TAMPA, Fla. — Brandon Hagel continued to shine for the Tampa Bay Lightning, netting the pivotal goal for the second game in a row and leading the team to a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. This win allowed the Lightning to secure a two-game series sweep against Ottawa, having previously triumphed with a score of 4-3 on Tuesday.

With this latest win, Tampa Bay has now tied Ottawa for third place in the Atlantic Division. In addition to Hagel’s goal, the Lightning received contributions from Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, Mitchell Chaffee, and Erik Cernak, while goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded 27 saves to solidify the victory. Michael Amadio managed to score the only goal for Ottawa, as Anton Forsberg stopped 26 shots in the loss.

The game kicked off with Guentzel scoring a power play goal at 9:23 of the first period, marking his 13th power play goal, which currently leads the NHL. Amadio responded for Ottawa in the second period, tipping in a shot from Thomas Chabot at 5:27 to tie the game. However, Hagel quickly put Tampa Bay back in front with a breakaway goal, set up by a long pass from Ryan McDonagh, with just 9:44 remaining in the second frame. Point extended the lead at 4:16, while Cernak sealed the game with an empty-net goal 52 seconds before the final horn. Chaffee capped off the scoring with a goal just 26 seconds prior to the game’s conclusion.

Injury updates also shaped the atmosphere of the match. For Ottawa, center Shane Pinto was sidelined after sustaining a lower-body injury during the first period of the previous game. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s Anthony Cirelli, who has been named to represent Canada in the upcoming Four Nations Faceoff, was out due to an upper-body injury. Forward Conor Sheary made an appearance in his first NHL game since November 30 after being recalled.

A key moment in the game unfolded when Tampa Bay was unable to capitalize on a power play while the score was tied. As Jake Sanderson left the penalty box, the Lightning fell out of sync defensively, allowing a 2-on-1 opportunity for the Senators. Vasilevskiy made a crucial stop against Matthew Highmore at 9:05 of the second period, and right after that, Hagel scored just over a minute later.

In terms of performance, the Lightning have been impressive on home turf, sporting a remarkable record of 7-1-1 over their last nine games in front of the home crowd.

Looking ahead, both teams are set to play again on Saturday, with Ottawa traveling to face Florida and Tampa Bay heading to Detroit for their next matchup.