The Lightning may not have gotten the desired result, but they certainly didn’t play poorly. They held Ottawa to just two goals. They generated numerous Grade-A scoring chances and, if not for Linus Ullmark, would have scored enough to get points out of this game.
The Senators are a dangerous team off the rush. For most of the night, the Lightning handled the Ottawa rush attack well. But one miscue in the first period led to Shane Pinto’s opening goal. After the Lightning lost the puck in the offensive zone, Mike Amadio knocked down Oliver Bjorkstrand. With Bjorkstrand out of the play, the Sens countered on a three-on-two. Ridly Greig passed to Pinto in the slot, and Pinto finished a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy’s glove at 13:45.
A delay of game penalty on the Lightning early in the second period put Ottawa on the power play. Following a Vasilevskiy poke check on Greig, the puck came to Tim Stutzle at the left circle. He set up Jake Sanderson in the high slot, and Sanderson zipped a shot past Vasilevsky’s stick at 5:17.
The Pinto and Sanderson goals came on scoring chances, but the Sens didn’t have many others in the game. The Lightning limited Ottawa to 19 shots on goal and 41 shot attempts. While it’s true that the Sens took a conservative approach in the third period (and weren’t looking to go on the attack unnecessarily), the Lightning did deliver a solid defensive performance in this game.
That’s why Ullmark’s work was so integral to the final result. He finished with 31 saves. Only Brandon Hagel’s rebound goal got past him. Ullmark even got his stick on that shot and nearly prevented the puck from crossing the line. The Hagel goal came less than two minutes after the Sanderson power-play tally. The play began with Ryan McDonagh catching Ottawa in a line change and wiring a long pass to Yanni Gourde. Gourde had an open look from the right circle that Ullmark stopped, but Hagel crashed the net and forced in the rebound.
That was one of several odd-man rushes the Lightning created in the game. Ullmark stopped all of the others, including breakaways from Gourde and Hagel. He made saves on two two-on-one rushes (from Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli).
Ullmark also stopped two point-blank shots from Jake Guentzel, including one in the closing seconds of the second period. He was a difference-maker in this game.
The Sens also deserve credit for how they managed the third period. They protected their one-goal lead well for much of the frame. They effectively cleared pucks from their own end. They blocked shots in front of their goalie. Until the final five minutes, the Lightning’s best chances in the third period came while they were shorthanded. That’s when Ullmark made the breakaway save on Hagel and the two-on-one stop on Cirelli. The Lightning received a power play at 14:55 and posted six shot attempts during the man advantage. But the puck stayed out. On the shift after the power play ended, Nick Paul and Gourde combined to record three close-range shots on net. Ullmark saved all three.
Faceoff struggles hurt the Lightning late in the game. Beginning with the faceoff that started the power play, the Sens won seven consecutive draws. Paul finally broke the streak with an offensive-zone faceoff win in the final minute, but the Sens blocked three more shots in the closing seconds to secure the victory.
The Lightning continue the trip on Saturday in Buffalo.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Linus Ullmark — Senators. 32 saves.
- Jake Sanderson — Senators. GWG.
- Brandon Hagel — Lightning. Goal.
