Lewis's squad goes thump in the night

Last week, coach Dave Lewis issued a challenge to his players.

Instead of being the dog that whimpers when beaten, said Lewis, he wanted his boys to fight back.

They did that last night in a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators -- literally.

In a first period that featured some of the heaviest hitting of the season, the Bruins finally showed some spark to their physical game.

During one shift, captain Zdeno Chara thumped Ottawa's entire line. First, he flattened winger Dany Heatley along the boards. Then he drilled center Jason Spezza. Top-line winger Patrick Eaves came to his defense, but the ex-Boston College Eagle bounced off Chara.

Chara capped the effort by tussling with Ottawa tough guy Brian McGrattan in front of the net, earning a roughing penalty. Later in the period, Wade Brookbank traded punches with Ottawa heavyweight Chris Neil, which was followed by a near flare-up between Jeff Hoggan and Ottawa forward Mike Fisher.

Collectively, the Bruins delivered 13 hits, with Chara recording three.

"Guys were really physical," said Lewis. "Ask any of them and they'll say they feel pretty good about that. It can be done. It doesn't matter your size or makeup. You can still get in the way and be physical. It's not something out of the realm of what's expected. It has nothing to do with talent. Everybody can bring it that way."

Goalie Tim Thomas, who had a wide-range view of the belting his teammates were handing out, thought perhaps the hitting had worn the Senators down by the third period, when the Bruins scored their goals. And all that started in the first period when the Bruins had seven of their 13 hits.

"The boys protected their turf," said Lewis. "They did a tremendous job. To a man."

Juggling act

Lewis mixed up all four lines last night in his search for more offense. "When you don't win, you do things to change it up," Lewis said. "It was not going the way it was supposed to go." . . . Phil Kessel ripped off a game-high nine shots, including six in the second period . . . Marc Savard, who said he lost feeling in his hand after Chara hit him with a clearing pass in the head, also took an elbow from Eaves in the third period. Savard said he felt fine after the game. Also getting banged up was Nathan Dempsey, who took a Mike Fisher slap shot off the right foot. Dempsey didn't appear to miss a shift . . . Wade Redden, Ottawa's No. 1 defenseman, sat last night with a groin injury . . . With Chara's power-play goal, the Senators' streak of successful penalty kills ended at 36.