Final, Bruins 5-3: The Bruins close out an important win in Ottawa.
That extends Boston's lead over the Senators for the Northeast Division lead to five points, with the Bruins still having three games in hand.
It also enables the Bruins to finish their season-high six-game road trip with a winning record at 3-2-1.
They'll return home to face the Senators again on Tuesday in what could be a nasty affair after some questionable hits in this one.
Third Period, 19:41, Bruins 5-3: The Bruins get a much-needed insurance goal to thwart the Senators' late rally as Patrice Bergeron fires in an empty-netter from his own blue line.
Third Period, 17:52, Bruins 4-3: The Senators pull within a goal as Daniel Alfredsson strikes again.
This one comes on another one-timer, this time from down low on the left wing.
Third Period, 16:15, Bruins 4-2: The Senators show some life as Daniel Alfredsson pulls them within two.
Alfredsson blasted home a one-timer from the left wing off a slap pass by Jason Spezza at the right point.
Third Period, 13:00, Bruins 4-1: The gloves come off as Zdeno Chara forces Chris Neil to answer for his hit on Boychuk. Some big swings but not a lot connecting as they spin around in a spirited scrap.
Third Period, 12:04, Bruins 4-1: The Bruins use their timeout as Claude Julien tries to keep his club focused on finishing this one out the right way.
Third Period, 10:24, Bruins 4-1: The Bruins convert that power play just before the penalty expired as David Krejci scores.
Krejci collected a carom off the end boards and fired it home from the left wing as Milan Lucic crashed the net.
Third Period, 8:30, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins will get another power play as Colin Greening goes off for goalie interference after knocking over Thomas in the crease.
Third Period, 7:00, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins can't convert that power play and the sides are back at even strength, though it may not stay that way for long with tempers reaching full boil now as the physical play picks up.
Third Period, 5:00, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins get another defenseman shaken up as Joe Corvo takes a hit up high from Kyle Turris. Unlike Neil's hit on Boychuk, this was a dirty and illegal one, and Turris gets called for boarding to give Boston its first power play of the night. Corvo remains on the bench.
Third Period, 2:57, Bruins 3-1: Chris Neil absolutely crushes Johnny Boychuk with a a hit in the Boston zone. Both men are slow to get up as they each are shaken up from the collision.
Third Period, 2:26, Bruins 3-1: Adam McQuaid goes down for the block on an Alfredsson bid down low to potentially save a goal.
Third Period, 1:35, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins pick up where they left off in the second as the Bergeron line keeps Ottawa hemmed in its own zone early in the third. Strong shift for that unit setting the tone for this frame.
Third Period, 0:00, Bruins 3-1: The final frame is under way in Ottawa, where the Bruins are looking to put a little more distance between themselves and the Senators in the race for the Northeast Division title.
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins dominated the second period, but added just one goal to their lead to head to the third up 3-1.
Boston held a 16-6 edge in shots in the period and lead 29-15 overall in that category, but they still haven't put Ottawa away just yet. The Bruins' aggressive forecheck caused a lot of problems for Ottawa, which has committed 15 giveaways to just three for Boston. Some of that can be attributed to Boston's increased physical play. After being outhit 14-8 in the first, the Bruins had a 9-4 edge in the second.
Patrice Bergeron continues to be all over the ice. he leads all players with seven shots through two periods, continuing to create chances after collecting a goal and an assist in the first. Carter Camper had the only goal in the second, which just so happens to be the only goal of his brief NHL career as well. He scored on his only shot so far, flipping in a rebound of an Adam McQuaid shot.
End Second Period, Bruins 3-1: The second period comes to a close with Matt Carkner and Zdeno Chara jawing at each other. Nothing develops out of that, and the Bruins will take a two-goal lead into the third.
Second Period, 18:14, Bruins 3-1: Things got a little scrambly late, but the Bruins are able to kill off that penalty and the sides are back at even strength.
Second Period, 16:14, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins will be shorthanded for the second time in this one as Milan Lucic is called for roughing after giving Sergei Gonchar a light bump following the whistle for icing.
