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Lee's first career goal helps Senators veto Oilers

Dec 31, 2008 - 6:52 AM EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- Rookie defenseman Brian Lee picked the perfect time for his first career NHL goal.

Lee netted a power-play goal to snap a tie with 8:28 remaining in the third period as the Ottawa Senators avoided a fourth straight loss with a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

"It was just a big sigh of relief I guess," the 21-year-old Lee said. "It's good to get that first one out of the way."

Jason Spezza and captain Daniel Alfredsson both scored a goal and set up another and Martin Gerber made 20 saves for the Senators, who had lost eight of their previous 10 contests.

Captain Ethan Moreau and rookie Liam Reddox tallied and Shawn Horcoff had two assists for the Oilers, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

It was Ottawa's third straight stop in Western Canada after falling to the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks over the weekend. The Senators, who have not won away from ScotiaBank Place since October 30, are also halfway through an eight-game road trip.

"For us it felt like a playoff game," Spezza said. "We were desperate, we were struggling and we were down on ourselves. Our confidence isn't very high right now and we're pulling at straws to find positives.

"We needed this win. The intensity for us toward the last 10 minutes of that game was pretty intense."

With the contest knotted at 2-2, Lee received a backhanded pass from Antoine Vermette in the high slot and blasted a one-timer past goaltender Mathieu Garon.

"Brian's been a good player, we called him up and he's played all three games on this trip," Ottawa coach Craig Hartsburg said. "He's making big strides as a player. He's a young player but he's been very impressive in these three games."

Spezza opened the scoring at 9:56 of the first period, converting a centering pass from Alfredsson. But the Oilers responded after the captain committed a turnover in front of the Ottawa net, leading to Moreau's goal with 6:03 remaining in the opening session.

Alfredsson made up for his blunder at 4:07 of the second, notching his 10th goal of the season to give Ottawa a 2-1 edge.

Reddox tied the contest with his second career goal with 6:38 left in the middle session, knocking Horcoff's centering attempt past Gerber, who couldn't find the puck.

"I'm not going to make huge plays like (Ales Hemsky) out there but sometimes simpler is better," Reddox said. "I just tried to bring that part of my game tonight, shooting pucks low and trying to get to them and making more space for my linemates."

Garon finished with 22 saves.

"We didn't start as sharply as we needed to," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "When you are playing a team that is struggling, you know they are going to be desperate to get out of it and you have to show them something early in the hockey game."