*Photo from theartofyarrrr*
Are these new look Sens for real? Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist, Brady Tkachuk had two goals, and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 5-2 victory on Sunday night in Ottawa.
The Senators have now won two straight games after dropping the season opener, sitting at 2-1-0. Tkachuk had two goals and an assist to pace the Senators on the scoresheet, while Tarasenko was right behind him with two points as Ottawa's only multi point scorers on the night.
Senators head coach DJ Smith said that "The two goals they score, we give them tap-ins there. And that’s hard for a goalie sometimes, but give our guys credit, give the D credit, we came out ready to play, we held the chances down, but certainly we have to manage those big-time breakdowns."
Tarasenko started the scoring for the Senators, scoring 7:02 into the game to make it 1-0 Senators. Anthony Cirelli scored for the Lightning to tie the game 1-1 before Tkachuk scored his 3rd goal of the season to put the Senators ahead 2-1. Tanner Jeannot then scored for the Lightning, tying the game 2-2 on his first goal of the season.
Mathieu Joseph scored with 59 seconds left in the second period to put the Senators ahead 3-2. Tkachuk added his second goal of the night at the 12:53 mark of the 3rd period, making it a 4-2 lead for Ottawa. With the net empty and 2:43 left on the clock, Tim Stutzle sealed the win for the Senators with his second goal of the season.
Tkachuk said after the game "Two games of playing our type of hockey. That’s just been our goal. We don’t care about wins or losses, it’s just how quickly we get to our game. I think we’ve shown that we’re starting to find it now, and I think we’re going to keep building on it."
Getting the start for the Senators was Joonas Korpisalo, who picked up his first win with the team after signing in free agency. Korpisalo stopped 22 of the 24 shots he saw from the Lightning, good for a .917 save percentage.
Starting for the Lightning in net was Matt Tomkins, making his NHL debut and getting the loss. Tomkins turned aside 33 out of the 37 shots on goal that the Senators sent at him, recording a .892 save percentage in the loss.
Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said that "We just need a little bit more production and we just can't be giving up, you know, four a night. It's not a recipe for a win. Our goaltenders have been great. I thought, ‘That kind of stinks for Tom.’ You know, his NHL debut and I thought he did great. He gave us a chance. We needed a couple more goals and just couldn’t get them."
Up next, the Lightning get back in action on Tuesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, with Jonas Johansson projected to start. The Senators host the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, with Korpisalo the expected starter.
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