Senators 5, Bruins 1

BOSTON - Daniel Alfredsson had what the Boston Bruins needed - fresh legs.

The Ottawa captain scored three goals in his second game after missing 11 with a shoulder injury, and the Senators drove a tired Tim Thomas from the net midway through the second period of their 5-1 win Monday.

"Being able to do some real good workouts and skates, coming back I feel fresher than anybody," Alfredsson said.

He ended his layoff on Saturday with a goal and two assists in a 4-2 win over Montreal. That day, the Bruins ended a three-game West Coast trip in Los Angeles with Thomas in goal. After the cross-country flight home, Thomas played his third game in five days Monday and was removed when Alfredsson's second goal made it 3-0. That ended his 11-game winning streak against the Senators.

Mike Fisher had three assists and Filip Kuba, who returned from a four-game injury layoff, assisted on two of Alfredsson's goals as the Senators kept crowding the front of the net and won their third straight game after losing five in a row.

Alfredsson completed his ninth career hat trick, including two in the playoffs, about three minutes after his second goal on a power play against goalie Tuukka Rask.

"I don't think anything (Alfredsson) does can surprise you anymore," said goalie Brian Elliott, who started when Mike Brodeur felt dizzy before the game.

Daniel Paille ruined Elliott's shutout bid when he converted a rebound at 4:23 of the third period. Ottawa's final goal came at 11:05 of the period after Boston defenseman Dennis Wideman lost the puck when he skated into referee Dan O'Rourke, and Jonathan Cheechoo collected it and easily beat Rask.

The Senators tied the Bruins for second place in the Northeast Division with 54 points, 10 behind the Buffalo Sabres before their game at Phoenix on Monday night. Boston lost for the fifth time in six games.

Ottawa scored on its second and third shots against Thomas, who entered with a 16-5-2 record and 1.43 goals-against average against the Senators.

"Once we got the lead, they didn't have the jump that they normally do," Alfredsson said. "Getting that first goal gave us momentum."

Alex Kovalev scored his 12th goal at 7:39 of the first period after taking a pass from Fisher. Then Alfredsson scored the next three goals.

"Since he's been back, he seems a little more energized," said Senators head coach Cory Clouston.

Alfredsson made it 2-0 at 14:24 of the first period with a shot over Thomas' right shoulder as Chris Phillips screened the goalie in the slot. Alfredsson's second goal came after Kuba's shot from the right point to the left of the crease, where Alfredsson was waiting and deflected it in.

At 13:14 of the second, Alfredsson completed his first hat trick since he had three goals and four assists on Jan. 24, 2008, in Ottawa's 8-4 win at Tampa Bay. This time, he shot the puck from the left point through a crowd and past Rask.

"He kept finding those holes and finding those lanes to get the puck through," Thomas said.

The Bruins finally scored when Paille got his sixth goal on a rebound of a shot by Johnny Boychuk.

NOTES: The teams play again Saturday in Boston, wrapping up the season series. The Bruins lead 4-1-0 ... Ottawa's Anton Volchenkov played his 400th career game ... The Senators return home to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Place (7:30 p.m., Rogers Sportsnet, Team 1200). Fewer than 2,750 tickets remain for the game.