Tampa Bay 5, Ottawa 2
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, April 1, 2019
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Referees:
Steve Kozari, Beau Halkidis
Linesmen:
Brad Kovachik, Libor Suchanek
Attendance:
13628
By Field Level Media
Yanni Gourde and Nikita Kucherov each had three points as the Tampa Bay Lightning cracked the 60-win plateau with a 5-2 road victory over the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
The Lightning became just the third team in NHL history to win 60 games in a season, following the 1995-96 Red Wings' 62 wins and 1976-77 Canadiens' 60 wins in the pre-overtime era. With three games remaining on the schedule, Tampa Bay (60-15-4, 124 points) still has a chance of breaking Detroit's record.
Gourde collected an assist and scored twice for his first multi-goal outing of the season. Kucherov notched three assists, marking the 18th time in what could be an MVP season that the forward has had at least three points in a single game. Monday's performance extended Kucherov's lead atop the league standings in both assists and points.
Kucherov's first helper came as part of an impressive passing play with Brayden Point that set up Gourde's goal 12:04 into the first period.
The Senators outshot Tampa Bay 11-5 in the opening period, and were rewarded for the effort by Brady Tkachuk's goal at the 18:48 mark.
Ottawa (28-45-6, 62 points) continued the strong play by holding the Lightning without a shot for close to 12 minutes between the first and second period. Tampa Bay snapped that drought in decisive fashion, however, as Mikhail Sergachev's point shot at 7:48 of the second period found its way into the net.
Point's 41st goal of the season extended the Lightning's lead 13:43 into the second period. Point was positioned in front of net to collect Gourde's backhanded pass.
Max Veronneau's power-play goal at 4:34 of the third period cut Ottawa's deficit in half. The momentum was short-lived, as Gourde scored his second goal of the game less than a minute later.
Steven Stamkos scored late in the third period to give the star center 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in his last nine games.
Point and Sergachev each had a goal and an assist in the game. Braydon Coburn had two assists.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 22 of 24 Ottawa shots to earn his league-best 38th win of the season. Vasilevskiy was starting for the 12th time in Tampa Bay's last 14 games, as backup Louis Domingue was sidelined with a lower-body injury.
Craig Anderson allowed five goals on 26 shots from the Lightning's high-powered offense. Monday's game marked Anderson's 400th appearance for the Senators.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Tampa Bay |
|
Ottawa |
|
Yanni Gourde 3 |
Points |
Brady Tkachuk 1 |
|
Yanni Gourde 2 |
Goals |
Brady Tkachuk 1 |
|
Nikita Kucherov 3 |
Assists |
Rudolfs Balcers 1 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Max Veronneau 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Andrei Vasilevskiy .917 |
Save Percentage |
Craig Anderson .808 |
|
Andrei Vasilevskiy 22 |
Saves |
Craig Anderson 21 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Tampa Bay
|
26 |
5 |
0-3 |
3-4 |
13 |
24 |
| Ottawa
|
24 |
2 |
1-4 |
3-3 |
11 |
25 |
Upcoming Games
-
Ottawa will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Senators have a W/L % of .345 after a win and .360 after a loss.
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Montreal. The Lightning have a W/L % of .717 after a win and .895 after a loss.
For more information, contact us