Lightning 5, Senators 2
TAMPA, Fla. -- Mike Angelidis picked the perfect time to score the first goal of his NHL career, and a late penalty kill from the Lightning made it stand up as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Ottawa Senators 5-2 Sunday.
Angelidis' second-period goal came during a scrum in front of the Senators' net. The right winger kept poking at the loose puck, and finally it slipped under goalie Andrew Hammond to give the Lightning a 3-1 lead at 2:45 of the period.
Ottawa (17-12-5) kept the game close with an goal from defenseman Erik Karlsson at 14:26 of the second period, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
However, Tampa Bay (17-14-3) stood tall in the final minutes of the third period. The Lightning killed off a penalty with 5:05 remaining in regulation after forward Vladislav Namestnikov was whistled for high sticking.
Following the penalty kill, Lightning forwards Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos added empty-net goals to provide the final score.
Stamkos also scored in the first period on a power play. Some nice passing from Namestnikov and right winger Nikita Kucherov set Stamkos up for a one-timer into an open net and a 2-1 lead.
Center Zack Smith gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead in the first period with a short-handed goal just 4:20 into the game. His backhand shot beat Lightning goalie Ben Bishop on the glove side after a pass from right winger Curtis Lazar gave Smith a one-on-one in front of the net.
Lightning defenseman Nikita Nesterov tied the game a 1-1 on a power play at 5:23 of the opening period.
Hammond, making his second start in the past three games, made 30 saves and fell to 2-2-2 on the season.
Bishop (14-10-2) recorded 23 saves in the victory.
NOTES: Injured Lightning RW J.T. Brown missed Sunday's game and is day-to-day moving forward. He joins C Tyler Johnson, C Cedric Paquette, LW Ondrej Palat and LW Jonathan Drouin as players out with injuries. The Lightning recalled C Tanner Richard from their AHL affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y., in a corresponding move. ... Senators G Andrew Hammond made his second start in the past three games after not playing for nearly a month. ... Lightning RW Erik Condra will return to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 5. ... Senators RW Bobby Ryan scored his 199th career goal Friday in a 4-2 win against the San Jose Sharks. ... Lightning C Yanni Gourde is out with an upper-body injury and was sent back to Syracuse for treatment.