OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Alex DeBrincat and Brady Tkachuk each scored two goals and the Ottawa Senators cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
DeBrincat added an assist, and Derick Brassard, Erik Brannstrom and Austin Watson also scored for Ottawa, which earned its first 35-win season since 2015-16. Mads Sogaard made 27 saves.
Brayden Point and Mikhail Sergachev scored and Brian Elliott stopped 28 shots for the Lightning, who are on a three-game losing streak and have been outscored 15-6 during that stretch.
Sergachev made it a 3-2 game for Tampa Bay 4:10 into the third period with a power-play goal, giving the Lightning a chance.
But less than two minutes later, Brannstrom had a beautiful end-to-end rush that culminated with a shot into the top corner to make it 4-2.
Things went downhill from that point for the Lightning. Tkachuk padded the Senators’ lead with a power-play goal at 13:11 and added an empty-net goal 24 seconds later.
Watson closed the scoring at 14:39 when he spun around and had his shot beat Elliott.
DeBrincat gave Ottawa a 2-0 lead by scoring 8:53 into the first period and again just under three minutes later.
NOTES: Senators F Tim Stutzle had one assist, giving him 115 points through his first 200 NHL games. … Ottawa came to terms with D Tyler Kleven on a three-year entry-level contract Thursday. Kleven recently completed his junior year with the University of North Dakota, where he had eight goals and 10 assists through 35 games. … Nick Holden and Julien Gauthier were healthy scratches for the Senators.
UP NEXT
Lightning: Face the NHL-leading Bruins in Boston on Saturday.
Senators: Take on the Devils in New Jersey on Saturday night.
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