Lilleberg has 3 points, Lightning score 4 straight to rally past Senators

TAMPA -- Emil Lilleberg had a goal and two assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning scored four straight goals to rally for a 4-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Benchmark International Arena on Saturday.

It was Lilleberg’s first three-point game in the NHL.

"The last (three-point game) was a long time ago," Lilleberg said. "It was just -- I'm just happy that the team won."

Brandon Hagel and Charle-Edouard D'Astous each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning (45-21-6), who extended their point streak to seven games (5-0-2). Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves.

The Lightning were without forwards Nikita Kucherov and Nick Paul, who were both late scratches because of illness. They are questionable for Sunday's game against the Nashville Predators.

Tampa Bay moved into first place in the Atlantic Division, with one game in hand over the Buffalo Sabres, who also have 96 points.

"We can't sustain this forever, this is four games where we've been down early, we've got to play a full 60," Hagel said. "Love the comeback, love the compete, but at the same time we've got to pull a full 60 together."

Dylan Cozens and Jordan Spence scored for the Senators (38-25-10), who had points in five straight (4-0-1). James Reimer made 23 saves.

Ottawa is one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

"We pride ourselves on playing 60 minutes," Senators coach Travis Green said. "I didn't like giving up that third goal. I thought we didn't manage the puck that well in the offensive zone a few times and it stung us."

Cozens gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead 18 seconds into the game with a shot from the low slot that beat Vasilevskiy five-hole.

Spence extended it to 2-0 at 4:25 when he knocked a rebound into the open net after Vasilevskiy went out of position to make a sprawling save on Nick Cousins.

"It was all right, it wasn't our best (performance)," Spence said. "First period we played really well and really hemmed them in their zone. Second and third period we lost focus and didn't play to our identity. That was a tough loss."

Hagel made it 2-1 at 3:37 of the second period with a chip past Reimer from close range after D'Astous dug the puck out from traffic at the goal line.

D'Astous tied it 2-2 at 5:14 with a shot above the hash marks that beat Reimer stick side off a pass from Yanni Gourde.

"We had a good start and we let them dominate us in the second period," Cozens said. "We kind of struggled to break out (in the second period). We need to do a better job of helping each other out."

Lilleberg put the Lightning ahead 3-2 at 8:51 of the third period when he finished off a 3-on-2 rush with the backhand.

"It's really fun to be able to score a goal," Lilleberg said. "(The) rush opened up for me to join."

Jake Guentzel made it 4-2 with a breakaway goal at 17:48 with Corey Perry providing the pass to start the play.

"That's four in a row now (of falling behind), that was a big point of contention with the staff and the team after the game tonight," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We've been extremely fortunate because we've gotten six of eight points in those games, but it's not a recipe for success."

NOTES: Lilleberg became the fourth Norwegian player in NHL history with a three-point game, joining Mats Zuccarello (41), Espen Knutsen (four) and Patrick Thoresen. … Hagel recorded his 85th career multipoint game with the Lightning to tie Alex Killorn for 10th place on the franchise’s all-time list. Hagel has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) over the past seven games. ... Cozens reached the 25-goal mark for the second time in his career (31 goals with the Buffalo Sabres in 2022-23). ... Spence has six points (one goal, five assists) over the past six games.