5 Takeaways from the Lightning’s 2-1 Win over Ottawa

The Tampa Bay Lightning finished out the brief two game home stand with another one goal victory. The Lightning held on for a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators after being shut out by the pesky Senators last Saturday.

For the fourth straight game, Tampa Bay surrendered the game’s opening goal. Once again, the Lightning found a way to bounce back and get the win. After ending the first period down 1-0, the Lightning scored twice in the second period and held on for the win through an intense third period.

Let’s break down what we took away from this one.

1. Stammer’s 900th Point

With Victor Hedman’s goal in the second period, Steven Stamkos recorded an assist for the 900th point of his career. The mark came in the 869th game of his career. That’s over a point a game for you math people. An incredible accomplishment for the captain on the way to becoming the greatest player in franchise history. Stamkos’ mark is especially impressive considering the injuries he has endured along the way. Being able to average well over a point per game is especially impressive as he has not slowed down a bit despite all the adversity he has faced.

2. Finally Beating Forsberg

After being held without a goal in four straight periods against Ottawa’s Anton Forsberg, the Lightning were finally able to get a couple of pucks past him in the second period. Forsberg has been rounding into great form lately and has helped Ottawa take down some of the best teams in the NHL. Alex Killorn was finally the one to beat him with a tap in goal thanks to a slick pass from Ross Colton. Ottawa is not a good team and being held without a goal for that long against them had to be getting in the Lightning’s heads just a bit.

3. Hedman Tees it High

After generating very little in their first powerplay opportunity, the Lightning were able to convert on Hedman’s blast on the powerplay in the second period. For much of the night, the Lightning powerplay was kept to the outside and did not generate many threating opportunities. On their second try, Hedman took matters into his own hands with the booming shot. While he always quarterbacks the top powerplay, Hedman is not often the one to call his own number. But when he does, he can let it fly.

4. Hanging on in the Third

With a 2-1 lead going into the final period, the Lightning were able to shut things down to hold on. They had a lot of zone time throughout the period and having two chances on the powerplay helped reduce the danger. When called upon, Andrei Vasilevskiy had all the answers for the Senators. He made 10 saves in the period as the physicality went another level. The Lightning did a solid job of keeping pucks away from high danger areas and never really got hemmed in their own zone in the final minutes.

5. Into First Place

With the win, the Lightning now sit atop the Atlantic Division and National Hockey League standings. For whatever it really means right now, this is incredibly impressive considering the losses in the Lightning lineup. Lightning fans may have some poor memories of having the best record in the National Hockey League but it’s fun to think about what this team can accomplish when they get to full health. Because of their stellar play of late, there should be no reason to rush back Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. Just appreciate it, this team is something special.