Lightning 5, Senators 4
Defenseman Eric Brewer scored his first goal of the season 3:48 into the third period to snap a tie and visiting Tampa Bay held on to extend its winning streak to five games.
Teddy Purcell ended a 19-game goalless drought by scoring twice while Valtteri Filppula and Ryan Callahan added power-play tallies for the Lightning, who are 5-0-2 in their last seven games. Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat joined defensemen Victor Hedman and Sami Salo with two assists apiece while Ben Bishop made 27 saves as Tampa Bay moved two points ahead of Montreal for second place in the Atlantic Division.
Defenseman Erik Karlsson and Milan Michalek each recorded a goal and an assist while Clarke MacArthur and Ales Hemsky also tallied for the Senators, who have won only once in their last eight games (1-5-2). Robin Lehner turned aside 23 shots for Ottawa, which saw its five-game home winning streak over the Lightning end as it remained nine points behind the New York Rangers for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
Purcell beat Lehner from the right faceoff circle 23 seconds into the contest before MacArthur tied it on a short-handed breakaway at 10:44. Purcell restored the lead at 12:38 of the first on a rebound just after a power play ended, but Karlsson hammered a shot past Bishop from the high slot during a man advantage 29 seconds later.
Filppula swept in a rebound 5:43 into the middle session before Hemsky took the puck between his legs and swerved through two defenders to forge a tie with 2:28 left in the second. Brewer roofed a backhander from the right circle for his first tally since Feb. 24, 2013 and Callahan made it 5-3 with a one-timer from the slot with 8:02 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Filppula matched his career high with his 23rd goal and extended his point streak to seven games. Filppula also had 23 tallied with Detroit in 2011-12. … Ottawa captain Jason Spezza notched a pair of assists, giving him 19 points in his last 13 games. … The Lightning signed F Cody Kunyk from Alaska-Fairbanks to a one-year contract Thursday and he is expected to join the team.