Dashing is the word to describe the Senators as they embarrass the Lightning and hand them their third straight loss as the woes continue. No matter how hard the Bolts tried they could not keep up with Ottawa. What started out as a close affair quickly became a one-sided tilt in the final frame. Time and time again mismanaging of the puck and a low effort by the defense haunted the Lightning. Clearly, Ottawa was ready to fight and never looked back as the game went on. It was a night to easily forget up north and with a match-up with the Bruins on the horizon, getting out of this slump is going to take a lot of revamping before the season ends.
Starting off strong
To begin, compared to the last game Lightning were more aggressive with the puck. For the first few minutes of the game Lightning maintained possession of the puck but only generated two shots on goal. As a result, the minuscule chances Ottawa had did not equate to much leaving their defense busy early on. Then, Senators best chance so far came during a Lightning line change, but Brian Elliott guarded the side of the net well to nullify Ottawa’s offensive. As for Tampa, many of their best chances rung off the post with no chance of a rebound opportunity. Dylan Gambrell had a couple of great looks at the net as a result of a breakdown by the Lightning but came up empty handed.
Senators rise to the occasion
However, Lightning continued to fumble the puck which allowed Ottawa to open up the scoring. Alex DeBrincat scored to give the Senators a 1-0 lead. After going nearly 7 minutes without a shot on goal Ottawa piled on the shots and were rewarded for their effort. Ottawa’s dashing continued which led to another goal. DeBrincat caught Zach Bogosian defending alone and fired the puck past Elliot for his second goal of the night. First power play of the night went to Tampa after Erik Brannstrom was called for holding. Unfortunately, Lightning could not get anything going on the man-advantage as the score remained 2-0 Senators.
Scoring on the power play
To start, Ottawa continued their swift play keeping the Bolts defense on their toes. Lightning went on the power play for a second time after Claude Giroux is sent off for tripping. Once again Ottawa kills of the penalty preventing Tampa from getting on the board. Mads Sogaard stood his ground following the penalty kill making crucial saves to prevent a goal from being scored. Minutes later Senators went on the power play for the first time after a tripping call on Nick Perbix. Just like the Lightning Ottawa could not score on the man-advantage but generated a handful of chances to do so. Finally, Lightning get on the board not long after the Perbix penalty expired. Brayden Point kept his career year going netting his 45th goal of the season to make it a 2-1 game.
A lil tic-tac-toe 🤌 pic.twitter.com/slpbI6w0ko
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 24, 2023
One goal is not enough
Bolts were now dashing after giving up the first two goals of the game. Unfortunately, Lightning would be without Pat Maroon for a while after being given a 10-minute misconduct which did not lead to a Senators power play. Next, Senators did end up going on the power play anyway due to a tripping call on Tanner Jeannot. On said power play after constantly applying pressure on Elliott Senators added to their lead. In the final seconds of the power play Deriek Brassard scored to give the Senators a 3-1 lead. Elliott made numerous solid saves, but the dashing play of Ottawa’s offense continued to be no match for Tampa’s defense. Much work was to be done for the Bolts heading into the third period still down a forward.
Senators keep firing back
Third period began with the Senators continuing their dashing play. They nearly scored in the opening minute, but Elliott kept it out and away from danger. After being quiet on the power play throughout the night Tampa once again made it a one goal game. Mikhail Sergachev scored on the power play to cut the Senators lead 3-2 with about 15 minutes to go in the period. Ultimately, Ottawa again responded with a goal off the rush. Brannstrom netted his second goal of the game to re-gain the two-goal lead with 13:55 to go. On the bright side, Maroon returned to the ice after serving his 10-game misconduct.
🚀🚀🚀 pic.twitter.com/KoXtxauNWw
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 24, 2023
A period to erase from memory
Still looking for a spark Tampa looked to somehow gain control of the game that has been dominated by Ottawa. Yet another power play came for the Lightning with half the period remaining. Senators kill off the penalty with ease and then went on the power play for a third time. Brandon Hagel was given a double minor for shooting the puck after off-sides was called while Travis Hamonic goes back to the box for roughing. Brady Tkachuk scored on the power play to extend the lead 5-2. In an act of desperation Elliott is pulled with 6:49 left to go. Tkachuk quickly scores on the empty net to make it 6-2. In conclusion Lightning dropped their third straight game in regulation losing to the Senators 7-2.
Three stars of the game
First Star: Alex DeBrincat – 2 goals and 1 assist
Second Star: Brady Tkachuk – 2 goals
Third Star: Erik Brannstrom – 1 goal and 1 assist
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