MONTREAL (AP) -Predictably, the mood in the Ottawa Senators' dressing room was good after a second straight win over Montreal.
The same couldn't be said for the beaten Canadiens.
Daniel Alfredsson set up Wade Redden during a power play in the second period and assisted on Mike Fisher's goal early in the third as Ottawa recovered from blowing an early lead for a 5-3 win over Montreal on Saturday night.
Jason Spezza added his 22nd goal moments after Fisher scored 17 seconds into the third, and Ray Emery made 37 saves as the Senators beat the Canadiens for the second time in three nights.
Montreal's room remained closed to reporters for 29 minutes after the game while the team held a players-only meeting.
"It was among the team and hopefully it's going to stay that way," captain Saku Koivu said. "It was more or less to kind of make sure that everybody really senses the urgency of the situation. A month ago things were great and now, if things keep going like this, we're going to be out of the playoffs."
Canadiens right wing Alex Kovalev was on the ice for Fisher's goal and was benched by coach Guy Carbonneau until late in the third.
"We came back to the room and somebody started talking because it's not right - after the game you can't just change and leave, change and leave," Kovalev said. "It's not like we're on a 10-game winning streak. Something has to be done and whatever everybody thinks, they have to release it and clear their minds and figure out what's wrong with the team.
"We're in this together and it's not one or two guys. To make this work, that's how you have to do it."
Mike Comrie and Chris Kelly scored in the first to build a 2-0 lead midway through the first for the Senators, whose 4-1 win over Montreal on Thursday moved them ahead of the Canadiens into second place in the Northeast Division.
"I thought we came out hard," Comrie said. "Playing in these type of games, you've got to be patient. We got a couple of goals early but we stayed with it and we were patient throughout the whole game."
Steve Begin, who returned to Montreal's lineup after missing 27 games with a back injury, and Michael Ryder scored in the second to even it at 2. Andrei Markov scored the Canadiens' second power-play goal 5:04 into the third to draw Montreal back within two.
Redden got his fifth of the season during a 4-on-3 power play as Ottawa took a 3-2 lead 16:37 into the middle period.
Fisher made it 4-2 after he passed to Alfredsson and drove the net to deflect the Senators captain's shot past David Aebischer for his 10th goal.
Dany Heatley got his team-leading 38th assist as Spezza scored Ottawa's third straight goal at 3:31, increasing the lead to 5-2.
"The 4-on-3 goal was important for us to get some momentum on the power play, and then coming into the third and starting the way we did obviously gave us some breathing room," Alfredsson said. "I think we defended pretty good, and Ray made some good saves. Being the big game it was, I think we've got to be happy."
Ottawa's consecutive wins over Montreal follow a stretch in which the Senators lost three of four (1-2-1).
Aebischer made 25 saves for the Canadiens, who have dropped three in a row and five of six (1-4-1).
Comrie scored at 2:10 before assisting on Kelly's goal midway through the first as Ottawa took a 2-0 lead.
Begin took Mike Johnson's pass from behind the net and put it into an open goal 5:01 into the second after Emery got caught playing the puck.
Ryder tied it 9:14 into the second with his 16th goal on a power play after Emery took a penalty for swatting Canadiens center Maxim Lapierre in the face with his stick following a collision in the crease.
"I hope the NHL reviews this play because that was an attempt to injure," Carbonneau said. "If Maxim didn't have a visor he would probably have a broken nose right now."
Notes: Comrie has six goals and five assists in 16 games with Ottawa since he was acquired from Phoenix on Jan. 3. ... Markov returned after missing three games because of a knee injury. ... Canadiens D Janne Niinimaa was on the ice for both Ottawa goals in the first despite being limited to just 1:06 of ice time in the opening period.
