Boston takes shootout to continue its Ottawa winning streak

OTTAWA -- They had to overcome an early deficit and they needed their goalie to make a big stretch save off a imaginative shootout move, but the end result was a familiar one for the Boston Bruins in Canada's capital.

As they have done after every visit for almost four years, the Bruins left Ottawa with a victory.

David Krejci's goal in the fourth round of a shootout gave Boston a 3-2 win over the Senators at Scotiabank Place. Ottawa has now lost 10 straight to the Bruins on home ice, dating back to April 7, 2009.

"It is nice to win that game," said Boston captain Zdeno Chara, whose team trailed 2-0 by the 7:18 mark of the first period. "Especially with the start of the game we had."

The decisive tally immediately followed a highlight-reel move by Ottawa fourth-liner Kaspars Daugavins, and an even more spectacular save by Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask.

Daugavins, who is goalless in 16 games this season but does have a shootout winner, skated in on Rask with his stick turned over and the tip on the puck, which was on the ice. When he arrived at the crease, he slammed on the brakes and spun around, but just as he tried to tuck it inside the post, Rask slid his left leg out to shut the door at the goal line.

"I've done it before in the (AHL) and it worked," Daugavins said. "I got a little unlucky. The blade got the puck, and usually I just push it in. It sucks to not score that goal.

"Now, I look like a fool."

Rask said he had never before witnessed such a move.

"Not like that, with his stick upside down like that," he said. "But you're allowed to do whatever you want, as long as it's in the limits of the rules.

"He kind of came really close to me, I don't know if he hit me or not, but I made the save by getting my pad across."

Krejci and Patrice Bergeron beat Senators goalie Robin Lehner in the shootout. Kyle Turris was the only Senator to solve Rask in the tiebreaking skills contest.

The Bruins outshot the Senators 32-29 through three periods. Neither goalie had to be spectacular in the extra session, each making three saves.

The Senators jumped out to the start they wanted. Guillaume Latendresse scored on a breakaway at the 55-second mark of his first game back after missing 18 with what was diagnosed as migraines.

Latendresse, the Senators' biggest free agent signing in the offseason, was clearly relieved to get his first goal since Dec. 11, 2011.

"It felt good to get that done, but for sure you prefer to do that in a win," said the winger, who scored 25 goals in 55 games for the Minnesota Wild two seasons ago before his career was interrupted by injuries. "But it's one of the best teams in the league, and we got a big point against them, so we have to keep flying."

Turris ended his 21-game slump almost seven minutes later when he cut through the slot and fired a wrist shot over Rask's trapper.

The Bruins began their comeback in the final minute of the first, after Senators rookie Jakob Silfverberg failed to clear the puck from the defensive zone. A harmless looking wrist shot from the left wing boards by Shawn Thornton managed to squeak by Lehner and deflate the crowd of 20,256.

Boston tied the game near the midway mark of the second when Krejci sent Daniel Paille in for a clear breakaway. Paille's snap shot beat Lehner on the stick side.

"There's definitely no excuse for it," Paille said of the way the Bruins came out of the gate. "I just think we have to be mentally better to start a game and realize it's going to be a battle."

NOTES: The Bruins lost center Chris Kelly because a left knee injury that resulted when he collided with Chris Neil in the first minute of the second period. Entering the night, the Bruins had lost just seven man-games to injury ... Senators left winger Milan Michalek missed the game with what's believed to be a knee problem that kept him out of lineup for 10 games, from Feb. 13-March 3 ... Entering the game, the Senators had the best home record (9-1-2) in the East, while the Bruins had the best road record (8-1-2). ... Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, the Bruins are 26-0 when Kelly scores a goal. "I don't know why," said the third-line center, who has two goals on the season. "They just need me to score more." ... The Senators have taken a minor penalty for "instigating with a visor" in two consecutive games.