The Ottawa Senators entered Saturday afternoon closing out their three-game home stand against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In a game that went back-and-forth, the Senators needed to show their grit against one of the top teams in the NHL, and they did.
The Senators defeated the Lightning 5-4 at Canadian Tire Centre to improve to 3-2-0 on the season. The Senators concluded their three-game home stand with a 2-1-0 record, and handed the Lightning their first loss of the season to drop them to 3-1-0. The Senators have now won six of the last seven meetings against the Lightning.
After Thursday's rough 3-1 home loss against the New Jersey Devils, the Senators needed to get their confidence back before heading off to the West Coast for three road games. Today's win will help the Senators boost their confidence with having three tough road environments to play in.
3. Goaltending struggles happened again, but came through when needed
For the third consecutive game, Linus Ullmark would not play due to a strain injury. That meant Anton Forsberg would get the start in goal for the third consecutive game.
In Forsberg's last two starts, he allowed in three goals. Today was a tough match up for Forsberg to go up against Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The Senators jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after the first period, but Forsberg allowed in three goals in the second period, but the Senators led 4-3 after the second period. The Lightning had momentum after Mitchell Chaffee cut the Senators lead to 5-4 with 11:49 remaining in the third, but Forsberg stood tall.
Forsberg made 10 saves in the third period and finished the game with 25 saves. As much as Forsberg showed inconsistency in his past two starts, he did come through and made 10 saves in the third period when the Senators needed him the most.