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Spezza, Alfredsson guide Senators past Coyotes

Oct 18, 2008 - 3:09 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Jason Spezza apparently was inspired by the early return of his linemate.

Spezza scored a pair of goals and set up two others and captain Daniel Alfredsson added two assists in his return to the lineup as the Ottawa Senators skated to a 6-3 triumph over the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday.

Jarkko Ruutu also tallied twice while defenseman Filip Kuba and Shean Donovan each notched two assists for Ottawa, which did not commit a penalty.

"I like scoring goals," said Ruutu, who has 38 tallies in 423 career games. "It's not that often that it happens, so I'll take it when I get a chance."

Appearing in his 300th career game, defenseman Anton Volchenkov scored in the second period, while Ruutu tallied in the first and third sessions for Ottawa, which was playing for the first time since Saturday. Spezza capped the scoring with a power-play goal late in the third.

Captain Shane Doan, Enver Lisin and Mikkel Boedker netted goals for the Coyotes, who fell to 6-6-1 all-time at Ottawa.

Expected to miss two weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on October 10, Alfredsson returned a week early and set up first-period goals by Spezza and Dany Heatley as the Senators built a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. Heatley's tally extended his points streak to four games.

"It felt good," Alfredsson said of his knee. "I didn't really feel anything at all, actually. It was nice. I'll definitely be able to play tomorrow."

"Alfie played great," Spezza said. "He's always really smart out there. It'll take him a couple of days to get his jump back, but as for decision-making, he's always on cue, and it's good to have him back."

Senators coach Craig Hartsburg was somewhat surprised to see Alfredsson return so quickly.

"I would have never thought he would be back that soon, but when they saw that there was no swelling, they knew there was a good chance (his recovery time) wasn't going to be very long," Hartsburg said. "No surgery is minor, but there wasn't a lot there, so in hindsight, I can see how he was able to get back so quickly. But you've got to hand it to him - most guys would be out longer."

Ruutu got things going 8 1/2 minutes into the game, grabbing the puck in the neutral zone and racing down the left wing on a partial breakaway before beating goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to the short side with a wrist shot from below the faceoff circle.

"The puck was bouncing weird and I almost fell down a couple times," Ruutu said. "I just took it to the net and tried to get it up high, and it found its way in."

Spezza doubled the Senators' lead with 4:50 remaining in the first. After receiving a pass from Alfredsson, the 25-year-old skated down the right side and faked a slap shot before firing a wrister past Bryzgalov from the bottom of the circle.

"It was sort of a 2-on-1, but I never really considered passing it across," Spezza said. "I was going to shoot, but Bryzgalov came out, so I kind of faked a shot and waited for him to move and give me something to shoot at."

Bryzgalov kept the deficit at two with a superb left leg save on Nick Foligno from alone on the doorstep with 2:40 to go. But Heatley made it 3-0 with 1:42 remaining, scoring his fourth of the season from the slot after getting a nifty pass from the bottom of the right circle by Alfredsson.

With a total of 10 goals in his first 299 NHL contests, Volchenkov celebrated his 300th game in style.

Just over seven minutes into the middle period, the Russian was denied from the doorstep after receiving a pass by Foligno from the right corner. But Volchenkov gathered his own rebound and lifted the puck over a sprawled Bryzgalov for a 4-0 bulge.

"When those guys (Ruutu and Volchenkov) score for us, it makes it a lot easier on everybody," Spezza said. "Getting contributions from other guys helps."

Doan got Phoenix on the board at 2:02 of the third with a wrister from the left circle, but Ruutu restored Ottawa's four-goal cushion just 2:07 later. Lisin and Boedker drew the Coyotes within 5-3 with goals 5:39 apart before Spezza sealed the victory by redirecting Kuba's slap pass from the top of the left circle past Bryzgalov.

Olli Jokinen registered two assists and Bryzgalov made 20 saves for Phoenix, which fell to 1-2-0 on its four-game road trip.

"The first 40 minutes was embarrassing the way we played," Jokinen said. "Bryzgalov was the only guy who was ready to play. We finally showed up in the third period and played better hockey, but we have to be better than that for the whole game."

Martin Gerber turned aside 34 shots for the Senators, who are 1-1-0 on their five-game homestand that continues Saturday against the Boston Bruins.

"These days, you can't let up," said Gerber, who made 15 of his saves in the third period. "You have to go for 60 minutes or else a good team like that will pick you apart. They threw everything they had at us in the third period and we let up, and that's why they got some chances."