Ottawa Senators 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 1 FINAL

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The Ottawa Senators made a statement at the expense of the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning

Daniel Alfredsson scored a short-handed goal on an odd rebound and the Senators remained the Eastern Conference's only unbeaten team with a 4-1 victory over the Lightning on Friday night.

``I think we had more energy than them throughout the night,'' Alfredsson said. ``I think they're in a bit of a funk now. But I think once they get going, they're going to be one of the top teams.''

Dany Heatley, Chris Neil and Peter Schaefer each had a goal and an assist for Ottawa (6-0-0), while Dominik Hasek stopped 23 shots in 600th career game.

Nashville (6-0-0) is the NHL's only other unbeaten team.

``We were very focused, very concentrated before the game and you could see it on the ice,'' Hasek said. ``Today was one of the best games we played this year.''

Dmitry Afanasenkov scored for the Lightning, who have lost three straight home games, one in a shootout.

Some key performers in Tampa Bay's 2004 championship - Martin St. Louis (minus 3), Pavel Kubina (minus 3), Vincent Lecavalier (minus 2), Vinny Prospal (minus 1) and Ruslan Fedotenko (minus 1) - were a combined minus 10 in the game.

``You can't find your big guys playing against probably one of the best teams right now, guess what's going to happen,'' Lightning coach John Tortorella said. ``We can't have guys lying in the weeds - our best players - in games against the best teams in the league. They need to be front and center, and they're not.''

Alfredsson put the Senators up 2-1 at 3:43 of the second. Lightning goalie John Grahame slid almost to the blue line in an attempt to beat the right wing to a loose puck. After neither player gained control, Heatley took a shot from the high slot that went past a Tampa Bay player wide of the net as Grahame threw his stick along the ice at the him. The puck hit the end boards and Alfredsson scored from in front.

``That was a crazy play,'' Alfredsson said.

Heatley made it 3-1 with 17:45 remaining in the third. Schaeffer gave Ottawa a three-goal lead at 9:19.

Alfredsson has 10 points, including six goals, during a six-game point streak. Heatley (six assists, nine points) also has a point in six straight games.

The teams traded first-period goals. Neil scored for Ottawa at 1:53 before Tampa Bay tied it on Afanasenkov's goal with 10:45 left. Neil has four goals and seven points during a five-game point streak.

``This was a game as a measuring stick for us early in the year to see where we're at,'' Tortorella said. ``We deserved that result.''

Notes: The Lightning players held a postgame meeting. ... The Senators' game Saturday at Florida was postponed until Dec. 5 because of Hurricane Wilma. ... Ottawa LW Vaclav Varada (knee) played after the missing the first five games of the season. ... Senators C Mike Fisher (shoulder) missed his third straight game. He could return next week. ... Ottawa RW Martin Havlat began serving his five-game suspension for kicking Boston's Hal Gill on Oct. 15. ... Lightning D Paul Ranger might return in a week after receiving a concussion and hairline fracture of his jaw in Thursday's game at Atlanta. ... Lecavalier and Prospal had scored goals in their previous four games. ... Tampa Bay sent C Nick Tarnasky and RW Evgeny Artyukhin to Springfield of the American Hockey League.