Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Pat Maroon (14) and Ottawa Senators right wing Tyler Ennis (63) chase the puck in the third period at the Canadian Tire Centre.Marc DesRosiers/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
Brady Tkachuk scored his first career hat trick Saturday afternoon to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Josh Norris also scored for the Senators (8-16-1) and Anton Forsberg made 24 saves for his first career shutout.
Forsberg is riding a personal four-game win streak and appears to have taken over the top starter’s role in Ottawa.
The loss ended Tampa Bay’s five-game winning streak. The Lightning (17-6-4), who closed a five-game road swing, were looking to finish a trip of five or more games with a perfect record for the first time in franchise history.
Brian Elliott stopped 20 shots for the Lightning.
Tkachuk capped his afternoon with an empty-net goal with just over three minutes remaining in regulation to the delight of the 13,076 on hand at Canadian Tire Centre.
Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates his empty-net goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning with teammate wing Drake Batherson (19) during third period NHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
While both teams had a solid opening 20 minutes, it was the Senators who opened the scoring as Norris picked up his 12th goal of the season off a great pass from Drake Batherson.
A pair of power-play goals in the second period allowed the Senators to stretch their lead to 3-0.
Elliott had come up with a couple of big saves, but was unable to stop Tkachuk at the three-minute mark. The goal was Tkachuk’s first power-play point of the season.
Two minutes later, Tkachuk scored again as he deflected a Thomas Chabot point shot. The two teams meet again Thursday in Tampa with the season series tied 1-1.