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BOX SCORE
BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Bruins pulled off a rare trifecta; good
goaltending, timely scoring and a win.
Ken Belanger scored his first goal of the season with 2:30
remaining and Boston goalie Andrew Raycroft made 32 saves, as the
Bruins beat the Ottawa Senators 2-1 Thursday night.
|  | | Ken Belanger, left, scored his first goal of the season to give the Bruins a 2-1 win over the Sens. |
The Senators lost for only the second time this season (9-2-4).
"You always seem to play to the level of your opponent,"
Raycroft said. "Maybe we take some teams too lightly, and it
affects our game."
Coach Mike Keenan called a team meeting earlier this week after
the Bruins surrendered 15 goals in two games. He asked the team to
write down short-term and long-term goals.
"We wanted to forget the two bad losses and show we were still
confident," Bruins forward Joe Thornton said. "It is a good sign
when you play a good team like Ottawa, and don't panic when they
try to open up the game."
The Bruins scored the winning goal when Senators goalie Patrick
Lalime lost control of the puck behind the net, and Thornton fed a
pass to Belanger, waiting alone in front.
"The puck really took a crazy bounce on that last goal,"
Lalime said. "I was surprised they didn't test me more, earlier in
the game."
Thornton tied it 1-1, when he beat Lalime with a slap shot from
the right circle at 13:40 of the second period. Thornton scored his
seventh power-play goal and assisted on Belanger's goal.
Senators rookie Martin Havlat registered a point in his seventh
straight game. Havlat has three goals and five assists in that
span.
"Havlat has great speed and that is what the game is about,"
Ottawa defenseman Jason York said. "We have a lot of good goal
scorers, but you can never have enough speed."
Ottawa took a 1-0 lead when Havlat scored through Raycroft's
legs at 17:46 of the first. Havlat has six goals this season and is
one of seven Senators with at least five.
The Bruins snapped a six-game winless streak against the
Senators, and are 3-4-0-1 since Keenan replaced the fired Pat
Burns.
"I told the team that if you are not prepared, you are going to
be in trouble," Keenan said. "Ottawa is a miserable team to play
against."
Lalime returned to the Senators lineup after missing 10 games
with a knee injury. He was 3-0-1 with a 1.47 goals-against average
before being injured. Rookie Jani Hurme started every game in his
absence.
The Senators lead the Eastern Conference with 22 points and 55
goals. Boston is tied for allowing the most goals in the NHL this
season with 60.
Lalime made 21 saves for the Senators.
Jason Allison was named as the 16th team captain in Bruins
history and the first since Ray Bourque was traded to Colorado last
spring.
Game notes
The Senators placed 34-year-old D Igor Kravchuk on waivers.
Kravchuk played for Keenan in Chicago and St. Louis, and the Bruins
are one of seven teams pursuing him. ... Ottawa coach Jacques
Martin was named an assistant for Canada's Olympic hockey team for
the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. ... Allison leads the NHL with
16 power-play points. ... Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson missed
his 11th consecutive game with a muscle tear, but is expected to
resume skating next week. ... Boston G Byron Dafoe missed his 12th
game, but is expected to return as early as next Thursday.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Ottawa Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
Keenan tabs Allison as Bruins' 16th team captain
RECAPS
Boston 2
Ottawa 1
Buffalo 3
NY Islanders 0
Columbus 5
San Jose 2
Philadelphia 2
Edmonton 0
NY Rangers 5
Washington 3
St. Louis 3
Colorado 3
Los Angeles 2
Vancouver 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Ken Belanger puts in the game-winner for the Bruins.
avi: 723 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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