Ottawa, ON (My Sportsbook) - Alex Kovalev and Maxim Lapierre both tallied in the shootout, as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators, 5-4, in a Northeast Division contest at Scotiabank Place.

Ottawa's Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson were both denied in the shootout, while the Habs converted on both their attempts. Kovalev faked out goaltender Brian Elliott and slid the puck past his pads on the left side. Lapierre ended the game with a beautiful backhanded shot under the crossbar.

Kovalev, Andrei Kostitsyn, Matt D`Agostini and Tom Kostopoulos scored for the Canadiens, who have won five straight games against Ottawa. Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves, as the Habs have now been victorious in six of their last seven contests.

Dany Heatley scored twice, while Chris Kelly and Mike Fisher also lit the lamp for the Senators, who were unsuccessful in their bid to win a third straight game. Elliott made 28 saves.

Montreal got on the board first, as Kovalev scored on the power play 7:50 into the contest. Ottawa quickly struck back and tied the score just 11 seconds later on Kelly's sixth of the year. but Kostitsyn put the Canadiens back ahead on his 16th goal of the season with 6:28 remaining in the first period.

Kostitsyn expanded his point streak to seven games with the goal.

The Canadiens put relentless pressure on Ottawa in the second stanza, outshooting the Senators 14-8 in the frame. But they couldn't seem to capitalize on some golden opportunities, including a Robert Lang short-handed breakaway shot that went off the crossbar.

With 5:14 left in the period, Montreal finally extended its lead on a shot from D`Agostini that found the upper left-hand corner of the net. Gregory Stewart set the play up with a steal, followed by a beautiful centering pass from behind the goal.

Ottawa cut the gap and made things interesting just 5:31 into the third period, as Heatley collected his 18th of the year on an unassisted goal. Heatley took things into his own hands on a 3-on-1 opportunity by placing the puck over the left shoulder of Halak.

The action picked up with less than 10 minutes left in regulation. Kostopoulos put the Habs ahead 4-2 on a shot that hit the left post and trickled into the goal with nine minutes remaining. Only 33 seconds later, Ottawa fired back with a goal from Heatley, his second of the period.

Montreal couldn't hold onto the lead, as Fisher notched a shot into the upper right-hand corner of the goal off a pass from Chris Neil. The Habs couldn't take advantage of a late power play and the contest went into overtime when the Senators killed off a Brian Lee hooking penalty.

Game Notes

Canadiens center Kyle Chipchura was left out of the lineup in favor of Stewart, who was recalled from Hamilton of the AHL on Thursday...Senators defenseman Brendan Bell was also a healthy scratch...Montreal was 1-for-6 on the power play, while Ottawa ended 0-for-2.