Senators 5, Lightning 3
Rookie Jakob Silfverberg recorded a goal and an assist as Ottawa scored four times in the final 7:11 of the first period and held off a furious rally by visiting Tampa Bay.
Captain Daniel Alfredsson scored twice - including an empty-netter with 21 seconds remaining in the third period to seal it for the Senators. Defenseman Eric Gryba registered his first career goal, Guillaume Latendresse also tallied and Robin Lehner made 29 saves as Ottawa improved to 11-2-3 at Scotiabank Place.
Rookie Tyler Johnson, who has six points in his first five NHL games, scored twice in the third period and Teddy Purcell brought the Lightning within one at 4-3 with 1:59 remaining in the contest. Cedrick Desjardins made 19 saves in relief of starter Mathieu Garon, who allowed three goals on 11 shots.
The Lightning had several scoring chances early before a turnover allowed Silfverberg to redirect defenseman Marc Methot’s pass from the left point past Garon 12:49 into the contest. Kyle Turris (two assists) drew two players to him on the right wing and fed Gryba in the high slot for a slapper 1:40 later.
Latendresse made it 3-0 at 17:01, chipping in a bouncing puck near the right end line after Garon had tipped it away from the crease. Alfredsson went to the net and knocked home his own deflected shot on the power play with 10 seconds remaining to complete the burst for the Senators.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Veteran D Sergei Gonchar, who assisted on Alfredsson’s goal, has at least one helper in 10 straight games - a Senators’ franchise record. … Methot, who returned to the lineup after missing one contest with a knee injury, had two assists in the first period. He had not registered an assist in the previous 27 games. … Lightning C Nate Thompson signed a four-year contract extension on Saturday. Thompson has six goals and four assists.