The Tampa Bay Lightning struggled tonight on defense, Meanwhile, the Sens played a great game in all aspects. The Sens continued their great offense and stood up on defense stopping the Bollts on the power play. The Bolts really struggled on defense which nullified the Bolts offensive push in the second. Let’s take a look at how we got here period by period.

First Period

This one would start off with an early penalty as Mike Hoffman went off for tripping but the Sens would kill it off. This one as all Sens early as it was Ryan Dzingle who got on the board first. Not much later The Sens got the Bolts tied up in their own zone and Sens forward Matt Duchene made them pay to make it 2-0 Sens. The Bolts looked very sloppy in the early stages of this game with sloppy passes that turned to turnovers. The Bolts would then get a power play chance as Dumont went off for hooking. The Sens PK Unit looked much better as they killed off another power play. The Bolts play just didn’t get any better as with 3 min to go Erik Karlsson found Zack Smith in front of the net who tipped it in to make it 3-0 Sens. The Sens dominated early and were rewarded as they ended the period up 3. The Bolts would look to bounce back in the second.

Goals: 3-0 Senators

Shots: 13-12 Lightning

Second Period

The Bolts needed to respond in the second and they did just that as it was all Bolts. Just 26 seconds into the period Victor Hedman took a wrist shot that beat Craig Anderson to cut the Sens lead to 2. Just over a min later Slater Koekkoek sniped one that ended up in the back of the net and cut the Sens lead to 1. Sergachev would then take a Boarding call and head to the box for 2 min. The Bolts would be able to kill it off and get the Bolts back to even strength. Once we passed the halfway mark, Zack Smith and Nikita Kucherov would get 2 for cross-checking so we would play 4 on 4 hockey. Neither team could score though with more open ice. Zack Smith would then take another penalty for roughing, and the Bolts made him pay as Yanni Gourde tipped in a shot from Sergachev to make it 3-3. Both Teams would the take a penalty before the period ended, Callahan for holding and Oduya for cross-checking. However, neither team would score on their respective power plays.

Goals: 3-3

Shots: 23-18 Lightning

Third Period

The Third period would start slow as not much happened untill the halfway mark of the period. After that, it was all downhill for the Bolts as Mark Stone got a huge chance after a rebound and he would capitalize to give the Sens the lead again. Dotchin and Brassard would then both get 2 for roughing to make it 4 on 4 hockey. Just seconds later Vasy would make a huge save but a juicy rebound ended up in Jean-Gabriel Pageau hands and he buried it to make it 5-3 Sens. The Bolts would fall to the same fate a few minutes later as Ryan Dzingel ot the rebound this time and made it 6-3 Sens. The Bolts fell apart defensively and they paid as the Sens scored 3 goals in the third.

Goals: 6-3 Senators

Shots 48-33 Lightning

3 Stars

1. Ryan Dzingel (2G)
2. Mark Stone (1G, 2A)
3. Slater Koekkoek (1G)

Up Next and Final Strike

This was a rough game for the Bolts as they fell apart defensively. However, the Sens played a fantastic game as they did exactly what we said they needed to do in our three keys. The Bolts are going to have stretches like this and they are still at the top. The Bolts should be able to rebound tomorrow and get back to their old selves.

The Bolts will look to bounce back  as they get set to take on the Detroit in a back to back tomorrow, January 7th, at 7:00PM.