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Kessel scores twice as Bruins top Senators

Oct 19, 2008 - 4:08 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Phil Kessel scored a pair of goals and Manny Fernandez was solid in net, leading the Boston Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Kessel scored his third and fourth goals of the season in the second period, his second of the night coming on the power play to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead.

"We wanted to put a lot of shots at Gerber tonight and take the game to them," Kessel said. "We worked hard and fortunately for us we were rewarded for our efforts."

Captain Daniel Alfredsson, playing his second game since undergoing knee surgery on October 10, cut the deficit to 3-2 with his first of the season for Ottawa, but Fernandez stood tall in the third period and Milan Lucic added his first tally with just over five minutes to play to create some breathing room.

Fernandez made 21 saves and Marc Savard added three assists for the Bruins.

"Both goals kind of surprised me a little bit. Both were through traffic," Fernandez said. "The rest of the game, I just tried to stay focused and see as much as possible. This game is a great confidence booster for both myself and the team. We played very well and we came in here to get two points, and that is what we did."

Boston struck just over one minute into the opening session. Savard picked up the loose puck and quickly lifted a backhander that was deflected by Marco Sturm past goaltender Martin Gerber's stick side.

Nick Foligno netted the equalizer seven minutes later. After taking a feed at Boston's blue line and skating into the zone on the right side, Foligno wristed a shot from the top of the faceoff circle that beat Fernandez to the stick side.

Kessel scored both of his second-period goals from close range.

Savard chased the puck into the right corner and dished it to Kessel, who buried it from in front at 4:47 for a 2-1 edge. With 6:38 remaining in the session, Kessel grabbed a rebound after a brief scramble in front of the net and jammed it underneath Gerber.

"We had a couple of chances on it and the puck was getting knocked around a little bit," Kessel said. "Fortunately, it just popped loose in front of me and I was able to put it in."

Alfredsson pulled Ottawa within a goal on the power play just over two minutes later, wristing a shot from the top of the left circle that weaved through traffic and beat Fernandez high to the glove side.

"The first period was pretty even, but the second period, they definitely were the better team, and that's when they got the two-goal lead," Alfredsson said. "We battled back OK and we were good in the third, but playing at home, you'd like to be in control by that stage of the game.

"We just didn't have enough chances. You're not going to win a lot of games if you don't get more shots, and I thought the third period was our best period. We came on pretty good, but unfortunately, we couldn't get the goal to tie it."

Defenseman Filip Kuba and Dany Heatley assisted on Alfredsson's goal, giving both a point in each of the Senators' five games this season.

Lucic iced the game with his hustle late in the third.

Michael Ryder streaked into the offensive zone on the right side and cut toward the net. Gerber poke-checked the puck away but was down on the ice and out of position as Lucic swooped in and banged home the loose puck.

"It was a really good effort from start to finish for us. Got a lead and played with it for most of the game," Lucic said. "On my goal, (Defenseman Andrew) Ference and Savard made great plays to get the puck to the net and I followed up. The rebound landed right on my stick and I had an open net to shoot at.

"It's always nice to get the first goal of the season. Hopefully, they'll start coming more and more."