Bruins 4, Senators 1

OTTAWA - Phil Kessel, Milan Lucic and Marc Savard scored early in the first period to send the Boston Bruins to a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.

Kessel and Lucic scored 2:50 apart as Boston jumped out to a two-goal lead 3:18 in. Savard, who extended his assists and points streaks to nine games each on Kessel's goal 28 seconds into the game, made it 3-0 with an unassisted goal at 8:21.

Chuck Kobasew scored into an empty net with 23 seconds remaining and a delayed penalty signalled against Ottawa.

Tim Thomas made 30 saves for Boston, which extended its winning streak to three. The Bruins began their current 9-3-1 run on Dec. 31, when they ended their season-high six-game losing streak (0-5-1) with a 5-2 win in Atlanta.

Mike Fisher (12) and Dean McAmmond battle for the puck with Bruins captain Zdeno Chara and Glen Metropolit during the first period of the Senators 4-1 loss on Thursday. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand)

Antoine Vermette ruined Thomas' shutout bid with 8:24 remaining when he scored his 12th goal on a power play.

Martin Gerber stopped 18 shots in his third straight start for Ottawa, which had won two in a row after losing five of six.

Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson - the NHL's scoring leader through Wednesday with 68 points - did not play because of a nagging hip flexor injury. Ottawa has lost eight of the nine games Alfredsson has missed since the beginning of last season.

Alfredsson, who pulled himself out of Tuesday's 5-2 road win over the New York Islanders, was chosen the league's first star of the week after he set a career high and team record with seven points one week earlier in an 8-4 win at Tampa Bay. He is also expected to sit out Saturday in Toronto.

Bruins left wing P.J. Axelsson returned to the lineup after missing seven games because of a bruised right foot.

Boston struck early as Savard beat Mike Fisher on a faceoff to the right of Gerber after the first stoppage in play, drawing the puck back to Kessel, who put a quick wrist shot past the Ottawa goalie for his 14th goal.

Lucic made it 2-0 when he finished off a play that started with him picking up an ill-advised drop pass by Senators center Jason Spezza just inside the Bruins' zone.

Lucic raced down the ice and passed to Glen Metropolit, who fed the puck to Kobasew. Gerber stopped Kobasew's shot but Lucic put the rebound into the net for his sixth goal.

Savard scored his 13th when he intercepted a giveaway by Dean McAmmond in Ottawa's zone and beat Gerber to make it a three-goal lead.

The Senators had a goal disallowed moments later when a video review confirmed that Chris Kelly's stick was too high when it made contact on a deflection past Thomas.

Notes: Savard has three goals and 12 assists during his streaks ... Bruins LW Marco Sturm missed the game because of the flu ... Fisher put a backhand wide to the left on a breakaway late in the second ... With an attendance of 19,959, the Senators recorded their 20th straight sellout at Scotiabank Place.