OTTAWA -- The energizing return of captain Daniel Alfredsson after a 10-day absence due to injuries and their first lead of the series still didn't help the back-at-home Senators, who were undone in the third period's opening 90 seconds by goals from Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal in a 4-1 Penguins triumph tonight.

This third consecutive victory in the NHL Eastern Conference quarterfinals gave the Penguins a relatively comfortable lead in the best-of-seven series, which returns to Scotiabank Place on Wednesday for Game 4.

When the Penguins grab a 3-0 series lead, they are 6-1 in their playoffs history. Of course, the one loss was a historic one: that four-game rally by the Islanders in 1975, one of the rare times in professional sports history when a team at the brink of eliminating its opponent wound up losing the series. In the six other commanding leads in such playoffs, the Penguins lost only two of their eight total Games 4 and 5.

Ottawa has been behind twice by 0-3, and lost both such first-round series, in 1999 and 2001.

Tonight, the Senators struck first, for a change.

Nick Foligno, a 20-year-old rookie and son of former NHLer Mike Foligno, gave Ottawa its first lead in the series and himself the first playoff goal of his career -- which consisted of six goals in 45 games this season. Jason Spezza, who missed Ottawa's Sunday workout and thus became front-page news here, gathered the puck just past the blueline and threw a pass into the left circle to Foligno. Foligno knocked down the airborne puck and steered it around Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney, then rapped a shot between Marc-Andre Fleury's legs.

At the second period's 1:11 mark, the Senators had their inaugural series lead . . . after just 141 minutes, 11 seconds of game time.

Alfredsson, without skating in practice among his teammates, made a dramatic return after missing three games with head, back and knee injuries sustained April 3. He was on the ice for Foligno's goal, playing on that line and the power play.

That rare Senators lead lasted barely 4 1/2 minutes.

Maxime Talbot took a Marian Hossa pass and backhanded the puck between the legs of Martin Gerber to tie the game at 5:39 of the second period, Talbot's first career playoff goal.

The 1-1 deadlock was thrashed in the opening 90 seconds of the third period. It started with Crosby, who pushed a puck through Ottawa's Antoine Vermette and then dangled veteran defenseman Chris Phillips, who was angling for the pass. Crosby then flipped the puck past Gerber just 12 seconds into the period for the Penguins first lead of the game, 2-1.

At the 1:30 mark, Staal stormed down the slot and knocked in a Tyler Kennedy flying pass from the right boards for his first goal of the series, making it 3-1, Penguins.

On a power play later in the third, Hossa -- a longtime Senators forward -- grabbed a loose puck in the Ottawa crease and threw in his first postseason goal since 2003.

This story as published April 14, 2008 incorrectly identified the father of Ottawa Senators forward Nick Foligno. His father is Mike Foligno, former Detroit, Buffalo, Toronto and Florida forward.