@jayRecher
*****
Well, they don't call them the "Tampa Bay Find-A-Way's" for nothing.
It wasn't pretty by any means but somehow they got it done.
Nikita Kucherov scored with 2:30 left and Andrei Vasilevskiy made only 12 saves as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Tuesday night at Amalie Arena.
Tampa Bay went 1-for-8 on the power play and had numerous turnovers to keep this game close, even though they outshot Ottawa on the evening 34-15.
They even trailed 2-1 after two periods of play.
And former Lightning winger Mathieu Joseph was poised to play spoiler.
In Joseph's first appearance here in Tampa since being traded last season, he had a night to remember.
To start, he was honored with a video package at the first TV timeout that brought the Lightning fans to their feet in acknowledgment of his time in Tampa Bay. (VIDEO BELOW)
Then, the goal.
With the Lightning on a two-man advantage, somehow the former Bolts forward found himself all alone coming down on Vasilevskiy. Joseph quickly snapped one past Vasy to give Ottawa a 2-1 lead at 12:21 of the second period.
The Lightning controlled the majority of play in the 1st, but it was the Senators who opened up the scoring on their first shot of the night.
After a turnover in the Tampa Bay zone, Ottawa's Dylan Gambrell found the loose puck and slipped one by Vasilevskiy to give the Sens a 1-0 lead at 5:44.
The Lightning tied the score at one with a Mikhail Sergachev power play goal at 3:17 of the 2nd, but couldn't cash in on any of the other opportunities on the man-advantage in the period. Gambrell was even assessed a match penalty for a hit on Erik Cernak at 7:27 but the five minutes of power play time that followed didn't have much power at all.
It looked like the Joseph goal would stand up as the winner, but Alex Killorn pounced on a rebound at 11:04 of the 3rd and beat Ottawa netminder Anton Forsberg to tie it 2-2.
The good vibes didn't last all that long, however, because Claude Giroux gave the Senators the lead once more just 40 seconds later after a Vasilevskiy turnover behind the Lightning net.
To Tampa Bay's credit they continued to push for the equalizer, and Brayden Point zoomed into the Ottawa zone and flipped one over the blocker of Forsberg (30 saves) just 1:11 after the Giroux tall to tie the score once again.
The Lightning had a couple of chances to seal the deal with an empty net goal after Kucherov made it 4-3, but somehow the puck stayed out. Steven Stamkos attempted a back pass with the seconds winding down and it sprung Senators captain Brady Tkachuk on a breakaway. Luckily for the Bolts, he shot high over the Tampa Bay net and the home team took the two points.
Fleury In, Heddy Out : Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman sat out and was replaced on the blue line by Haydn Fleury. Hedman left Saturday's game against San Jose in the 1st period but later returned. He missed practice on Monday, took part in morning skate on Tuesday, but was ruled out by the team and listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury moments before puck drop.
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SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
- Ottawa - Gambrell - (Unassisted) - 5:44
2nd Period
- Tampa Bay - PPG - Sergachev - (Stamkos, Kucherov) - 3:17
- Ottawa - SHG - Joseph - (Unassisted) - 12:21
3rd Period
- Tampa Bay - Killorn - (Stamkos, Paul) - 11:04
- Ottawa - Giroux - (Tkachuk) - 11:44
- Tampa Bay - Point - (Kucherov, Cole) - 12:55
- Tampa Bay - Kucherov - (Sergachev, Point) - 17:30
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PENALTY SUMMARY
1st Period
- Ottawa - MAJOR - Watson - (Fighting) - 1:57
- Tampa Bay - MAJOR - Maroon - (Fighting) - 1:57
- Ottawa - Stutzle - (Charging) - 6:12
- Ottawa - Kelly - (Interference) - 19:27
2nd Period
- Ottawa - Sanderson - (High Sticking) - 1:42
- Tampa Bay - Sergachev - (Cross Checking) - 4:25
- Ottawa - MATCH - Gambrell - (Intent To Injure) - 7:27
- Ottawa - TEAM - (Too Many Men) - 10:53
- Ottawa - Hamonic - (Hooking) - 15:44
- Tampa Bay - Sergachev - (Hooking) - 16:50
3rd Period
- Ottawa - Hamonic - (Tripping) - 0:11
- Ottawa - Tkachuk - (Interference) - 4:47
- Tampa Bay - Foote - (Interference) - 6:47
- Tampa Bay - Perry - (Roughing) - 6:47
- Ottawa - Holden - (Roughing) - 6:47
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What's Next For The Bolts : The Lightning are back in action on Thursday night as they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to Amalie Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00pm.
Photo: Getty Images North America
PHOTO : Getty Images