Lightning snatch win in overtime
Power play goal with 26 seconds remaining ties game before Gourde scores in extra time
The Ottawa Senators came within a whisker of escaping Canadian Tire Centre with a victory Sunday.
Instead, a Yanni Gourde overtime goal, 14 seconds into overtime was confirmed after a video review.
Brayden Point had scored on a Lightning power play with 26 seconds remaining — on the Lightning ’s 43rd shot of the game — to send the game to extra time. The tying goal came off a lucky break, when a bouncing puck skipped over Mark Borowiecki’s stick, and off a controversial slashing penalty to Mikkel Boedker with 1:40 remaining in regulation.
“It was 3-2 for us and we didn’t deserve that penalty,” said Senators coach Guy Boucher. “The players did what they had to do.”
Boucher has a point about the penalty. The Senators did, however, give up 22 third-period shots and 45 shots for the game. Immediately afterwards, the players shut the doors to the dressing room to address the losing slide — six losses in their past seven games — and a long stretch of weak third periods.
“I thought we showed some heart,” said Mark Stone. “But the way we played the third period wasn’t good enough, again. There are times in games where we play so well and we just can’t let our foot off the gas the way we did to a great offensive team.”
It was an especially tough loss for Craig Anderson, who was once again the only thing standing between the Senators and another regulation defeat.
Before the late Lightning power play, it looked like a Matt Duchene bodycheck might have paved the way for a regulation win by Ottawa.
The Lightning were peppering Anderson with shot after shot. Duchene, sensing the opportunity to make his mark, hit Lightning star Nikita Kucherov with a solid, but clean hit inside the Senators blue line. Kucherov responded with an ugly retaliation. With a delayed penalty coming to Kucherov, the Senators threw an extra player on the ice and seconds later Cody Ceci drove to the net and beat goaltender Louis Domingue.
The Senators were resilient. If there was anything positive coming out of Saturday’s 9-2 thrashing at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres, it was that the Senators had the opportunity to return to the ice immediately Sunday. They looked like a different squad at the outset.
The Senators stormed out to an early 2-0 lead on the strength of power play goals by Bobby Ryan and Max Lajoie, but the Lightning clawed their way back.
Cedric Paquette made it 2-1 early in the second and Matieu Joseph — his first NHL goal — deadlocked the game 2-2 early in the third.
As much as Tampa Bay is a legitimate contender to win the Stanley Cup, the Senators had a whole lot more to prove coming into the game. After being humiliated Saturday, they promised they would be ready at the outset against the Lightning.
The Lightning, who defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Saturday, gave No. 1 goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy a rest. That meant the Senators saw backup Domingue, who came into the contest sporting a 4.00 goals against average and .887 save percentage. The Senators took full advantage, with their early power-play goals.
HOW BAD WAS IT?: The sevengoal margin of defeat was the greatest since losing 7-0 to Buffalo and 11-4 to Quebec City in March 1995. The franchise record for largest loss is 10 goals, including an 11-1 loss to St. Louis on Feb. 26, 1994, and a 10-0 romp by Calgary on Jan. 15, 1994. When asked if the ugliness helped serve as a teaching moment for his team Boucher said: “The easier times (to teach) is when you get a shellac. It’s not very hard to get back on track.”
MAKING USE OF DOWN TIME: As the Senators were going down in flames in Buffalo, Mark Borowiecki had a full day in Ottawa. Serving the third and final game of his suspension, he skated with injured rookie Brady Tkachuk. Following that, he paid a visit to see the Capital City Condors. Borowiecki serves as honorary captain for the hockey team with developmental disabilities. “I’m fortunate to have that relationship with the Condors and they skate on Saturdays, typically, and we don’t have many Saturdays off. So, my wife (Tara) had an idea to go out there and hang out with them for a couple of hours ... we had some fun out there. Really turned what was kind of a disappointing day into something positive.”
PUTTING LOST CASH TO WORK: The $43,902 in salary Borowiecki lost during the suspension goes toward the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund, which helps players who are struggling in retirement. “... hopefully that money can go to a good cause and help a guy get his life back on track,” he said. Borowiecki’s return meant that Erik Burgdoerfer, who played in Buffalo, was a healthy scratch Sunday.