Lightning Trounce Senators, 5-2

Revenge is a dish best served cold, and tonight the Tampa Bay Lightning served up a helping to the Ottawa Senators, on ice.

With the memory of a sound defeat at the hands of the Senators just 14 days earlier still fresh in their minds, the Tampa Bay Lightning put together a solid team effort and evened the score, and the season’s series, by defeating the Senators, 5-2, at the St. Pete Times Forum tonight.

Ottawa’s NHL-best penalty killing unit was no concern to the Lightning tonight as the Bolts converted two of six extra man opportunities, with both power play goals coming from Steven Stamkos, his team-leading eighth and ninth of the season.

The Bolts opened the contest with an aggressive first period, outhitting Ottawa 8 - 2 over the first 20 minutes of play while taking a 1-0 lead at 7:20 when Stamkos fired a shot from the high slot that deflected off former Tampa Bay defenseman Filip Kuba and past Brian Elliott, the Senator’s netminder. The goal extended Stamkos’ consecutive scoring streak to six games. Vincent Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis earned assists; for St. Louis his 11th of the season. The point also kept St. Louis’ franchise-record ten-game point streak intact. 

Ottawa’s best scoring chance came late in the period when forward Shean Donovan one-timed a shot from the slot but Tampa Bay netminder Mike Smith was on his game early, stopping all nine shots he faced in the opening stanza.

Tampa Bay was determined not to let the Senators back into the contest as they put together one of the strongest 20 minutes of hockey this season in the second period.

Todd Fedoruk topped off a hard hitting shift by the fourth line when he sent a rebound of a shot from the point by David Hale into the Senator net at 4:34 of the second period. Steve Downie also had an assist on Fedoruk’s second goal of the season.

St. Louis had an opportunity to widen the Tampa Bay lead even further when he was awarded a penalty shot at 10:07 after Kuba pulled him down from behind on a shorthanded breakaway. St. Louis sent his chance wide of the Ottawa net.

But, the Bolts needed less than five minutes to get goal number three, as a poor clearing attempt by Elliott, set the stage for Ryan Malone’s eighth goal of the year, a wraparound that beat the Ottawa netminder to his left. Hale and Alex Tanguay earned assists; the second of the game for Hale.

The Lightning closed out the second period outshooting the Senators by a 14-4 margin.

 If Ottawa was going to mount a surge in the final period to get back into the contest, it would have begun early in the final period when Senator forward Milan Michalek broke in alone on Smith while the Lightning were on a power play. Michalek, who scored two shorthanded goals in the previous meeting between these clubs, was stopped by Smith’s right pad.

Instead, Stamkos put the game out of reach with his second power play goal of the game at 7:09 when he unleashed a blast into the upper left corner of the Ottawa net. Lecavalier picked up his second assist of the game on the goal along with Ryan Malone.

There was no cruising for the Lightning tonight as they continued their attack, netting their fifth goal of the game at 9:29. After some pinpoint passing in front of the Senator net, Alex Tanguay put an end to his goal drought when he slid the puck under Elliott for his first score as a member of the Lightning. Stamkos and Malone assisted, each claiming their third point of the game.

Ottawa broke Smith’s shutout attempt and with two scores late in the third, but by then the Lightning had matters well in hand.

For the Lightning, now 4-3-3, the slate is wiped clean after a difficult loss in Ottawa.

“We used that previous game as motivation,” Stamkos explained. “They spanked us pretty good but I think we got them back tonight.”

And any way you look at it, revenge is sweet.

BOLT NOTES:  With two goals tonight, Stamkos is now tied for third in the NHL…the Bolts had five skaters with multiple points tonight…Smith stopped 21 of 23 shots…The Lightning finished with 21 hits, lead by Kurtis Foster and Mattias Ohlund, each with four…tonight was the 10th annual “Lightning Fights Cancer” night and the Bolts are 10-0 on those nights…the Lightning conclude their homestand on Saturday vs. the New jersey Devils.