BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Bruins are getting closer to missing the playoffs yet again.

	Boston's Don Sweeney, left, and Ottawa's Radek Bonk tie up each other.

In front of 15,150 fans, who voiced their displeasure, the Bruins lost to the Ottawa Senators 5-3 Tuesday night. The 12th-place Bruins trail the New York Rangers by five points in the race for the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot.

"It's definitely getting tougher getting this team ready as the season goes on," Boston coach Pat Burns said. "They asked me to get it done with what we have in the organization. Well, the younger players are up and we are getting the same results."

Marian Hossa scored twice -- 36 seconds apart -- during a four-goal second period as the Ottawa Senators handed the Bruins their 13th loss on home ice.

Ottawa grabbed a 4-0 lead before the Bruins scored three times in the final period to get back in the game.

"Did we come back or did they stop playing?" Burns asked.

Chris Phillips scored his fourth goal into an empty net with 12 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Hossa scored his team-leading 23rd goal at 3:11 of the second by drawing John Grahame out of the net and sending a backhander from the slot past him.

Ottawa made it 2-0 when Hossa took the puck from Boston's Sergei Samsonov and beat Grahame at 3:47 with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle. Hossa had his ninth two-point game this season.

"The first goal came as a result of great work by Kevin Miller," Hossa said. "On the second, the puck fell right on my stick. It was kind of a lucky goal."

The Senators, 3-0-1 this season against Boston, won for the third time in five games. Ottawa is 19-1-4 when leading after two periods.

Boston, 9-13-9 at the FleetCenter, lost their second straight and third in five home contests.

Grahame allowed three goals on 15 shots, before being replaced by Rob Tallas, who stopped 11 of 12 shots. Since Tallas allowed the fourth Ottawa goal, he absorbed the loss.

"Ottawa played last night and it showed," Tallas said. "We just handed this one to them, and that never should have happened."

The Senators built their lead to 3-0 at 12:42 when Colin Forbes knocked the puck in from the left side of the net off the arm of Grahame. It was Forbes' first goal this season, but his third point in three games.

Tallas then replaced Grahame, but gave up Kevin Dineen's third goal on a rebound at 15:16.

Ron Tugnutt stopped 24 shots to earn his 17th victory. Tugnutt allowed five goals on 20 shots in his last start against Tampa Bay.

"We have to learn how to play better with a big lead," Tugnutt said. "Letting them back in the game is unexcusable."

The Bruins cut it to 4-1 when Cameron Mann scored his third goal at 3:08 of the third. Don Sweeney and Ray Bourque set up Mann, who beat Tugnutt from the center of the slot.

Sweeney has a goal and three assists in his last four games.

Joe Thornton poked home his 16th goal at 18:03 on a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle to cut the lead to 4-2. Samsonov also scored his 16th goal, 25 seconds later, on a rebound of a Mann shot with Thornton getting an assist.

"Mathematically we haven't been eliminated yet, so we have no choice but to keep going," Burns said.