Second Period, 13:35, Bruins 3-1: Adam McQuaid launches a shot from the point that catches Ottawa forward Jim O'Brien in the head. He goes off checking for blood but appears OK as the helmet and visor took the brunt of that one.
Second Period, 10:29, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins continue to generate chances, both by their own forechecking pressure and with some lucky bounces. Bergeron nearly gets another goal as a dump-in comes off the glass right to him in front, but Auld again makes the save.
Second Period, 7:32, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins continue to pressure the Senators in deep, forcing turnovers and making it difficult for Ottawa to get out of its own zone.
Second Period, 3:57, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins extend the lead as Carter Camper scores his first NHL goal.
Camper banged home a rebound of an Adam McQuaid shot with a backhand from the left slot as the Bruins created more havoc in the Ottawa zone with their aggressive forecheck.
Second Period, 1:28, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins forcing a series of turnovers in the Ottawa zone. Bergeron stole a pass in front for a bid, then followed up with his own rebound but Auld made both saves.
Second Period, 0:14, Bruins 2-1: Gregory Campbell is back on the bench for the Bruins, showing the marks of that puck to the face with a swollen lip. It will take more to keep Campbell out of his 500th career game.
Second Period, 0:00, Bruins 2-1: The middle frame is under way in Ottawa, where the Bruins will look to build on their one-goal lead on the Senators.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins started shaky with an early goal against, but rebounded with a pair of their own to take a 2-1 lead after a decent first period.
Tim Thomas wasn't tested a lot early, but came up with some key saves to keep the Bruins ahead.
The Bergeron line made up for giving up that first goal by Ottawa by scoring both of Boston's tallies. The same five Bruins were actually on the ice for all three games so far, with Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk out with Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin.
Chara is having a big game in his old stomping grounds. He has two assists, four shots and two hits in 7:39. Bergeron also has four shots to go with a goal and an assist in 6:14. The Bruins have outshot Ottawa 13-9 overall, but the Senators do have the edge in hits (14-8) and faceoffs (12-8) so far.
End First Period, Bruins 2-1: The opening frame comes to a close with the Bruins up a goal after overcoming an early strike by the Senators with two of their own.
First Period, 18:13, Bruins 2-1: Gregory Campbell goes off in pain and is doubled over on the bench after taking a puck to the face at the blue line. The Bruins have to hope it's nothing serious as they can't afford to lose another forward.
First Period, 16:13, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins take their first lead of the night as Brad Marchand scores from the left wing.
Chara began the rush with a nifty deke around a defender in the neutral zone, getting the puck up to Bergeron in the middle of the ice. Bergeron then dished it over to Marchand for the shot.
First Period, 13:50, 1-1: The Senators nearly score a strange one as Kyle Turris dumps in the puck. It takes a weird bounce off the end boards past Thomas and slides across the front of the empty net, but no Senators are close enough to tap it in.
First Period, 12:39, 1-1: Both sides with chances in quick succession as Krejci makes a steal at the blue line, then feeds Kelly for a bid from the right slot. That is denied, and the Senators counter with Colin Greening getting a partial breakaway, only to have Thomas stone him.
First Period, 10:14, 1-1: The Bruins are able to kill off that penalty as Chara exits the box and the sides return to even strength.
First Period, 8:14, 1-1: The Senators get the first power play of the night as Zdeno Chara is called for cross-checking as he retaliates to a shot from Spezza behind the play and Spezza sold it well as he crumples to the ice from the minor blow.
First Period, 7:31, 1-1: Even without Thornton and Konopka in the lineup, things are getting a bit chippy with scrums after the whistle. Adam McQuaid shoved with Jason Spezza in front of the Bruins net there.
First Period, 3:46, 1-1: The Bruins pull even as Patrice Bergeron bangs home a rebound in front.
Zdeno Chara sent the initial shot in from the left point. Auld made the save, but Bergeron collected the rebound at the top of the crease and put it in to tie it.
