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Kovalev, Canadiens edge Senators

Jan 18, 2009 - 4:58 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- All-Star Alexei Kovalev continues to fuel the Montreal Canadiens.

Kovalev and Maxim Lapierre scored in the first two rounds of the shootout as the Canadiens recorded a 5-4 triumph over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday in a battle of Northeast Division rivals.

After Jason Spezza's shot sailed over the net, goaltender Jaroslav Halak denied Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson with his glove in the second round for Montreal, which improved to 11-2-1 in its last 14 contests.

Kovalev, Andrei Kostitsyn, rookie Matt D'Agostini and Tom Kostopoulos scored in regulation for the Canadiens while Robert Lang notched a pair of assists for the second consecutive game.

"Before the game, the guys were focused and had good energy," Kostitsyn said. "We wanted to start the game off on the right foot. We had great intensity in the first two periods. We had a little drop-off in our game in the third period.

"We were not as good as we should've been defensively. They got a couple of goals, and they were right back in the game. It's more important we got the two points."

All-Star Dany Heatley netted a pair of goals, Chris Kelly and Mike Fisher also tallied and rookie Brian Elliott turned aside 28 shots for Ottawa, which was denied in its bid for its first three-game winning streak of the season.

"Any point is important for us right now," Heatley said. "We battled back in the third and we had our chances in overtime to win the game. Anytime you're struggling, you have to keep working hard. Every one on the bench knew we had keep firing pucks at them and eventually we'd get some goals."

"Ottawa has some dangerous players, and if they ever catch fire, look out," Kostitsyn said. "Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson play us tough every time we step out on the ice against them. Maybe they haven't done all that they've wanted, but they're elite players."

In the first round of the shootout, Kovalev deked Elliott to the ice before tucking the puck just inside the left goalpost.

After skating slowly toward Elliott, Lapierre picked up the pace before backhanding the puck just under the crossbar on the Canadiens' second attempt, sealing the win and thwarting a spirited Senators' rally.

"We knew (Elliott) had a great glove, so we were going along the ice or on the blocker side," Lapierre said. "Watching Alex (Kovalev), I saw the goalie was out of his net, so I just tried to make the same play."

With his team trailing, 3-1, Heatley halved the deficit just over 5 1/2 minutes into the third session after scoring on a breakaway.

After Kostopoulos restored the two-goal cushion with exactly nine minutes remaining with a sharp-angle shot that slipped past Elliott, Heatley again trimmed the deficit to one just 33 seconds later with his team-leading 19th tally of the season.

"Even though we scored, (Ottawa) came back and scored on us," said Montreal rookie Gregory Stewart, who notched his first career point by setting up D'Agostini's goal in the second period that gave the Canadiens a 3-1 advantage.

"We were pushing too hard, overskated the puck and gave up a turnover. Still, we can gain some confidence from it as well as learn from it."

Fisher leveled the contest with 1:47 remaining in the third, beating Halak with a blast from the left faceoff circle and earning Ottawa a point.

"It's a good sign (that) we didn't give up," Fisher said. "We battled back after digging ourselves into a hole. ... We gave ourselves a chance to win and we got a point, so all is not lost. ... We didn't steal a point, we earned what we got and we made a game out of it. We had a chance to win."

"We got down but showed some resiliency to come back," Spezza added. "It was nice to get the tie and the point, but the win would have been even better. We're definitely a different team than we were a few weeks ago. The guys were battling pretty hard, and I think that comes from confidence. We seem to be a little bit more sure with the puck. We're certainly coming around as a club."