made 47 saves for the Bruins, who became the first Eastern Conference team to reach 20 wins (20-9-1).
Playing its second straight game without captain Zdeno Chara due to a leg injury, Boston struggled on the blue line in the first period, turning the puck over and consistently having to be bailed out by Thomas.
But the Bruins’ offense took advantage of every opportunity. Peverley scored on a 4-on-4 situation with 7:50 left in the first, wristing a shot stick side past Craig Anderson after a fight between Milan Lucic and Matt Carkner seemed to wake up both sides.
The Senators got that tally back early in the second, but Kelly responded with his 12th goal, completing an odd-man rush.
Boston put it away early in the third, scoring two goals in less than a minute for the 11th time this season. Bergeron picked up a lazy turnover in the Ottawa zone and skated in unmarked to make it 3-1 and Shawn Thornton hit Paille in stride on a breakaway for a 4-1 edge.