The victory solidifies the Bruins hold on the top spot in the Northeast Division as Boston now leads Ottawa by six points with five games in hand on the Senators. The Bruins also move within one point of the Rangers for first place in the conference as New York lost in a shootout to New Jersey.
The Bruins continue their homestand on Thursday when they look for their first win of the season against Carolina.
Third Period, 19:12, Bruins 4-3: The Bruins don't score on that power-play chance, but that one was more about taking time off the clock than adding to the lead.
Third Period, 17:12, Bruins 4-3: The Bruins, already 2 for 2 on the man advantage, will get another power-play chance as Nick Foligno is sent off for tripping.
Third Period, 16:14, Bruins 4-3: The Senators with a bit of a surge putting some pressure on the Bruins. Thomas still appears to be fighting the puck at times, but Boston still holds the the one-goal advantage with under four minutes to play.
Third Period, 10:24, Bruins 4-3: The Bruins continue to generate chances, with Milan Lucic breaking in alone. Anderson make the stop this time. Lucic obviously got much too close with that attempt.
Third Period, 7:09, Bruins 4-3: The Bruins grab the lead as Dennis Seidenberg scores on a bouncing puck from center ice that eludes Anderson.
Joe Corvo picks up another assist on the flukey go-ahead goal.
Third Period, 5:28, 3-3: The Bruins have outshot Ottawa 6-0 to start the third, with Benoit Pouliot nearly beating Anderson again with a shot from the slot.
Third Period, 3:32, 3-3: The Bruins continue to apply pressure, with Bergeron firing a shot from the left wing that slips through Anderson's pads but slides just wide as Marchand crashes the net.
Third Period, 2:20, 3-3: The Bruins pull even with the power-play tally as Brad Marchand scores a second-effort goal at the right post.
Joe Corvo sent the initial shot in from the right point, and Marchand poked the rebound free and flipped it up and over Craig Anderson for the score.
Third Period, 0:46, Senators 3-2: The Bruins get a quick power-play chance to try to pull even as Tyler Seguin draws the tripping call on Erik Karlsson with a strong drive to the net.
Third Period, 0:00, Senators 3-2: The final frame is under way here at the Garden, where the Bruins need to rally to pull this one out. Boston has outscored opponents a league-best 69-33 in the third period this year, but Ottawa is 12-1-1 when leading after two periods this season.
Second Intermission Notes: An ugly middle frame for the Bruins was salvaged, at least a bit, by Milan Lucic's late goal to pull the Bruins back within one at 3-2 heading into the third.
That and a couple decent shifts by the Bergeron line were about it the only highlights for the Bruins in a pretty shoddy period, though Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin are also each minus-2 on the night.
Ottawa outshot the Bruins 13-5 in the frame (26-17 overall) and outhit them 15-7 (25-15 overall). Zack Smith (5 hits) and Jared Cowen (4 hits) matched the entire Bruins team with seven hits in the second. The Bruins are even losing the faceoff battle now 21-23 (48 percent).
End Second Period, Senators 3-2: The Bruins salvaged a poor period with a late strike to stay within a goal after being dominated for most of the middle frame, but will need to be much better in the third to pull this one out.
Second Period,19:15, Senators 3-2: The Bruins get a huge goal in the final minute as Milan Lucic pulls Boston within one.
David Krejci carried the puck down the right wing and dropped it back to the trailing Lucic, who fired it home from the high slot.
Second Period,16:58, Senators 3-1: Finally some life from the Bruins as the Bergeron line creates some chances down low, most coming from Seguin, who had the best bid on a shot from the slot.
Second Period,13:28, Senators 3-1: The Senators do push the lead to two goals as Erik Karlsson finishes a 2-on-1 break.
Chris Neil lead the rush down the middle, dishing it off to Karlsson on the left wing for the shot from the circle that beat Thomas. Ottawa has outshot Boston 12-3 in this period.
Second Period,11:57, Senators 2-1: The Senators come within inches of extending the lead as Daniel Alfredsson rings the post with a shot from the right circle that beats Thomas but stays out.
