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Miller Shines But the Bolts Fall to the Sens 7-4

Kevin Flannery

By Jake Ricker

Overview

The Tampa Bay Lightning had a rough game as they let the Sens get to them early and could not stop the bleeding. As for the Sens, they played some great hockey despite struggling to stop the top line of the Bolts. Despite the struggles for the Bolts, JT Miller had a great night as he got his first hat trick as a Bolt and continues to shine on the top line. The win didn’t exactly help the Sens in their tank but it was a huge victory in the “spoiler” department, stopping the Bolts from entering a 6 game winning streak. Let’s take a look at how we got here period by period.

First Period

Things started off great for the Bolts as just 4 min into the game JT Miller found himself right in front of the net, and after a pass from Kuch, and he made no mistake getting the Bolts on the board first. Unfortunately for the Bolts thing only went downhill from here on out. Just a few minutes later the Sens quickly bounced back as Magnus Paajarvi snuck one past Vasy to tie the game at 1. Anthony Cirelli then took a 2 min penalty and sent the Sens to their first power play of the night. The Sens who had a struggling powerplay all year where still able to cash in. Ryan Dzingel sniped one right past Vasy (credit where credit is due, amazing shot) to put the Sens in the lead 2-1. The Sens weren’t done yet though as just a min later Tom Pyatt got in on the scoring and extend the Sens lead to 3-1. The Bolts would get one more opportunity to cut the lead when Alexander Burrows got 2 for interference. Unfortunately, The Bolts PP was unsuccessful and the Bolts still trailed by 2.

Goals: 3-1 Ottawa

Shots: 17-17 Tampa Bay

Second Period

The Bolts got off to a great start in the second as just 2 min into the period JT Miller got right back to work. Magnus Paajarvi would take an early penalty for tripping and send the Bolts PP to work. Miller made no mistake once again capitalizing as he was able to put one in the back of the net to make it a 3-2 hockey game. But one again right after the Bolts found success they hit yet another road bump. Brayden Coburn was then called for tripping and gave Ottowa their third power play of the Night. Ottowa’s power play was cooking tonight as Marian Gaborik ripped one into the net to make it 4-2 Sens and get the lead back to 2. Things didn’t get better for the Bolts though as the Sens continued to dominate offensive play. Mike Hoffman then shot one on net that slipped past Vasy and gave the Sens a 5-2 lead. Despite all the Bolts struggles, JT Miller was not about to let that stop him from having a career night. Marian Gaborik would then sit in the box for hooking and send the Bolts to the PP. JT Miller then got ahold of the puck blasting it for hi 3rd of the night and his first career hat trick as a Bolt! The Bolts would get another power play soon after as Zach Smith was called for holding. But this time it wasn’t the Bolt benefit from the man advantage. Erik Karlsson did what he did best and took it home himself giving the Sens their 3 goal lead back once again.

Goals: 6-3 Ottawa

Shots: 38-29 Tampa Bay

Third Period

The third was the period for milestones but not before the Senators extended their lead to 4. Mike Hoffman joined the scoring parade as he got one in the back of the net to make it 7-3 Sens. Both teams played a very disciplined game as neither team took a penalty for the rest of the period. The Bolts kept pushing through and once again it was the top line coming through. While Kuch, Stammer, and Miller passed the puck around McDonagh snuck up on the play and tapped in a pass for his first career goal as a Bolt! Both teams went back and forth for the rest of the game as time flew by but the smoke had cleared. Neither team put up any more goals and the Bolts would still trail by the end of the period despite a few more great chances.

Goals: 7-4 Ottawa

Shots: 46-33 Tampa Bay

3 Stars

  1. Miller (3G)
  2. Hoffman (2G)
  3. Stamkos (3A)

 

Up Next and Final Strike

Congrats to Miller on scoring his first NHL hat trick and Ryan McDonagh getting his first as a Bolt. And not to take anything away from that but the defense did not hold up tonight and unfortunately costed the Bolts the victory. The Bolts top line however really shined and continues to dominate, look for them to continue this success moving forward. With that said the Bolts will look to fix their defensive issues and rebound as they get set for their next game. The Bolts are becoming ever so close to clinching and need to stay focused down the stretch.

The Bolts will look to rebound from a tough as they get set to take on the Boston Bruins, March 17th at 7:00PM EST.

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