BOSTON – Brian Elliott stopped 31 shots for his first shutout this season, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins 2-0 on Saturday night to hand Tim Thomas his first loss.
Erik Karlsson and Daniel Alfredsson scored for the Senators, who won for the seventh time in nine games and won their third straight game in Boston.
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Thomas had been 8-0 this season, earning the win in each of Boston’s victories. The Bruins were shut out for the first time and have lost four of five since opening the season with seven wins in nine games.
Thomas stopped 31 shots, but he fell behind 1-0 midway through the first period when Karlsson got the puck off a faceoff in the Boston zone and wristed it through traffic and into the net.
Boston appeared to tie it in the second period when Zdeno Chara’s shot from the right circle squeezed between Elliott’s left shoulder and the post before it landed on the goal line. Blake Wheeler dove for it, but his stick went over the puck and, as he slid into the net, he knocked it in with his glove.
The referee immediately waved off the goal, and the replay confirmed his call.
It was Elliott’s seventh career shutout.
FLYERS 5, PANTHERS 2: Mike Richards and Claude Giroux scored two goals apiece and rookie Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves in the surging Philadelphia Flyers’ 5-2 HOME victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.
Scott Hartnell also scored for the Atlantic Division leading Flyers, who are 8-0-1 in their last nine games and have scored 13 goals in their previous two.
CANADIENS 7, HURICANES 2: Tomas Plekanec had a goal and three assists to lead the host Montreal Canadiens to a 7-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
Brian Gionta and Michael Cammalleri each had a goal and an assist and Jaroslav Spacek had two points for Montreal, including an assist on Maxim Lapierre’s highlight-reel goal 15:34 into the second period.
PENGUINS 4, THRASHERS 2: Evgeni Malkin scored three times, Sidney Crosby added a goal and an assist and the Pittsburgh Penguins won at Atlanta Saturday night, beating the Thrashers 4-2 for their second straight victory.
Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury won his second consecutive start, improving to 3-6-0 after stopping 34 shots.
Malkin and Crosby added to their career dominance of Atlanta. Crosby has 28 points, including eight goals, in 19 games against the Thrashers. Malkin has 27 points, including nine goals, in 17 games.
SABRES 3, CAPITALS 2: Thomas Vanek scored his second goal of the game with a minute left in overtime to provide the Buffalo Sabres their first home win of the season in beating the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Saturday night.
Steve Montador also scored, while Ryan Miller stopped 23 shots in his first game after missing six with a hip injury. Jordan Leopold added three assists for Buffalo, which became the NHL’s final team to win a home game this season, improving to 1-6-1.
RED WINGS 3, AVALANCHE 1: Jiri Hudler scored his first NHL goal in more than 19 months, helping the Detroit Red Wings beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 Saturday night at Detroit.
Hudler’s goal put Detroit ahead 2-0. Todd Bertuzzi and Danny Cleary also scored for the Red Wings, who have won nine of 11.
Jimmy Howard stopped 21 shots for Detroit, allowing only John-Michael Liles’ third-period goal.
CANUCKS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 3: Ryan Kesler scored twice and Mason Raymond snapped a tie at 13:36 of the third period, sending the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-3 victory over the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
The go-ahead goal came on a shot Maple Leafs goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere probably would like to have back. Raymond beat him through the legs from the top of the circle, stretching host Toronto’s losing streak to eight games (0-6-2).
Vancouver improved to 5-0-1 against Eastern Conference opponents with its second consecutive win overall.
The Canucks went 13-5-0 against teams from the East last season.
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