Surging Bruins zeroed in

OTTAWA -- The first three times the Bruins played the Senators this season, they were run out of the rink. Ottawa outscored them by a 14-5 count and looked all-world. The Bruins looked all discombobulated.

In their past three meetings, though, the pendulum has swung the other way. Not only did the Bruins win their third consecutive contest against the muscle of the Eastern Conference -- this time by a 5-0 score at the newly named Scotiabank Place -- they continued to claw their way up the standings.

The victory gave them 52 points, tying them for ninth place with Montreal, which was leapfrogged by Toronto as the Maple Leafs ended an eight-game losing streak with a win over Florida last night. Atlanta also has 52.

Boston received goals from five players and shut out the Senators for the second time this year, which is pretty remarkable given that Ottawa has scored the most goals in the NHL with 202. The Bruins have outscored them, 12-2, in their wins.

Tim Thomas made 44 stops on the way to his first NHL shutout, the Bruins' second blanking of Ottawa this year and the fourth time the Senators have been held scoreless (three at home).

''It's always big when you can get points against Ottawa," said Thomas, who improved his record to 6-1-2 and his save percentage to .940. ''I've watched them on TV. They're the team, when I'm watching the NHL package, that I turn to because you know you're going to see a good game and they're pretty to watch. To be able to come in here and get 2 points, it's great."

Coach Mike Sullivan had his work cut out, not only because of the top-flight opponent but because he was fielding an unusual lineup. He had only 11 forwards because of injuries, and one of them was right wing Ben Guite, who made his NHL debut. He also had to shuffle things to accommodate seven blue liners, moving rookie defenseman Andrew Alberts up front.

P.J. Axelsson, who was pestering Ottawa star Daniel Alfredsson for much of the contest, had a particularly heavy workload in the first period as the Bruins went ahead, 2-0. Axelsson logged 16 shifts over 7:02, which was second only to defenseman Brad Stuart on the team. Alfredsson, who often plays on the same line with Axelsson for Team Sweden during international events, logged eight shifts over 7:17.

After a fairly even first half of the period, Boston took the lead at 15:15. The Senators' Chris Phillips tried to clear the puck out of the Ottawa zone by firing it up the boards but Brad Boyes, positioned in the right corner, corraled it. He fed Patrice Bergeron for a one-timer down the slot, Bergeron's 16th goal of the year.

Boyes upped the ante with 1:52 left when he took advantage of a fortuitous carom. Marco Sturm had the puck at the right point and threw it toward the net. It nicked off the stick of defenseman Zdeno Chara and right to Boyes, who redirected it past goalie Ray Emery at 18:08.

''It was kind of wobbling," said Boyes, who had a goal and two assists. ''It hit [Chara's] stick and I tried to knock it down and corral it. It hit my stick just enough and had eyes. Two weeks ago that puck doesn't go in, but the bounces are going for me now."

The Bruins added three more in the middle period, the first coming shorthanded. With David Tanabe in the box for holding, Nick Boynton converted on a two-on-one break when his wrister from the right circle went over Emery's glove at 5:21. It was Boynton's fifth goal of the year and first since Nov 26 -- also against Ottawa -- a span of 14 contests.

A little less than four minutes later, Sturm struck for his 20th of the season, prompting the fans to give their team a sound booing. Boyes dished a pass to Sturm, who was driving to the net, and his shot bounced off Emery's back and in at 9:17.

It turned into a rout at 13:42 when Pat Leahy won a battle in the left corner and fired a pass out for Brian Leetch in the slot. Leetch's backhand bid was stopped, but Sergei Samsonov was there for the rebound.

After the scoreless third period, there was plenty of reason for celebration in the Boston locker room, which has gone from down and out to downright festive.

''Winning is definitely fun," said Boyes.