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Ottawa Senators game recap: The Ottawa Senators have defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning at home by a score of 5-2! After losing their season opener against the Hurricanes, the Senators quickly turned things around as they jump to 2-1 on the season. Vladimir Tarasenko scored his first goal as a member of the Sens tonight, and Brady Tkachuk continued his hot start.
Ottawa Senators Game Recap
First Period Recap
The Senators started this game off hot, firing any and every puck towards the net. Tonight was the first NHL game for Tampa Bay goaltender Matt Tomkins, and the Senators made sure to test him early. The scoring started right at the 13-minute mark of the first period with Vladimir Tarasenko.
The play started with Jakob Chychrun at the point, who sent a harmless shot towards the goal. The puck was knocked down in front by Ridly Greig, who made a beautiful pass between his feet to Tarasenko on the back door. Vladimir Tarasenko made no mistake, sending a shot into the back of the net for his first in a Senators uniform!
This was it for the scoring in the first period, but without Tomkins, the score could have been quite different. The Senators managed to outshoot the Lightning 17-3 in the opening frame and limited Tampa Bay in the offensive zone.
Second Period Recap
The Ottawa Senators looked to start the second period the same way they played the first. The Sens had a good chance against the Lightning but failed to capitalize as the puck went the other way. A nice passing play between Eyssimont, Raddysh, and Cirelli ended up in the back of Ottawa’s net, evening the score at 1-1.
About midway through the second period, it was the Senators who broke the tie. Brady Tkachuk netted his third goal of the season off a great feed from Claude Giroux. After battling along the boards with Tim Stützle, Giroux was able to pick up the puck and send a backhand pass to Brady Tkachuk in the slot. After Raddysh blocked his initial attempt, Tkachuk regained the puck and beat Matt Tomkins with a snapshot five-hole, giving Ottawa back their one-goal lead.
But just as quickly as the Sens regained their lead, Tampa Bay evened it up again. This play was a very sloppy showing on defence from the pair of Thomas Chabot and Jakob Chychrun. Chabot was trying to move the puck up the wall before it was stopped at the blue line by a Tampa defender.
With Chabot caught in the corner, Jakob Chychrun was the lone man out front trying to defend a pair of Lightning players. Tanner Jeannot used a slight cross-check to push Jakob Chychrun out of position before finishing a pass from Eyssimont to tie the game at 2.
But like a seesaw, the Senators were on their way back up in the dying minutes of the second. With just under a minute to play in the second, Mathieu Joseph got some revenge against his old team to reclaim the Ottawa Senators’ lead. This was a bit of a broken play that started behind the goal line with Vladimir Tarasenko.
Tarasenko looked to make a pass out front to Ridly Greig, but it was deflected by a Tampa defender. Luckily, the deflection landed the puck right onto the stick of Mathieu Joseph, who fired a beauty of a shot over the glove hand of Tomkins. The goal from Joseph gave the Senators a 3-2 lead going into the third period.
Third Period Recap
Sick of hearing about Tampa Bay goals? Me too, and luckily the Senators made sure there were no more in the third period. The game was tight in the third with the shots starting to even out before Brady Tkachuk gave Ottawa its insurance marker.
Jake Sanderson made a perfect stretch pass from the corner boards right onto the stick of Brady Tkachuk at the blue line. Tkachuk picked up the pass and gained a step on Darren Raddysh of the Lightning. Tkachuk used his size to shield the puck from Raddysh and pulled the puck across the net to open up Matt Tomkins before sliding the puck five-hole to give the Senators a 4-2 lead. This was an absolute beauty from Tkachuk, and the celly was just as pretty!
Tim Stützle would go on to ice the game for the Senators with an empty-netter, giving him his second goal of the season.
Ottawa Senators Standouts
Brady Tkachuk
Brady Tkachuk was everywhere for the Senators tonight. He finished with 3 points (2G, 1A) and came up clutch when the Sens needed him the most. Brady also showed his leadership tonight, battling through some controversial officiating. Tkachuk made sure to communicate with the officials in a respectful manner and led by example on the ice.
- Even Strength
- CF% (65.63%)
- xGF% (72.93%)
- HDCF% (75.00%)
- SCF% (63.16%)
Vladimir Tarasenko
After a rough start against the Carolina Hurricanes, Vladimir Tarasenko has been rolling for the Sens. Tonight he scored his first goal for Ottawa and tallied his third assist through three games. Hopefully, Tarasenko can keep his point streak going against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday!
- Even Strength
- CF% (55.00%)
- xGF% (69.28%)
- SCF% (71.43%)
Jake Sanderson
What more is there to say about Jake Sanderson? He continues to be one of, if not the most valuable players for the Ottawa Senators. Sanderson added another point to his total tonight with an assist and was absolute dynamite in the defensive zone. Night in and night out, Jake Sanderson is the most consistent Ottawa Senator when it comes to two-way play.
- Even Strength
- CF% (71.43%)
- xGF% (78.48%)
- SCF% (70.00%)
- HDCF% (75.00%)
Mathieu Joseph
If there’s one surprise on the Sens roster this season, it’s Mathieu Joseph. After being involved in trade rumours over the past several weeks/months, Joseph has been outstanding for the Senators. He was great again tonight, scoring a goal (nearly 2) while using his speed to drive play. It begs the question of whether or not he should still be moved over someone else to clear cap space for Shane Pinto.
- Even Strength
- CF% (55.17%)
- xGF% (59.29%)
- SCF% (63.64%)
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