Second Period, 9:20, Senators 2-1: The Bruins try to answer back, but Brad Marchand can't quite put the puck in on a strong drive to the net that ends with a shot off the side of the cage.
Second Period, 7:43, Senators 2-1: The Senators pull ahead as Kyle Turris scores from the bottom of the left circle.
That goal came after a long shift in the Ottawa end as the Bruins nearly scored on several chances, but then got caught on the ice in a change.
Second Period, 4:31, 1-1: The Bruins with another near miss as Milan Lucic gets behind the defense, but Rich Peverley's pass is just out of his reach with Lucic all alone in front.
Second Period, 3:45, 1-1: The Bruins with an early chance as Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand break in on a 2 on 1, but Seguin's pass is just out of Marchand's reach. Seguin has two chances at shots himself later in the shift but can't convert.
Second Period, 0:00, 1-1: The middle frame is under way here at the Garden, with the Bruins and Senators deadlocked at 1-1 in a Northeast Division clash.
First Intermission Notes: After a sluggish start, the Bruins picked up their play midway through the opening period and grabbed a lead, only to see the Senators tie it 1-1 in the closing minutes of the frame.
The Bruins came out flat and struggled to get the puck out of their zone in the early going, but turned things around on the night's lone power-play chance. Zdeno Chara scored on that opportunity with a blast from the point and two long, spirited scraps soon followed as the Garden crowd came alive.
But the Bruins suffered a bit of a lapse late and Ottawa converted a bad rebound by Tim Thomas to pull even. The stats across the board were pretty even, with the shots 12-12, Ottawa holding a slim 10-8 edge in hits and Boston winning 56 percent of the draws (14-11).
Chara doesn't appear at all tied from his All-Star appearance as he leads the Bruins with four shots, including the lone goal, to go with a hit and a blocked shot in 8:20. Brad Marchand also has three shots and a hit and drew the penalty that led to Chara's power-play goal.
Rich Peverley had a quiet period in Nathan Horton's spot, with no shots or hits in 6:45. Zach Hamill also had no shots or hits in 3:12 in Peverley's old spot on the third line.
End First Period, 1-1: The Bruins and Senators head to the first intermission tied at 1-1 after Ottawa rallied late for the equalizer.
First Period, 18:40, 1-1: The Senators tie it up late in the first as Colin Greening gets Ottawa on the board.
Filip Kuba sent a shot in from the left point and Thomas gave up a bad rebound right to Milan Michalek on the right wig. Michalek sent it to Greening in front for an easy tap in behind Thomas.
First Period, 14:16, Bruins 1-0: The gloves hit the ice again as Adam McQuaid and Zenon Konopka engage in another long brawl.
McQuaid landed a flurry of rights early before Konopka was able to settle himself and return fire. Both men ended up landing some solid shots before the linesmen came in to break it up.
First Period, 12:38, Bruins 1-0: The gloves come off as Shawn Thornton and Chris Neil engage in a lengthy bout in the Boston zone.
Neil switches hands often while Thornton sticks primarily with the rights, but Thornton appeared to land the better shots to keep the momentum on the Bruins' side.
First Period, 11:57, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins convert the power-play chance to grab the lead.
Zdeno Chara teed up the blast from the left post and scored as Milan Lucic provided the screen in front. Lucic and David Krejci pick up the assists.
First Period, 10:09, 0-0: The Bruins get the first power play of the night as Brad Marchand drives the net hard and draws the hooking call on Sergei Gonchar.
First Period, 8:57, 0-0: Benoit Pouliot with another chance in front, but this time he's denied by the far post on a shot from the right slot.
First Period, 6:18, 0-0: Benoit Pouliot with a chance on a rebound at the left post, but Anderson makes the save again. The Bruins are starting to pick up their play after a sluggish start.
First Period, 5:16, 0-0: Shawn Thornton gets behind the Ottawa defense for the Bruins first real chance of the night, but Anderson makes the stop at the right post.
First Period, 1:20, 0-0: The Bruins struggle to get out of their own zone at the start of this one, but the Senators manage just two shots in over a minute of zone time in the Boston end.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: Break time is officially over as this one is under way here at the garden, where the Bruins are looking to strengthen their hold on the top spot in the Northeast Division against the surprising Senators.
