The Bruins dropped their fourth straight game and suffered their 7th loss in their last 8 games (1-6-1) as the Ottawa Senators beat the B's 2-1 at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon. Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza were the goal scorers for the Sens, while Daniel Paille found the back of the net for the B's.
Daniel Alfredsson gave the Senators a 1-0 lead with 5.9 seconds remaining in the first period after the Bruins coughed up the puck in the neutral zone. Matt Carkner gained possession of the puck in the neutral zone and batted it forward to Nick Foligno, who entered the zone and slid the puck to Alfredsson, who weaved through the Bruins' defense and slipped the puck between the pads of Tim Thomas for his 14th goal of the season.
Daniel Paille knotted it up for the B's at 8:26 of the second period when he fired a hard wrister in stride from the left circle that beat Ottawa goalie Brian Elliot top shelf. Dennis Wideman and Patrice Bergeron (who took a big hit at center ice to keep the play alive) picked up helpers on Paille's 7th goal of the season.
Mark Recchi appeared to have put the Bruins up 2-1 at 12:11 of the second period. Dennis Wideman had the puck in the high slot and moved the puck to Paille on the right side of the goal. Paille then slid a pass to Recchi at the left post, who deflected the puck in. The video review determined that Recchi made a distinct kicking motion to score the goal and the goal was disallowed.
Jason Spezza made it 2-1 Ottawa when his wrister from the high slot beat Tim Thomas after it appeared to have deflected off the stick of Blake Wheeler.
Mike Fisher batted a puck past Tim Thomas with 1:05 left in the middle period, but the goal was quickly after off after it was determined that the puck was played with a high-stick.
Notes:
- Mark Recchi played in his 1,540th NHL game, which ties Johnny Bucyk for 10th all-time in NHL history.
- The Bruins out-shot the Senators 33-23 but Brian Elliott (32 saves) was solid in goal and the Bruins didn't have a enough quality scoring opportunities.
- If the season ended tonight, the Bruins could be out of the playoffs.
- Daniel Alfredsson has 6 goals in 5 games against the Bruins this season. He has 8 goals in 36 games against the rest of the league.
- The Bruins are back on the ice tomorrow when the travel to Raleigh, NC to take on the Carolina Hurricanes at 5:00. There aren't many "must-win" games in January, but if the Bruins lose to the Hurricanes tomorrow, they should just pack it in.