Tampa Bay shrug off slow start to claim fifth straight victory
Brayden Point scored and dished out three assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning shrugged off a slow start by rallying with five unanswered goals in a 5-2 win over the visiting Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.
Nikita Kucherov produced a goal and an assist, and Steven Stamkos moved past a pair of NHL greats by scoring on a power play.
Corey Perry and Mikhail Sergachev also tallied for the Lightning, who finished their season series with Ottawa by winning three of four games and are 18-4-4 on home ice.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves to win his fourth straight game. His 29th victory tied him for the NHL lead with the Carolina Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen.
The victory was Tampa Bay’s fifth straight, matching the team’s season-high mark set from December 2 to 9 – a streak broken in a 4-0 loss two days later in Ottawa.
With the Florida Panthers idle, Tampa Bay moved into first place in the Atlantic Division by one point.
Tyler Ennis and Zach Sanford netted goals, but Ottawa fell to 3-6-1 in its past 10 games. Matt Murray stopped 17 of 22 shots.
After playing just once in the past six games, Senators standout Thomas Chabot was back on the ice and recorded an assist and two shots in 24:20 of ice time.
In a battle of two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltenders, Vasilevskiy surrendered a pair of goals in the game’s first 3:43.
Ennis and Sanford each found the net to shock the Lightning, who returned from their 3-2 win in the Stadium Series outdoors match Saturday night in Nashville.
Kucherov put the home side on the board by lifting a backhander over Murray at 7:15 of the first to give him 10 goals this season, including goals in four consecutive games. Point tied it with his 21st tally at 14:49 of the opening period.
Stamkos moved himself up the record with his 26th goal at 5:18 of the second, one-timing his 174th career power-play tally from his familiar spot in the left circle.
The marker moved the Lightning captain past Jean Beliveau and Ray Bourque and into sole possession of 30th place on the all-time list of goal scorers on the man advantage.
Tampa Bay strung together its fourth unanswered goal when Perry shoved in his 15th goal at 16:08 of the second. Sergachev rounded out the scoring with his third goal at 9:03 of the final frame.
Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (No.41) defends Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub on March 1, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. Photo: IC
