By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, March 19, 2011
OTTAWA — The Lightning used all the appropriate adjectives after Saturday night's 3-2 overtime loss to the Senators at Scotiabank Place.
"Frustrating," coach Guy Boucher said.
"Disappointing," captain Vinny Lecavalier said.
But perhaps defenseman Victor Hedman said it best: "We sure as hell are (ticked) off."
They should be after fumbling away a two-goal, third-period lead with fewer than eight minutes left, allowing a league-high 13th shorthanded goal and being outworked in the final 20 minutes by a team with the fewest points in the Eastern Conference to lose for the eighth time in 10 games.
Jason Spezza scored the winner with 1:32 left in the extra period with a shot at the end of a breakaway he squeaked through the legs of goaltender Dwayne Roloson.
The loss ended a 1-0-3 road trip in which Tampa Bay (39-22-11) earned five of eight points but Lecavalier called "sour."
It also wiped out 40 minutes of good work in which the Lightning earned a 2-0 lead on goals by Lecavalier and Dana Tyrell, whose shot was saved by goalie Curtis McElhinney but poked in by Senators defenseman Filip Kuba.
The game turned on Ryan Shannon's breakaway shorthanded goal with 7:33 left in the third. Hedman was caught napping as Shannon blew out of the defensive zone and took a perfect pass from Erik Condra.
"When you're leading 2-0 and you're in control of the game and your focus is not on watching guys taking off, that's a lack of awareness, and I can't pardon that," Boucher said. "When you make a play like that, you don't deserve to win."
And when a player makes a play like that, "The guys start to run around," he added.
The Senators, on the other hand, were energized and outshot Tampa Bay 18-10 in the third period.
It didn't help that Lightning stars Steven Stamkos and Marty St. Louis played one of their worst games of the season, especially when it came to puck possession.
Tyrell, Sean Bergenheim and Dominic Moore overpassed and did not get a shot on a three-on-one. Shortly thereafter, Nick Foligno tied it with 3:55 left on a redirect in front of the net.
"We put ourselves in that situation," Hedman said. "We didn't play for the entire 60 minutes."
It was the Lightning's fifth loss (two in regulation and three in overtime) when leading after two periods. Only six teams have more. It also has been outscored 78-52 in the third.
"Once the playoffs come, those third periods are important," Lecavalier said. "They're all 2-1, 1-0 games, so we have to get better at them."
Very appropriate.
| Senators | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Lightning | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Senators | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Lightning | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
First Period—1, Tampa Bay, Lecavalier 19 (Thompson), 6:32. Penalties—Butler, Ott (hooking), 8:59; Neil, Ott (interference), 11:47.
Second Period—2, Tampa Bay, Tyrell 6 (Bergenheim), 7:42. Penalties—Lundin, TB (tripping), 8:14; Brewer, TB (elbowing), 19:45.
Third Period—3, Ottawa, Shannon 9 (Condra, Karlsson), 12:27 (sh). 4, Ottawa, Foligno 12 (Z.Smith, Neil), 16:05. Penalties—Svatos, Ott (boarding), 10:41.
Overtime—5, Ottawa, Spezza 16 (Karlsson), 3:28. Penalties—None. Shots on Goal—Tampa Bay 13-9-10-5—37. Ottawa 3-9-18-4—34. Power-play opportunities—Tampa Bay 0 of 3; Ottawa 0 of 2. Goalies—Tampa Bay, Roloson 20-22-5 (34 shots-31 saves). Ottawa, McElhinney 9-10-1 (37-35). A—18,813 (19,153). T—2:30. Referees—Marcus Vinnerborg, Tim Peel. Linesmen—Pierre Champoux, Derek Nansen.