Senators drop Bruins in OT to snap winless skid

OTTAWA -- Patrick Lalime was thinking positive even as the Ottawa Senators were being outshot by the Boston Bruins.

Zdeno Chara scored 54 seconds into overtime as the Senators ended a three-game winless skid with a 2-1 victory over the Bruins on Saturday night. Radek Bonk had tied the game for the Senators, who were outshot 27-14 after two periods, with 5:20 left in regulation.

"After we got that first goal, I had a good feeling," said Lalime, who made 34 saves. "It didn't seem like we had much going and then we got that first goal."

Chara -- at 6-9 and 255 pounds the NHL's tallest and heaviest player -- took a shot from the top of the slot that beat Byron Dafoe for his second goal of the season.

"It's frustrating when you can't score, but the guys kept working and shooting," Lalime said. "We got the big goal by the big man."

The Senators stopped a two-game losing streak with the win.

"We lost two straight games and we really needed to get some momentum back," Chara said.

Bill Guerin's goal 1:22 into the final period made it 1-0 for the Bruins, who fell to 3-5-3-1 on the road this season.

"That's the way Ottawa plays, a patient game," Boston coach Robbie Ftorek said. "I don't think we controlled the game, but we played well. We made a mistake along the boards in overtime and they scored."

Bonk, standing right in front of Dafoe, redirected Shawn McEachern's backhand pass from the corner to send the game into overtime with 5:20 left in the third period. It was Bonk's fifth goal but just his second since the first week of the season.

"It's a boost, especially before going on the road," Bonk said. "We got a really good goaltending performance, and that kept us in the game."

The Senators have not lost to the Bruins in their last six meetings at the Corel Centre and have dropped only one of their last 11 games against Boston (8-1-2).

Lalime turned back Joe Thornton with a strong save on a two-on-one four minutes into the game before Dafoe countered with great blocker and skate saves on Daniel Alfredsson and Karel Rachunek.

"We had the game in the bag with five minutes to go," Dafoe said. "I don't care about that one point. We should have had two, especially against a divisional team."

Notes: Saturday's game was the first of 16 that Ottawa plays in December, including nine on the road. The Senators play four games in a week twice this month and leave Ottawa on Sunday for games against Colorado on Monday, Dallas on Wednesday and Nashville on Thursday before playing host to Tampa Bay on Dec. 8.