Lightning come back to defeat Senators in shootout
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos scored in the shootout, lifting the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.
The Lightning threatened to win on a power play at the end of overtime, but Nikita Kucherov's shot past Craig Anderson was launched a split-second after the buzzer.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped shots by Ottawa's Tom Pyatt and Matt Duchene in the shootout.
Ottawa broke out on top in unusual fashion. Bobby Ryan was credited with an unassisted goal 6:31 into the game after Dan Girardi's attempt to clear a rebound glanced off the shin of fellow Lightning defenseman Braydon Coburn and past Vasilevskiy.
Twelve minutes into the second period, Tampa Bay pulled even on a delayed penalty with a deflected goal of its own. Kucherov blasted a shot from the top of the right circle that glanced off teammates Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn in the slot and through the legs of Anderson.
The Senators regained the lead on a backhander by Cody Ceci with 5:26 remaining in the second. Yanni Gourde tied it again just over a minute later.
Ottawa took its third lead six minutes into the third period on a power-play goal by Derick Brassard. Vladislav Namestnikov answered for Tampa Bay about five minutes later.
NOTES: Kucherov has scored multiple points in four consecutive games and a league-best 18 overall. ... D Victor Hedman has produced points in five consecutive games for Tampa Bay. ... Senators D Dion Phaneuf missed his first game this season for personal reasons. Other Ottawa scratches were D Andreas Englund, recalled earlier in the day from the AHL, and C Filip Chlapik. ... D Slater Koekkoek and Andrej Sustr were healthy scratches for the Lightning.
UP NEXT
Senators: Visit the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Lightning: Host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