First Period, 3:03, Senators 1-0: The Senators nearly add another early goal, but Thomas makes the save on Milan Michalek's wraparound.
First Period, 1:10, Senators 1-0: After the Bruins had some strong pressure in the opening minute but couldn't score, the Senators counter and do score at the other end.
Jason Spezza dropped a pass from the left wing to Erik Karlsson, and the Ottawa defenseman fired home a shot from the slot as he joined the rush and beat the Bruins back for the chance.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: The action is under way in Ottawa, where the Bruins will close out their season-high six-game road trip. They need a win to finish the trip over .500 after going 2-2-1 in the first five games.
7 p.m.: The Bruins will open with Milan Lucic, Chris Kelly and David Krejci up front, Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.
The Senators counter with Colin Greening, Kyle Turris and Daniel Alfredsson up front, Sergei Gonchar and Chris Phillips on the blue line and Alex Auld in net.
6:55 p.m.: The Bruins have scratched Shawn Thornton (sick) along with Andrew Bodnarchuk.
Zenon Konopka and Brian Lee are out for Ottawa.
With Konopka (17 fighting majors) and Thornton (16 FM) both out, the top two players in the NHL in fights this season will both be watching this one instead of playing.
6:45 p.m.: Shawn Thornton did not skate in warm-ups for the Bruins. he has been sick in recent days, missing practice on Thursday, but played through the illness on Wednesday and Friday.
Jordan Caron skated with Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell in Thornton's spot, with Josh Hennessy, Carter Camper and Benoit Pouliot also together.
6:30 p.m.: Tim Thomas and Alex Auld led the teams out for warm-ups in Ottawa.
That will be the goaltending matchup in this one as expected.
6:15 p.m.: The Bruins open a home-and-home series with the Senators in Ottawa, being being at home or on road hasn't meant much difference to either team this year.
The Bruins are 18-10-2 at home and 18-10-1 on the road. Ottawa's home/road split is almost identical as well. The Senators are 16-11-3 at home and 16-11-5 on the road.
6 p.m.: The Bruins finally finish their longest road trip of the season when they take on the Senators in Ottawa in about an hour.
It will also be the Bruins' last game before Monday's trade deadline.
The more immediate concern is holding off the Senators for the Northeast Division lead. Ottawa has pulled within three points of Boston for the division lead, though the Bruins do have three games in hand.
They also will likely have Tim Thomas in goal after Tuukka Rask started Friday in Buffalo. Thomas is 10-4-1 with a 1.92 GAA, .943 save percentage and three shutouts all-time in Ottawa.
8 a.m. ET: The Bruins had to play extra hockey in Buffalo on Friday before falling to the Sabres 2-1 in a shootout, but they won't get any time to recuperate.
They get right back into action on Saturday, completing their six-game road trip with the opening of what could be a key home-and-home series with the Senators in Ottawa.
The Senators have won four straight, pulling within three points of the Bruins for the lead in the Northeast Division. The Bruins still have three games in hand on Ottawa, but with three games left between the division rivals, this race isn't over just quite yet.
The Bruins (36-20-3, 75 points) have won each of the first three meetings with Ottawa (32-22-8, 72 points), beginning their dominant stretch earlier this season with a 5-3 win in Boston on Nov. 1. The Bruins also won 5-2 in Ottawa on Dec. 14 and 4-3 back in Boston on Jan. 31.
But Ottawa has played better of late, outscoring its opponents 21-4 in its four-game win streak. The Senators did lose starting goalie Craig Anderson. He is out indefinitely after cutting his hand while preparing a meal on Thursday. Former Bruins Alex Auld (2-3-2, 3.28 GAA, .883 save percentage) is expected to start on Saturday.
The Bruins will likely counter with Tim Thomas after Tuukka Rask got the start Friday in Buffalo. Thomas is 22-8-2 with a 1.98 GAA, .937 save percentage and six shutouts all-time against the Senators, and has been even better in Ottawa (10-4-1, 1.92 GAA, .943 save percentage, 3 shutouts).
The puck drops at 7 p.m., so check back here for updates on all the action.
