The Lightning fumed after their disappointing overtime loss Thursday in Toronto, and after giving up 12 odd-man rushes they knew they had only themselves to blame.
Through two periods of Saturday afternoon’s game against the rebuilding Ottawa Senators, it was on the verge of happening all over again. They outshot their opponent 18-5 in the second period. But two of those shots, the results of ugly Tampa Bay turnovers, found the back of the net.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos saved the day, and the team’s morale, opening a three-goal third period with a go-ahead goal that sent Tampa Bay to a 5-3 win over the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.
Bad puck management around their blue line has haunted the Lightning this season, and it almost cost them a win again.
Following the loss to the Leafs, in which they yielded a one-goal lead with 41.1 seconds left in regulation, coach Jon Cooper made the most drastic shuffling of his lines thus far this season.
Combine that with defenseman Mikhail Sergachev’s absence (as he serves a two-game suspension for an illegal hit in the Toronto game) that had the Lightning’s defense pairings constantly switching to balance ice time, and Tampa Bay’s lineup was a mish-mash.
The experiment included matching Stamkos with Alex Killorn and Mathieu Joseph, and the line responded with one goal and nearly another.
Joseph set up the game-winner by using his speed to push the puck up ice, putting the Ottawa defenders on their heels. He dropped a pass to Killorn, whose shot from the slot was denied. But Stamkos swooped in for the rebound and beat Ottawa goaltender Matt Murray inside the far post 7:32 into the third.
Shortly after Senators forward Nick Paul hit the post, Lightning forward Ondrej Palat added an insurance goal with 1:41 left in the third. Anthony Cirelli also scored an empty-netter. Ottawa’s Logan Shaw scored with 16 seconds left.
Jan Rutta’s turnover at the Lightning blue line gave Ottawa a 2-on-1 rush and ended with Brady Tkachuk’s game-tying goal with 43 seconds left in the second period. Rutta tried to move the puck forward along the boards but was intercepted by Drake Batherson, who fed Tkachuk on the rush with a cross-slot pass to the right circle.
Before that, Rutta scored a go-ahead goal with 9:54 left in the period, his first regular-season goal since Dec. 14, 2019. Rutta skated toward the net from the center point, took a feed from from Palat and unloaded a shot from the slot through a screen and past Murray.
Playing an early-afternoon road game against the Senators, the Lightning tapped backup goaltender Brian Elliott to start his second game of the season.
Elliott hadn’t played in 12 days and had no time to settle in, stopping all 13 shots he faced in the first period. He made 24 saves on the day, earning his first Lightning win.
The Lightning took an early 1-0 lead on Victor Hedman’s first goal of the season 4:27 into the first period, giving spark to a power play unit that entered the day 2 for 23 in its previous eight games.
After Brayden Point made a cross-ice pass to Stamkos, drawing the Ottawa defense to Stamkos at the left circle, Stamkos made a touch pass to Hedman, who rifled a wrister from the point through traffic.
Defenseman Cal Foote turned over the puck in the defensive zone, giving Connor Brown an open look to beat Elliott gloveside, tying the game 1:39 into the second period.
The Lightning thought they had an answer when Joseph found the back of the net 5:16 into the period. But it was ruled no goal because officials said Stamkos pushed defenseman Artem Zub into Murray.
Before that, Rutta scored a go-ahead goal with 9:54 left in the period, his first regular-season goal since Dec. 14, 2019. Rutta skated toward the net from the center point, took a feed from from Palat and unloaded a shot from the slot through a screen and past Murray.
Playing an early-afternoon road game against the Senators, the Lightning tapped backup goaltender Brian Elliott to start his second game of the season.
Elliott hadn’t played in 12 days and had no time to settle in, stopping all 13 shots he faced in the first period. He made 24 saves on the day, earning his first Lightning win.
The Lightning took an early 1-0 lead on Victor Hedman’s first goal of the season 4:27 into the first period, giving spark to a power play unit that entered the day 2 for 23 in its previous eight games.
After Point made a cross-ice pass to Stamkos, drawing the Ottawa defense to Stamkos at the left circle, Stamkos made a touch pass to Hedman, who rifled a wrister from the point through traffic.
Defenseman Cal Foote turned over the puck in the defensive zone, giving Connor Brown an open look to beat Elliott gloveside, tying the game 1:39 into the second period.
The Lightning thought they had an answer when Joseph found the back of the net 5:16 into the period. But it was ruled no goal because officials said Stamkos pushed defenseman Artem Zub into Murray.
