• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Axelsson gives Bruins fourth straight win

Feb 6, 2009 - 4:54 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- The Boston Bruins watched a two-goal lead turn into a one-goal deficit. But Chuck Kobasew, All-Star Tim Thomas and P.J. Axelsson did their best to carry the Eastern Conference leaders to their fourth consecutive win.

Kobasew tied the game with a late power-play goal in the third period and Axelsson scored the lone tally of the shootout in the fifth round Thursday, leading the Bruins to a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Captain Zdeno Chara and rookie Blake Wheeler each recorded a goal and an assist for the Bruins, who have won 11 of their last 12 road games.

"Overall, I would say we played pretty well," Chara said. "We just let up a little bit at the midpoint of the game. If you give that team over there too much in time and space, they have the guys to make the plays. ... We seemed to wait until we were down one goal before we turned on the switch and started to play."

Thomas made 19 saves before denying all five Senators in the shootout as the Bruins extended their winning streak over Ottawa to five contests.

"The shootout wasn't entertaining whatsoever," Thomas said. "It's pure stress. If you win, you feel better. If you lose, you feel worse than ever. It's a tough way to end a team game."

Nick Foligno and captain Daniel Alfredsson registered a goal and an assist apiece and Jason Spezza also scored for the Senators, who have dropped five in a row and fell to 0-2-0 under new coach Cory Clouston.

"There were a lot of positives we can take out of this one," Spezza said. "(Clouston's) taught us a lot. He's made a few changes. He's a real intense guy, he gets pretty fired up. That was a heck of a hockey team we played tonight, and we played pretty good. So our confidence with our new coach is pretty good so far."

Following a scoreless overtime in which Thomas made a spectacular sprawling save on Mike Fisher during a breakaway with 75 seconds remaining, neither team was able to break through after four rounds of the shootout.

On Ottawa's fifth attempt, Thomas made a huge glove save on All-Star Dany Heatley. Axelsson followed by skating wide to the right, cutting back into the slot and sliding a backhander between the legs of rookie goaltender Brian Elliott to clinch Boston's fourth straight win and sixth in seven games.

Bruins coach Claude Julien admitted he was ready for another round had Axelsson failed.

"I looked at (defenseman Dennis) Wideman and said, 'If (Axelsson) doesn't work, I'm coming to your end.' I think Wideman had a good stick tonight and he seemed determined. He didn't get one, but we still found a way to win. That's the most important thing right now."

Thomas was pleased with his performance in the bonus format.

"My confidence level has gone up since the All-Star Game," he said. "Learning how to consistently win in shootouts is a tough nut to crack. I don't think they had any plan to test my glove, even though Alfredsson scored his (regulation goal) there.

"I did try to take that away, so they probably saw a hole on the other side. Heatley, I thought, was going to end up going five-hole. I doubt they have any plan. I think they always have some kind of move in mind, but they're looking for holes and they change it up as they go."

Wheeler opened the scoring midway through the first period, deflecting defenseman Andrew Ference's one-timer from the blue line past Elliott during a power play. Halfway through the second, Chara drilled a one-timer from the left point by Elliott for his 300th career point and a 2-0 bulge.

Foligno halved the deficit with 4:06 remaining in the session, when he skated around a defender in the left faceoff circle and slid a backhander from the slot into the net for his first goal in 12 games.

"My goal was just a nice play by (defenseman) Brendan Bell, who threw it up to me," Foligno said. "I was just trying to cut back over. I was just trying to lose the defensemen, but it pulled the goalie a little bit as well. I was just able to slide it in.

"It was a big goal and I want to do well. So long as the coach calls on me, all I have to do is get out there and get it done."

Familiar with Foligno from their days together with Binghamton of the American Hockey League, Clouston has been impressed with the youngster in his short time with Ottawa.

"Nick is a player that has really improved in the last year and a half," Clouston said. "He's a man who wants to make a difference. He wants to be on the ice. He always plays that way."

Just 58 seconds into the third, Alfredsson wristed the puck into the top right corner of the net from just inside the right circle to forge a 2-2 tie. Spezza gave Ottawa the lead less than eight minutes later, converting a cross-crease pass from Foligno at 8:33 for a man-advantage goal.

"We were on the power play where Alfredsson and I did a little give-and-go," Foligno said. "Spezza was wide open, so I just threw it over to him. He put a great shot just underneath the bar. That was nice to see go in."

"We should be concerned," Thomas said of Boston's letdown. "We knew Ottawa was a new team with a new coach, which gave them a new bounce in their step, a new energy."

But after Antoine Vermette received a double-minor for high-sticking Michael Ryder with just over five minutes remaining, the Bruins cashed in to knot the contest. Chara unleashed a shot from the blue line that was stopped by Elliott, but Kobasew buried the rebound from the doorstep with 4:02 left for his 10th goal of the campaign.

Ryder bled profusely from a large gash on his face and did not return after heading to the locker room for repairs.

Elliott turned aside 27 shots.

"He made a lot of good saves to get us to where we were," Clouston said. "He's a young guy with a lot of confidence. We've seen from last year that his mental toughness has come up. He's focused and he's a very good athlete."