Senators 3, Canadiens 0

OTTAWA (AP) - Dominik Hasek's latest shutout was practically a gift from the Montreal Canadiens.

Hasek earned his fifth shutout of the season and Daniel Alfredsson had two goals and an assist, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 3-0 win over Montreal on Thursday night as the Canadiens tied a franchise record by being held to only 12 shots.

Zdeno Chara also scored for Northeast Division-leading Ottawa, which outshot Montreal 33-6 through the first two periods and 40-12 overall.

"I think I'm embarrassed to get a shutout like that," said Hasek, who moved past Roy Worters into 11th place on the all-time list with his 68th career shutout.

The Senators went 2-for-6 on the power play through the first two periods while Montreal had only one opportunity with the man advantage during the same stretch.

"They had a power play five or six minutes in that really disrupted what we were trying to accomplish in the first period," Canadiens coach Bob Gainey said. "In the second period, we were in the box five times I think for anything from clipping toe nails to anything else they were calling."

The Canadiens, who have lost 17 of 19 on the road, fell to 1-4 on a six-game road trip that ends Saturday in Toronto.

"We got out and we skated hard from the beginning," Alfredsson said. "We controlled the game from the first faceoff. Once we got going, I think we played smart and we kept the puck in front of us. We knew they'd had a long road trip. They looked tired and we took advantage of it for sure."

Hasek made his eighth straight start and only needed to make 12 saves - including a 78-foot slap shot by Mark Streit with 9 seconds left in the third - to claim his second shutout in three games.

"What can I say about tonight's shutout? It was the easiest shutout I've ever had in the NHL," said Hasek, who surpassed Patrick Roy on the career list Saturday in a 7-0 win over Toronto. "I know it counts in the statistics but for us it's an important win."

Alfredsson, who has five goals in his last three games, scored his 250th on a power play 2:21 into the second.

"I don't know if it's a milestone or not but it's halfway to 500 so I'm getting there," Alfredsson said.

He took his next step in that direction when he added his second of the game on a 5-on-3 at 6:16 to move ahead of linemate Dany Heatley for the team lead with 32 goals.

Jason Spezza and Wade Redden each assisted on both of Alfredsson's goals.

Chara opened the scoring with a fine individual effort for his ninth goal 12:36 in. The 6-foot-9 defenseman stepped around Montreal's Sheldon Souray before beating Cristobal Huet, who made his second consecutive start for the Canadiens.

The Senators converted their first of five second-period power plays when Alfredsson scored his 31st of the season early in the period to make it 2-0.

With Canadiens forward Jan Bulis already in the penalty box, Souray was sent off for holding at 5:48 and Alfredsson made Montreal pay moments later when he increased the lead to three with a slap shot from the point that got past Huet, who was screened by Chara.

"We have to be pleased with his play," Gainey said of Huet. "He got bombarded and he stood in."

Notes: The Canadiens had a franchise-low 12 shots against Ottawa on Dec. 27, 2002. ... Heatley and Alfredsson both extended their point streaks to six games each. Heatley has four goals and six assists during his streak, and Alfredsson has five goals and six assists during his run. ... The crowd of 19,908 was Ottawa's 21st sellout in 25 home games. ... The Senators finished 2-for-7 on the power play. Montreal was 0-for-4.