Boston, MA (My Sportsbook) - David Krejci scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and added an assist, as the Boston Bruins became the first team in the NHL to reach 30 wins by topping the Ottawa Senators, 6-4, at TD Banknorth Garden.

The Bruins (30-7-4) reached the mark before San Jose, which is 29-5-5 but did not play Thursday.

Marc Savard picked up three points on a goal and two helpers while Chuck Kobasew, Michael Ryder added a goal and an assist for Boston, which snapped a two-game slide and avoided matching its longest losing streak of the season, a three-game skid from October 20-23.

Aaron Ward and P.J. Axelsson also scored for the Bruins, while Manny Fernandez stopped 26-of-30 shots in the win.

"To win itself was important, but the way we won it wasn't so good. We've got a lot of things right now that are challenging us. Some of our better players are struggling right now, trying to find their groove," Boston head coach Claude Julien said. "We're at a stage right now where we're highly critical of our team because of what we've accomplished so far."

Chris Phillips, Brendan Bell, Antoine Vermette and Chris Kelly scored the goals for Ottawa, which has lost four in a row and seven of its last eight contests. Martin Gerber gave up five goals on 21 shots in the loss.

"We just have to get out of this hole and this mess," Gerber said.

With the score tied at 3-3 after two periods, Krejci gave Boston the lead with a superb individual effort. He raced up the left side of the ice into the Ottawa end, getting around one defender in the neutral zone. After losing the puck, a Senators player lost the disc and Krejci recovered in the left circle, moved to the front of the crease, then put the puck past Gerber at the 10:13 mark.

A little over four minutes later, the Bruins dumped the puck into the Ottawa zone and it made its way around the end boards. Ottawa lost control of the puck again. Kobasew gained control and dished to Savard in the left circle, then flipped it over Gerber for a 5-3 Bruins advantage with 5:31 remaining.

Gerber was pulled and his club almost scored as the clock rolled under a minute, but the rebound off Fernandez's save was controlled by the Bruins, who advanced it up the ice. Axelsson eventually got possession and fired it into an open net with 41 ticks left.

Vermette scored 13 seconds later but there was too little time for the Senators to make up the two-goal difference.

Ward got Boston on the scoreboard just 2:20 into the game, and at the 4:15 mark, the Bruins went up by two. Kobasew whiffed his shot from in close, but the disc caromed off his left skate and off the stick of an Ottawa defender into the net.

The Senators got a goal back with 7:46 left in the opening period when Phillips rifled a shot past a screened Fernandez from the right circle.

Boston regained a two-goal edge at the 8:44 mark of the middle period. Blake Wheeler's snap shot hit the crossbar and fell into the crease for Ryder, who banged home the rebound.

But Kelly's rebound shot with 9:52 left in the second got the Senators within one, and Bell's one-timer with 5:28 remaining evened the contest at 3-3.

Game Notes

Axelsson's goal was the 100th of his career...Ottawa was without forward Jarkko Ruutu, who served the first game of a two-game suspension for biting Sabres forward Andrew Peters on Tuesday. The Senators also played without Anton Volchenkov, who missed the game with an upper body injury...Boston's scratches were Milan Lucic (unspecified injury), Shane Hnidy (facial injury), and Martins Karsums (healthy).