Senators tie Canadiens on last-minute goal

MONTREAL -- Even with little time remaining, the Ottawa Senators never lost faith that they would get the goal they needed.

Daniel Alfredsson scored with 2:59 left, lifting the Senators into a 1-1 tie with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday in a game marked by strong goaltending.

"We knew that it would come sooner or later," Alfredsson said. "We knew that we had to be patient."

Alfredsson jumped on a rebound of Wade Redden's shot off goalie Jose Theodore's pads and sent the puck into an open right side for his team-leading 24th goal.

"Usually, in low-scoring games like that, those are the kind of goals you're going to get," Redden said. "It was good to see us bang one in like that. We'd been getting some shots, and Theodore played really well, so it'd good to see Alfie get that one and put it in."

Richard Zednik gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead with his 14th goal early in the period.

Theodore stopped 35 shots as Ottawa outshot Montreal 36-25, including 15-9 in the third.

"I was seeing the puck well today and the defense were taking care of the rebounds, and that made it a lot easier for me," Theodore said. "We had one bad bounce that went right onto (Alfredsson's) stick, but otherwise we played well."

The Senators remained unbeaten in regulation in their last five games (2-0-2-1).

"It was a game where both teams really needed their points," Alfredsson said.

Sergei Berezin made his Canadiens debut after he was acquired from Phoenix on Friday night in a trade that sent left winger Brian Savage to the Coyotes. Berezin, who had three shots, was held pointless.

"It was difficult, not just physically but also mentally," Berezin said. "Even though I expected to be traded, it's still a shock when it happens. A lot of things were on my mind. I won't say I was 100 percent, but I'll be better tomorrow."

Theodore and Senators goalie Patrick Lalime (24 saves) did their parts to keep the game scoreless through two periods.

"It looked like they were almost waiting for a tie game," Alfredsson said. "It was a tough game to play because they didn't really come after us as I thought they would."

Then Zednik took a pass from Doug Gilmour and fired a slap shot from the left faceoff circle into the top right corner of the net 1:36 into the third.

"You can always say that you'd like to get that one back, but I thought it was a pretty good shot," Lalime said.

Theodore made a number of fine saves, including a stop on Radek Bonk with less than four minutes left in the first, to keep the game scoreless.

Theodore also had luck on his side moments later when Bonk fanned on a chance at a wide open net from the edge of the crease.

The Canadiens held an 8-5 edge in shots in the second period, and it was Lalime's turn to come up with some big stops, including one on a backhander by Zednik.

Notes: Montreal is two goals short of becoming the first franchise with 10,000 regular-season goals at home. ... The Senators held a 2-1 edge in shots in overtime. ... Alfredsson scored for the second consecutive game after scoring once in his 10 previous games. ... Defenseman Craig Rivet had the first four of Montreal's five minor penalties.