TBLOTT_Backcheck

The typical person might assume that the go-ahead goal on Tuesday night received the loudest roar from the crowd at AMALIE Arena.

In the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-3 win over Atlantic Division opponent Ottawa, however, it was goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy who had an argument for soliciting the greatest crowd response.

With the game approaching its final 10 minutes, Vasilevskiy sprawled across his net to keep Tampa Bay ahead 3-2. Moments later, he did it again. And again. And once more.

The Lightning goalie finished with 25 saves to help Tampa Bay earn the victory, his flurry of stops in the third period maintaining the Lightning lead.

“Unreal,” Lightning forward Brandon Hagel said of Vasilevskiy’s late string of saves. “I’ve watched it too many times to count, so it never gets old.”

Hagel’s goal received its own rowdy response from the Lightning audience—Hagel burst into the offensive zone with speed 1:56 into the third period on a rush with Jake Guentzel and Mitchell Chaffee. Hagel reached the high slot before wiring a shot over the glove of Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark for the 3-2 lead.

The goal—one Lightning coach Jon Cooper described as “sneaky”—was Hagel’s 25th of the season.

"He really sold like he was going to pass it, and then he just roped it,” Cooper said. “So the goalie's got a lot to look at and process when the rush is coming down on him that fast, so it was pretty deceptive and obviously a heck of a shot.”

Tampa Bay started Tuesday’s divisional clash with pace. The Lightning outshot Ottawa 10-2 in the game’s opening minutes, and the team had numerous power play chances to open the scoring.

Despite that early push, it was Ottawa that found the back of the net first. Forward Michael Amadio found a loose puck in front of the Lightning net, poking it through the leg pads of Vasilevskiy for a 1-0 lead on the power play with 5:51 left in the opening 20 minutes.

The Lightning didn’t wait long to register the game-tying goal in period two.

Tampa Bay’s Zemgus Girgensons beat multiple Senators to a puck behind the Ottawa net, feeding defenseman Nick Perbix at the point. Perbix dished a pass to defense partner Emil Lilleberg, whose shot was deflected home by forward Luke Glendening 1:44 into the second.

A one-timer by Nikita Kucherov on the power play made it 2-1 Tampa Bay 7:38 into the frame, but Ottawa had the tying goal from Claude Giroux on a shot from distance two minutes later.

Hagel’s goal in the opening stanzas of the third period made it 3-2. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh wrapped his second goal of the season into an empty Ottawa net for a 4-2 lead with 1:35 remaining before Ottawa scored on a 6-on-5 late for a 4-3 final score.

Victor Hedman had two assists to lead the Lightning in scoring.

Tuesday’s win improved the Lightning to 28-20-4 this season and banked two critical standings points as the Lightning continue to chase the Senators and others in the Atlantic Division race.

The teams won’t wait wait long for their rematch, as the Senators return to AMALIE Arena on Thursday for their third of four matchups with the Lightning this season.

"I think it's kind of fun. I think you're in the hunt with them, we know what the game means, and then you're able to play them back to back,” Hagel said. “And it kind of just makes it feel like the playoffs a little bit and that's what it's all about right now, especially we're later into the season, not a ton of games left. Got to start crunching points, and this maybe raises our level of intensity a little bit.”

Tuesday’s win placed the Lightning back into a playoff spot and marked the first of four consecutive games against division opponents.

“It’s massive,” Hagel said of the win. "I think we all knew what was up for stakes. If you know anything about the game or watch the game, you know exactly what this game meant to all of us, and everyone in the room knew as well. But it's not finished. We’ve got them in another couple nights.”

Benjamin’s Three Stars:

  1. Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (25 saves, win)
  2. Brandon Hagel, TBL (Goal)
  3. Linus Ullmark, OTT (34 saves)