Rolston's short-handed goal ties it

OTTAWA (AP) -- Once the Boston Bruins got a chance to protect a late lead they made the most of it.

Joe Thornton scored with 9:03 left and Boston ended a season-high, five-game winless streak Saturday night with a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Thornton scored the go-ahead goal off a turnover in the Ottawa zone. Bruins defenseman Nick Boynton stopped the puck at the blue line and set up Thornton, who beat goalie Patrick Lalime through the legs with a shot from the left circle.

"It's been a long time since we've had a lead with about five minutes left in the game," Thornton said. "When the red light went on, I just said, `Thank God! We're up 3-2 and now we've just got to put the dagger in.' It was a good feeling."

Brian Rolston scored a short-handed goal in the second period to tie it at 2 after making a superb pass to set up Glen Murray's opening goal 6:32 in.

Boston, 0-2-3 over the course of its streak, won for just the second time in 11 games.

"We've been trying to step up," Rolston said. "We've had a lot of games that we've been tying, and we haven't played our best. It seems like we were going out there and working hard, but not necessarily smart. Tonight, we did both. We made a couple of no-brainers but we came out with a big win for us."

The Senators fell to 1-11 in one-goal games. Ottawa, which beat Tampa Bay 3-2 Thursday for its first one-goal win of the season, lost for just the second time in seven games (4-2-1).

"The key for us is to find a way to win these tight games," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "There are a lot of nights we seem to come up just short. It's so frustrating when you don't win games like this against a division rival."

Zdeno Chara and Bryan Smolinski scored as the Senators converted both power-play opportunities in the first to take a 2-1 lead.

Ottawa was poised to do more damage with the man advantage midway through the second when Thornton was sent off for high-sticking. But Rolston scored his first short-handed goal of the season off a two-on-one with Ted Donato at 10:56, just nine seconds into the power play.

Ottawa lost two players to injury. Vaclav Varada had to be helped off the ice by teammates after he hurt his left leg 7:43 in when he collided with Boston rookie Patrice Bergeron. Senators defenseman Brian Pothier injured his head when he was checked to the ice by Boynton in the second.

Rolston earned an assist on Murray's goal to open the scoring 6:32 in as he made an outstanding cross-ice pass to send his teammate in alone on Patrick Lalime.

Murray also made a fine play on the goal, sending Lalime sprawling as he swept across the goal mouth from the right side before lifting a shot over the goalie.

"(Murray) came off the bench and I think they just lost coverage over there," Rolston said. "I just threw it over there and Glen made it a highlight goal."

Jason Spezza helped the Senators recover to take a 2-1 lead as he set up both power-play goals.

Chara got his seventh goal to tie it on a power play at 11:20, beating Andrew Raycroft from the slot after Marian Hossa hit the post when he was sent in by Spezza.

Smolinski scored for the second straight game at 18:28 when he fired a shot past Raycroft after taking Spezza's pass from the right boards.

Game notes
Rolston has 25 career short-handed goals. ... Bruins LW Doug Doull fought twice with Ottawa's Chris Neil in the first period. ... The Senators are 1-11 in one-goal games this season.