Tampa Bay staved off another late charge by an opponent to pull out a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators. The Lightning jumped out to a three-goal lead after two frames largely because of their ability to dominate the area along the boards. The Lightning’s forwards are sinking lower, and offering more purposeful assistance, on zone exits, and in the offensive zone, the second and third forecheckers are thriving in puck support. There was a through line on all four goals, as Tampa Bay surgically transferred the puck from the depths of the corner and the outer fringes to the prime real estate in the middle.

On the first goal, let’s work backwards. Tyler Johnson scores off a 55-foot lob from the center of the high, high slot that beats Senators goaltender Craig Anderson. How does that happen? It starts with a full-ice reset, and as Johnson and Yanni Gourde curl up the right side, defenseman Anton Stralman steps out from behind the net and hurls the puck at forward Chris Kunitz, who is a receiver in the neutral zone.

Kunitz catches the stretch pass, and tosses it cross-ice for the dump-in. Johnson matches the speed of Senators defenseman Johnny Oduya and bears down as the F1. Oduya slings the puck below the goal line to his defensive partner Erik Karlsson, who tries to backhand pass it to his outlet. Denied. Kunitz is there to block the pass. Bobby Ryan, who was the intended recipient of the pass from Karlsson, takes a hack at clearing the puck from the zone. But Gourde is resolute, obstructing the lane and puck from leaving the zone. The puck flitters backwards to Kunitz, and he taps it to Johnson, who has retreated to higher ice to become the F3. His shot meets destiny. Two attempts to clear the puck on the outside were rejected, and the Lightning forwards moved the puck to the middle of the ice. Great board-work coupled with deft puck movement is a lethal combo.

The second goal was all id. The Kucherov line was controlling the puck on the cycle, and Victor Hedman gamely transported the puck from the boards about 57 feet away from the goal all the way to the low slot. It was a shimmering, singular effort that exposed a broken defense. Hedman wove through three Ottawa defenders. That is talent imposing itself.

While Nikita Kucherov made a pass from outside the slot to Vladislav Namestikov for a breakaway goal that would give Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead, the hockey action to focus on occurred along the boards before the goal. It came after Hedman and Jake Dotchin quelled the forecheck by Ottawa, and the Senators’ Ryan moved the puck to the half-wall. The misguided puck was met by Namestikov, who made a little touch-pass while facing the boards to Dotchin, who helped lead the breakout. The two Lightning defensemen and sole forward worked in tandem to suffocate the Senators’ offensive foray. Once Dotchin headmanned the puck to Steven Stamkos, the forwards floated through the neutral zone and offensive zone with multiple zig-zag passes leading to an off-the-puck forward (Namestikov) cutting up the middle. It must have been a satisfying moment for both the players and coaches. That is how you draw it up. And keep in mind, rush chances like that open up the second wave in future scenarios if the puck-carrier decides to buttonhook.

Finally, the last goal, the game-winner, demonstrated indefatigable effort along the boards and behind the net by Gourde and Alex Killorn in the dying seconds of the second period. The Lightning overloaded to win the puck after the blocked shot attempt by Hedman, and then their speed on retrieval, and to find the narrow passing lanes from behind the goal to the slot, produced a crafty, heady sequence. If the Lightning are winning races and battles along the boards, and utilizing their skill at carrying the puck and playmaking to annex the inside, then nearly all plots of the ice become Tampa Bay territory.

Ottawa’s record is poor, but, while a cliché, the team with nothing to lose is dangerous. The Senators are second-to-last in the Eastern Conference, and they are consistently being discussed as a team looking to trade a few of their best players at the trade deadline. Eklund has written about the possibility of Erik Karlsson coming to Tampa Bay. Ottawa nearly made the Cup last season, thanks to their execution of the 1-3-1 trap; however, when nothing is at stake in the standings, everything becomes looser and players can play more aggressively.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper shook up the forward lines last night, and the potential of the new line combinations was evident. The Lightning’s offense is buzzing, and the defense is not drowning it. Granted, the Senators were playing for the second straight night, but it is notable that the Lightning keep jumping out to three-goal leads. Yet, with the trade deadline looming and a need to address the defensive group, this may be a final glance at this iteration of Tampa Bay.

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