Alfredsson, Kuba power Senators to third straight win

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Game Information

Arena: Scotiabank Place Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Referees: Stephane Auger, Justin St. Pierre Linesmen: Steve Miller, Mark Shewchyk

Attendance: 17,206 (93.0% full)

Team Stat Comparison
157	Goals	163
141	Goals Against	164
42	Power Play Goals	31
26	Power Play Goals Allowed	38
3	Shorthanded Goals	6
3	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	3
656	Penalty Minutes	837
11	Average Penalty Minutes	14

Scoring Summary
1ST PERIOD			BUF	OTT
19:08		Thomas Vanek (Power Play) Assists: Chris Butler, Tim Connolly	1	0
2ND PERIOD			BUF	OTT
0:50		Filip Kuba (Power Play) Assists: Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson	1	1
8:14		Daniel Alfredsson Assists: Filip Kuba, Chris Phillips	1	2
3RD PERIOD			BUF	OTT
2:39		Chris Kelly Assists: Matt Carkner	1	3
6:11		Milan Michalek Assists: Filip Kuba, Jason Spezza	1	4
8:00		Daniel Alfredsson Assists: Mike Fisher, Filip Kuba	1	5
8:57		Patrick Kaleta Assists: Henrik Tallinder, Derek Roy	2	5
10:30		Jason Pominville Assists: Derek Roy, Henrik Tallinder	3	5

OTTAWA -- Brian Elliott found a way to keep the Senators on their winning streak.

The Senators' backup goalie replaced injured starter Pascal Leclaire to start the third period and made 16 saves to pick up the win and Ottawa topped the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 on Saturday night.

"I don't know how fast my heart was going when I got in there," Elliott said. "The guys played really well in front of me. I felt I played pretty good and obviously they spotted me that lead and that helped as well."

Daniel Alfredsson had two goals and an assist and Filip Kuba had a goal and three assists to lead the Senators.

Chris Kelly and Milan Michalek also scored for the Senators, who have won three straight.

The Senators have scored 14 goals during the streak.

"I think it's confidence and a little bit of luck," Alfredsson said. "We're playing with more confidence and you can feel it in the locker room. When you score five like tonight, you've got to be happy."

Thomas Vanek, Patrick Kaleta and Jason Pominville scored for the Sabres. Former Senators goalie Patrick Lalime faced 26 shots in just his third start of the season and took the loss.

Elliott started the third for the Senators after Leclaire left the game with a lower-body injury as a result of a collision in the second with Jochen Hecht. Hecht fell over Leclaire and afterward the goalie seemed to favor his left leg. He finished with 24 saves.

Senators coach Cory Clouston said Leclaire would be evaluated on Sunday.

Vanek opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period. Parked at the side of the net, Vanek picked up a rebound and beat Leclaire shortside.

The Senators responded with a power-play goal in the opening minute of the second period as Kuba fired a shot from the blueline.

"I thought we came out real solid in the second period," Clouston said. "The first 12 to 13 minutes we played really well. We did a lot of good things defensively and that created offensive opportunities."

Ottawa took the lead at 8:14 of the second when Alfredsson scored his seventh of the season on a quick wrist shot that beat Lalime.

Ottawa made it 3-1 early in the third as Kelly tipped Matt Carkner's point shot and Michalek picked up his 10th goal of the season scoring on an odd-man rush.

"I don't think we even need to focus on goaltending," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "I think the focus has to fall on our 5-on-5 play. That 4-on-3 that they scored against was just a fact that two of our forwards didn't get back."

After Alfredsson made it 5-1, Kaleta and Pominville scored less than two minutes apart to pull Buffalo within two with just over nine minutes remaining.

Game notes
The Senators were without RW Alex Kovalev (personal), RW Shean Donovan (knee), D Anton Volchenkov (elbow). ... The Sabres RW Drew Stafford and D Nathan Paetsch were healthy scratches.