Now the real fun begins: Ottawa Senators at Tampa Bay Lightning preview

Game Seventy-Two : Ottawa Senators (38-24-10) at Tampa Bay Lightning (44-21-6)

Time: 1:00 PM EST

Location: Benchmark International Arena, Where Pat Jablonski made 38 saves on 11/13/1992 as the Lightning beat the Senators 1-0 on a Brian Bradley goal. It was the first shutout in franchise history.

TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, TVAS, TSN5, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App

Odds: Lightning

Know the Opponents: Silver Seven Sens

First off. Thank you Detroit Red Wings. Your 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres helped ease the sting of the Tampa Bay Lightning dropping the extra point in their overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken. The Bolts enter today’s afternoon tilt with Ottawa with a chance to pull even in points with the Sabres if they can pull off a victory over the upstart Senators.

In regards to the playoffs, the Senators are currently on the outside looking in as they sit a point behind the New York Islanders (with a game in hand) following their shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. The Sens are right in the thick of a six-team tangle of teams all sporting between 88 and 86 points that is going to make the final few weeks of the season worth paying attention to.

So, much like the Kraken before them, the Senators are coming to The Bench (nope, still don’t like that) with a mission to grab two points from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Unlike against the Kraken, the Lightning can’t blow this one off as a cross-conference game. With a chance to catch the Sabres (and hold off the Canadiens) the Bolts need to come out with some energy early on and push the Senators back on their heels.

It’s been a weird, even by their standards, season for the Lightning’s expansion siblings. After beating the Bolts on opening night, lost five of their next six. Then they won four of five. A rough stretch in January saw them pick up just three wins in eleven games. On January 24th, they were 23-21-7, in 15th place in the Eastern Conference and nine points out of the second Wild Card spot.

Since then, they’ve been one of the best teams in the league, going 15-3-3 and matching Buffalo with 33 points, the most during that stretch of play. They’re scoring goals (3.57 GF/GP) and keeping the puck out of the net (their 2.19 GA/GP) is the best in the league since the 25th of January.

Goaltending has been a big reason why they’ve turned the season around. Prior to their hot streak, five different goaltenders played at least one game for them. Presumed number one starter Linus Ullmark was 14-8-5 with an .881 SV% and a 2.95 GAA. Towards the end of December, the team granted him a leave of absence. In late January, he revealed that he was suffering “anxiety problems and panic in between the first and second period, and leading into the the first period.”

He returned to action on January 31 and since then has posted a 9-2-3 record with a .905 SV% and 2.35 GAA as he’s re-established himself as their number-one netminder. The offense has been helping him out as the Senators are getting production up and down the line-up, led by Tim Stutzle, who has 23 points (9 goals, 14 assists) in his last 21 games.

One big cloud lingering just behind them during their sunny run of play is there beaten and battered blueline. Jake Sanderson, Dennis Gilbert, Nick Jensen, Thomas Chabot, and Lassi Thomson all missed their last game, and it looks like Chabot, who is one of their leading time-on-ice players will be out four six-to-eight weeks with a broken arm. There is a chance that Sanderson returns against the Bolts, but there has been a lot of patching together of pairings over recent games.

The Lightning need to take advantage of that, especially early in the game. After an okay start against the Kraken, they got on their heels a bit in the first period and allowed a few too many solid chances. They managed to right the ship as the game went on, but wasted a lot of effort erasing a 3-1 deficit. It would be nice if they picked up a lead early and forced Ottawa to chase the game a little.

The Bolts have eleven games left in the season. This is the time they need to be honing in on the style of play that will be successful in the playoffs. Tight-checking, winning battles in front of the net, and creating turnovers will be key for them if they want to make another run to glory. Now is when they have to start getting into that mindset. The good news for them is they will be facing off against opponents that are already in that stage, so now they just have to match that intensity.

Buckle in, it’s going to be a nice ride to the finish.

Potential Lines

Tampa Bay Lightning

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Ottawa Senators

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