Tampa Bay 2, Ottawa 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 16, 2021
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees:
Brandon Blandina, Ian Walsh
Linesmen:
Devin Berg, Jonathan Deschamps
Attendance:
19092
By Field Level Media
Victor Hedman scored the tiebreaking goal on the power play - set up by Steven Stamkos' 900th career point - and the Tampa Bay Lightning won 2-1 over the visiting Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.
Hedman, who also had an assist, notched his seventh goal this season to break a second-period 1-1 tie and help the Lightning to their sixth straight win on home ice.
Stamkos, a 14-year veteran, collected the secondary assist for the milestone point.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy posted 25 saves to go to 16-4-3 and win for the sixth straight start.
The Russian netminder also set an NHL record by improving to 63-21-4 in the 2021 calendar year, including regular-season and playoff games. The victory pushed him past Marc-Andre Fleury, who produced a 62-30-6 mark in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Alex Killorn also scored for Tampa Bay, which is 12-3-2 at home against Ottawa since the 2012-13 season.
Thomas Chabot notched his first goal, and Anton Forsberg made 25 saves for the Senators, who had their two-game winning streak broken and fell to 0-13-0 when trailing after two periods.
In the teams' second meeting this season, in Ottawa on Sunday, the Senators controlled play throughout and won 4-0 behind career-firsts by Brady Tkachuk (hat trick) and Forsberg (shutout).
Both Forsberg and Vasilevskiy entered the game riding five-game winning streaks, and the Ottawa goalie kept it scoreless on the game's initial premier scoring chance - Taylor Raddysh's tip attempt from the low slot at 11:48.
But Chabot made it 1-0 for the visitors at 15:43 when he stole a Lightning pass in the neutral zone, swooped to his right past fellow defenseman Ryan McDonagh and elevated his first goal this season on a forehand flip over Vasilevskiy.
In the second, Tampa Bay turned up the pressure in the first three minutes in a big way, culminating with Ross Colton driving from the right side and sending a slick pass to Killorn, who easily tapped in his ninth marker at 3:47.
Vasilevskiy stuffed Connor Brown on a breakaway just over a minute later, and the Lightning's second power play of the period produced the home side's first lead.
After Tkachuk went off for high-sticking at 14:10, Raddysh and Stamkos set up Hedman, who hesitated then fired home a tally less than a minute later for a 2-1 advantage that stood up.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Ottawa |
|
Tampa Bay |
|
Thomas Chabot 1 |
Points |
Victor Hedman 2 |
|
Thomas Chabot 1 |
Goals |
Victor Hedman 1 |
|
Thomas Chabot 0 |
Assists |
Victor Hedman 1 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Victor Hedman 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Anton Forsberg .926 |
Save Percentage |
Andrei Vasilevskiy .962 |
|
Anton Forsberg 25 |
Saves |
Andrei Vasilevskiy 25 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Ottawa
|
26 |
1 |
0-2 |
4-5 |
10 |
22 |
| Tampa Bay
|
27 |
2 |
1-5 |
2-2 |
4 |
22 |
Upcoming Games
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Colorado. The Lightning have a W/L % of .632 after a win and .700 after a loss.
-
Ottawa will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Senators have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .333 after a loss.
For more information, contact us