Alfredsson returns Saturday vs. Canadiens

Feb 10, 2008 - 5:25 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Daniel Alfredsson has returned with a vengeance.

After missing four games with a hip flexor, captain Alfredsson returned to the Ottawa Senators' lineup Saturday and collected two goals and three assists in a 6-1 victory over the rival Montreal Canadiens.

"I felt good. It was a fairly minor injury, but I wanted to be careful so it didn't turn into something more," Alfredsson said. "If these had been playoff games, I probably would've played, but at this stage in the season, it makes more sense to rest and be careful."

The Swede made an immediate impact, assisting on fellow All-Star Jason Spezza's second goal of the game 1:42 into the first period and scoring one of his own just over three minutes later.

After registering two more assists, Alfredsson added another goal at 2:28 of the third, his team-leading 34th of the season. With his five-point performance, the Swede pulled even with Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin for the league lead in scoring with 73 points.

Alfredsson's return came just one game after superstar Dany Heatley rejoined the lineup after missing 11 contests with a separated shoulder. On Thursday, Heatley scored two goals to lead Ottawa to a 5-4 victory over the Florida Panthers.

"We've played together so long now and I think we understand each other's games, and with both injuries, neither of us took much time off skating, so our conditioning was still good," Heatley said. "We knew it wouldn't take us long to get it going again."

"Clearly, it's a lot of fun and we enjoy playing with each other," Spezza added. "Those guys seem like they're rested up, and sometimes injuries can be a blessing in disguise that way. Both guys were real good tonight and moved the puck real well."

Ottawa coach John Paddock was thrilled to have his top line together again and impressed with its performance.

"We knew it was going to be a shot in the arm having all three of them healthy again, but I was surprised at how ready they were to start tearing them apart early," he said.

Despite missing six of the team's previous nine games, the 35-year-old Alfredsson still leads the Senators in both goals and points in 49 contests.

Alfredsson's return was even more important to the Senators when considering their opponent. During Ottawa's unhealthy stretch, the rival Canadiens shaved a 10-point deficit in the Northeast Division to just one before the Senators' win on Thursday.

"It was great to have us all back together tonight and get a big win here on home ice," Alfredsson said. "But I thought the whole team played really well. We needed the two points and we played a good game."

Ottawa won just one game during Alfredsson's absence and lost all five that both he and Heatley missed.