7 p.m.: The Bruins will open this one with the birthday boy Tyler Seguin, who turns 20 today, up front with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, with Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.
The Senators counter with Colin Greening, Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek up front, Erik Karlsson and Filip Kuba on the blue line and Craig Anderson in goal.
6:55 p.m.: The Bruins will be without Nathan Horton (concussion) and Andrew Ference (suspension). Brian Lee (lower body) is out for the Senators. Rare to see a game with no healthy scratches for either team.
6:45 p.m.: Rich Peverley remained in Nathan Horton's spot alongside David Krejci and Milan Lucic in the line rushes in warm-ups. Zach hamill took Peverley's spot with Chris Kelly and Benoit Pouliot on the third line.
Here are the full line combinations from warm-ups:
Lucic-Krejci-Peverley
Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin
Pouliot-Kelly-Hamill
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Defense pairs:
Chara-Boychuk
Seidenberg-Corvo
Kampfer-McQuaid
6:30 p.m.: Tim Thomas and Craig Anderson led the teams out for warm-ups.
That will be the goaltending matchup for this one as Claude Julien plays the percentages and goes with Thomas, who is 21-8-2 with a 1.95 GAA, .938 save percentage and six shutouts against the Senators.
6 p.m.: The Bruins return from the All-Star break to face the Senators in a clash of the top two teams in the Northeast Division.
Ottawa will have Craig Anderson in net, while the Bruins have yet to reveal their goaltender. Tim Thomas was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate, but Tuukka Rask followed him immediately as the whole team left together.
Nathan Horton will be out as he remains sidelined with a concussion, and Andrew Ference will serve the final game of his three-game suspension.
8 a.m. ET: After a brief respite for the All-Star break, the Bruins get back to work on Tuesday when they welcome their closest pursuer in the Northeast Division to the Garden.
Ottawa is second in the division and sixth in the conference, just four points back of Boston, though the Bruins do have five games in hand on the Senators. That makes the standings appear a little closer than they actually are, but Tuesday's matchup is still an important one.
The Senators were one of the biggest surprises in the league in the first half of the season, with first-year coach Paul MacLean quickly turning Ottawa around from last year's last-place finish in the Northeast. And Bruins coach Claude Julien believes the Senators' improvement is for real.
"Their coach has done a great job of bringing that group together and building some chemistry," Julien said. "You can see it in their play. They play hard. They don't hang their heads. They compete hard. If they weren't a happy group you'd see them let their game slip, but they don't. I know Paul because I played with play and he's very good with the young players as far as developing them he's done a great job. [Jason] Spezza and [Daniel] Alfredsson and those kind of guys are all having good years. Their veterans are good. Their goaltending has been pretty good so far. So it may be a surprise for a lot of people where they are, but I can tell you right now they're the real deal."
Ottawa (27-19-6, 60 points) did stumble into the break, losing three straight and scoring just four goals in that span. But the Senators were 10-1-1 before that.
The Bruins (31-14-2, 64 points) had their own issues before the break, going just 3-3-1 in their final seven games. Boston has won both meetings with Ottawa so far this season, prevailing 5-3 at the Garden on Nov. 1 and 5-2 in Ottawa on Dec. 14.
Tim Thomas picked up the win in both of those contests, making 47 saves in Ottawa, and is 21-8-2 with a 1.95 GAA, .938 save percentage and six shutouts all-time against the Senators. He's been shaky of late though, allowing four or more goals in four of his last eight starts after not allowing more than three in any of his first 22 starts this season. It will be interesting to see the reception he receives if he gets the start in this one after stirring up a controversy last week with his refusal to join his teammates in their visit to the White House.
The Bruins will be without forward Nathan Horton, who continues to experience concussion symptoms, and defenseman Andrew Ference, who will be serving the final game of his three-game suspension. The Senators have forwards Peter Regin (shoulder) and Jesse Winchester (concussion) out injured.
The puck drops at 7 p.m., so check back here for updates on all the action from the Garden.
