Ottawa Senators beat Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2

Game Recap

First Period

The Senators had a promising first period. They out shot the Lightning 13-8. The Senators had two power plays. One off a Brenden Morrow hooking call during the 8th minute, and another in the 18th minute when Anton Stralman hooked Mark Stone.  Unfortunatly the Senators could not capitalize on their two powerplays. The Senators were in the penalty box once. The penalty came in the 15th minute when Eric Gryba tripped Brian Boyle.  The Senators could not kill off the penalty. Victor Hedman scored a power play goal with assists coming from Steven Stamkos and Valtteri Flippula. Although the Senators out shot the Lightning they left the first period down 1-0.

Second Period

The second period was not much better for the Ottawa Senators. The Senators were out shot 18 to 6. The Senators had to kill a David Legwand tripping penalty, and an Eric Gryba roughing penalty.  Robin Lehner was able to stand tall in net. He made an impressive 18 saves. The  Senators were not able to muster much offense in the second period and did not look good. It is very good to see Robin Lehner provide solid goaltending. His goaltending proved to be a big difference maker in this game.

Third Period

The third period was the most exciting period of the game. Both teams had penalties early. Victor Hedman had a holding the stick call 14 seconds into the period, while Alex Chiasson mustered a slashing call five minutes into the period. The period was very exciting on both ends of the ice. Ottawa registered 13 shots, while Tampa Bay registered 14.  Ottawa tied the game at the 7:34 mark off an Erik Karlsson goal, assisted by Alex Chiasson and Bobby Ryan. The tie game did not last long as Mark Stone scored off a Kyle Turris pass at the 9:10 mark. The Senators 2-1 lead was short lived. Brett Connolly scored off an assist from Brian Boyle at the 12:34 mark. The Senators were out shot 30 to 42 during regulation. Robin Lehner had an excellent game recording 40 saves. Regulation ended in a tie, resulting in overtime.

Overtime

Overtime saw the Senators put two shots on net. Overtime solved nothing and the game proceeded to a shootout.

Shootout

The shootout was exciting. Kyle Turris beat Ben Bishop with a wrist shot to put the shootout socre at 1-0. Nikita Kucherov  beat Lehner to tie the score at 1-1. Bishop then saved Chiasson, Lehner saved Valteri Flippula. Mika Zibanejad played hero scoring on Bishop. With the score 2-1, Steven Stamkos couldn’t beat Lehner and the Senators picked up their first win of the year!

Senshot Player of the Game

Robin Lehner earns the Senshot Player of the Game. Lehner picked up the win, saving 40 of 42 shots. It was a huge win for the  Ottawa goaltender. Ben Bishop was traded to the Lightning due to the Senators faith in Robin Lehner. Some fans we’re disappointed when Bishop went on to have an extremely successful season with the Lightning. Lehner had an extremely dominant performance tonight. He kept the Ottawa Senators in the game when they were not providing him support on the offensive or defensive end. You should never allow 42 shots to reach your goaltender.  If Lehner can continue this level of play he may earn the “starting” job in net.

Notes and Observations

It is amazing the Ottawa Senators won tonight. Fans are happy, the team gained points, all is well. The only problem is the amount of shots the Senators allowed on goal. It is extremely disappointing to see a goalie have to make forty saves. If Lehner’s showing had been less than first class the Senators would have lost the game.

Up Next…
The Senators travel to face the Florida Panthers. The game is Monday, October 13th at 7:30 PM.

Stats provided by NHL.com

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