Senators RW Alfredsson revels in perfect night

Oct 5, 2008 - 11:39 PM STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Ticker) -- Two assists and a victory.

Daniel Alfredsson accomplished the first while guiding the Ottawa Senators to the second - a 3-1 triumph over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

Perhaps most importantly, it was accomplished in front of 13,699 of his countrymen at the Globe Arena. So, was it a perfect night for the Swede?

"Pretty much," said the 35-year-old Alfredsson, who played on the country's 2006 Olympic gold-medal team. "It couldn't have been much better."

To show its appreciation, the crowd chanted Alfredsson's name repeatedly during the final minute of the contest.

"I just tried to soak it all in at the end when were up 3-0," the Senators' captain said. "It was nice that I could look into the crowd and take it all in.

"I'm going to rank this among the highlights of my career. I was very fortunate to have this experience."

His teammates also recognized what the weekend series meant to Alfredsson.

"He's such a special player and means a lot to a special hockey nation," said Alex Auld, who finished with 30 saves and came within two seconds of a shutout.

"It was amazing to be around. He's such a national hero, and it's cool to see that because you never get to see that."