Brady Tkachuk scores 2 again as Senators beat Lightning 5-2
Brady Tkachuk had his second two-goal game as the Ottawa Senators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Sunday night.
Mathieu Joseph, Vladimir Tarasenko and Tim Stutzle also scored, while Joonas Korpisalo stopped 22 shots to get his first win with the Senators, who won got their second victory in two nights.
"Two games of playing our type of hockey," Tkachuk said. "That's just been our goal. We don't care about wins or losses, it's just how quickly we get to our game. I think we've shown that we're starting to find it now, and I think we're going to keep building on it."
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
- Sign up now for our nightly CTV News Ottawa newsletter
Anthony Cirelli and Tanner Jeannot each scored for the Lightning, and Matt Tomkins had 33 saves in his NHL debut.
Both teams had played Saturday with the Senators beating Philadelphia 5-2, while Tampa Bay fell 6-4 to Detroit.
Leading 3-2, Tkachuk was able to give the Senators some breathing room midway through the third period when he beat Darren Raddysh in a race and scored five-hole on Tomkins. Stutzle added an empty-net goal, with Korpisalo picking up the secondary assist.
"Winning is exciting," Tarasenko said. "We had a lot of talks before the season. When you win, everything is different. Like, the mood is different, you know, the atmosphere and confidence level."
Ottawa outshot Tampa Bay 17-3 in the first period, scoring the opening goal for the third straight game when Tarasenko got a backhanded pass from Ridly Greig and beat Tomkins from down low 7:02 into the game.
"People are going to sit there and look at the first period and say oh my god, they just have 17- 3 or whatever it was," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said, "but we're looking at chances that actually have a chance of going into the net and pucks I guess directed at the net that have a chance, but we didn't feel like we gave them a whole lot."
Tomkins weathered the early onslaught and looked solid.
"(Tomkins) was unbelievable," Cirelli said. "You know from the first puck drop he made huge saves and kept us in that game the whole game. Huge credit to him the way he came in here and he made saves and played really well."
The Lightning tied it in the opening minute of the second as Cirelli crossed to the front of the net uncontested and roofed a shot over Korpisalo.
Midway through the period, Raddysh blocked Tkachuk's shot and dropped allowing the Senators' captain to grab the loose puck and make it 2-1 at 8:48.
Tampa Bay tied it again with 7 minutes left in the middle period when Jeannot capitalized on the rebound of a shot by Victor Hedman.
"The two goals they score, we give them tap-ins there," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "And that's hard for a goalie sometimes, but give our guys credit, give the (defense) credit, we came out ready to play, we held the chances down, but certainly we have to manage those big-time breakdowns."
Ottawa Senators goaltender Joonas Korpisalo makes a glove save in the third period during NHL action against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in Ottawa, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. Korpisalo made 21 saves as the Senators defeated the Lightning 5-2. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
With just under a minute to play in the second, Tarasenko picked off a drop pass by Tampa Bay's Nick Perbix and passed it to Joseph, fired it into the top corner to put Ottawa ahead again.
"It was just a tough goal to give up with a minute left and we had tired D out there and again, they catch a break," Cooper said. "You know, they try and force the puck in, we got a stick on it and it goes right to Joseph and it's in the net.
"Tkachuk's goal (Raddysh) blocks it and it goes right on his stick, but we put ourselves in those situations and they capitalized so you know good on them for that."
MILESTONES
Cooper coached his 800th NHL game Sunday. He has a 481-252-67 record. ... Ottawa's Parker Kelly played in his 100th NHL game Sunday.
SIDELINED
Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos did not play. He is listed day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
SEEING FAMILIAR FACES
Austin Watson returned to Ottawa to face his former team after signing a one-year deal with the Lightning in the offseason.
UP NEXT
Lightning: At Buffalo on Tuesday night.
Senators: Host Washington on Wednesday night.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Justin Trudeau stepping down as Liberal leader, to stay on as PM for now
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is stepping down as Liberal leader, and is proroguing Parliament as the Liberal Party of Canada embarks on the journey to replace him.
WATCH LIVE Live updates as Justin Trudeau resigns as Liberal leader
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stepped down as Liberal leader. Follow along for live updates from CTVNews.ca.
'Together, what a great nation it would be': Donald Trump, Elon Musk react to Justin Trudeau's resignation
Amid news of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation as leader of the Liberal party on Monday morning, reactions from prominent figures began piling in.
Justin Trudeau is resigning, what will be his legacy? A look back at key political eras
In a seismic political move, Justin Trudeau has announced his intention to step down as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and prime minister, once his successor is named. This decision comes after more than nine years in the country's top job and nearly 12 years at the helm of his party.
Justin Trudeau resignation: Here's what he said in Ottawa today
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a speech about his political future Monday morning outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa. Here's the message he delivered to Canadians.
W5 INVESTIGATES One Canadian couple's fight against a contractor who defrauded them
Pull into the driveway at John and Julie Ridley's house and you'll notice large patches of red siding are missing from their house and garage. What was supposed to be a dream retirement home for the couple is now a daily reminder of what went wrong.
Winter storm warnings in effect for most of Canada. Here's where
A weekend winter storm that brought much of Canada under severe weather alerts continues to bring chilly conditions to Canadians across the country.
'He won't be a John Doe anymore': OPP use new DNA testing to solve 21-year-old cold case
OPP have used new DNA technology to solve a 21-year-old cold case near Amherstburg, Ont. The new testing has led to the identification of the remains of a man found in 2003.
U.S. Postal Service resumes accepting mail and packages to Canada
The United States Postal Service is resuming accepting mail and packages to Canada following the end to service disruptions from the month-long Canada Post strike.