Sens shut out Canucks, extend unbeaten streak to 10

OTTAWA -- The Vancouver Canucks won't be too disappointed that they only play the Ottawa Senators once this season.

Daniel Alfredsson had a goal and an assist, and Patrick Lalime stopped all 26 shots he faced to lead the Senators to a 3-0 victory.

The win ran Ottawa's streak to 10 games (9-0-1), while the Canucks lost for the first time in five games (3-1-1).

"It's disappointing when you worked hard to get a winning streak going," Canucks captain Markus Naslund said of the opening game of Vancouver's six-game, nine-day road trip.

"It's not the way I would like to have (started)," coach Marc Crawford added. "We gave up a couple of chances and they capitalized.

"We didn't work that hard offensively, and we didn't battle."

Sami Salo and Mike Fisher also scored for Ottawa (12-6-2-0), unbeaten at home in seven games (6-0-1). The Senators' last home defeat was against New Jersey on Oct. 23.

Todd White had two assists.

Ottawa was held to 10 shots through two periods but took a 2-0 lead into the third. The Senators then chased Canucks goalie Dan Cloutier from the game following their third goal on their 14th shot.

Peter Skudra made three saves the rest of the way for Vancouver.

"In an 82-game schedule, you're going to have games when you're not firing on all cylinders and still win," Senators coach Jacques Martin said. "We did some of the little things that allow you to take control and win the game."

Ottawa will get a chance to tie the franchise record of 11 games without a loss, set in the 1998-99 season, Thursday night at home against Calgary.

"We want to keep this going as long as possible," said Alfredsson, who set up Salo's goal in the first period and scored his 10th in the third. "We didn't play our top game, (but) you find a way.

"That's what we're doing."

The shutout was Lalime's third of the season and 16th career in the regular season. He hasn't lost in six starts (5-0-1) and improved to 4-0 with two shutouts against the Canucks.

"They capitalized on their chances, and Lalime did the job when we had ours and we couldn't get one past him," center Trevor Linden said.

The Senators took the lead on Salo's first goal of the season with their second shot on Cloutier. The defenseman took a pass from Alfredsson and moved in from the left point before firing a wrist shot into the far corner at 6:37.

The Canucks had a couple of good opportunities later in the period when Lalime was forced to make point-blank saves off Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi on back-to-back chances to keep it 1-0.

The lead held until the second period when Fisher converted Martin Havlat's rebound at 9:14. Alfredsson completed the scoring at 6:25 of the third, knocking in the rebound of Karel Rachunek's point shot.

"We got the result we wanted to, but we didn't create as much as we wanted," Fisher said. "It was a bit scrambly tonight, but we buried our chances when we got them.

"We're playing with such confidence."

Notes: Vancouver right winger Trent Klatt left the team Tuesday with an abdominal injury. He returned home to see doctors and won't rejoin the Canucks for the remainder of the trip. . . . The Canucks recalled forward Herbert Vasiljevs from Manitoba of the AHL.