On Tuesday night, the Ottawa Senators headed to Tampa for the first time this season to face the Tampa Bay Lightning. Just like the first meeting did in October, the second meeting would be decided by one goal again, but the Lightning came out on top 4-3 to drop the Senators to 29-21-4 on the season.
Tonight is the final meeting against the Lightning in Tampa in a three-night span. With the standings getting tighter every game, tonight is another must win for both teams.
Senators play Lightning in Tampa again for second time in three-night span
For the second consecutive game, the Senators will clash against the Lightning at Amalie Arena with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Tuesday night's game marked the first time in 19 games that Linus Ullmark played. Ullmark made his long return and made 34 saves in the loss, but the Senators' defense had a challenging time dealing with the Lightning offense as they finished with 38 shots on goal.
Michael Amadio, Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson scored the goals for the Senators. Thomas Chabot recorded two assists to continue his solid season on defense. Jake Sanderson and Tim Stutzle each recorded an assist to extend their point streak to six games.
The Lightning winning the first meeting put them two points behind the Senators in the Atlantic Division with two games in hand. With the tight race, every game that's played matters just as much as the next one. Tonight is the last meeting until April 3 in Ottawa.