3. McELHINNEY SHINES AGAIN
One bright spot for the Lightning came from the play of backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney, who once again gave Tampa Bay a chance to win on the road.
In a 0-0 game in the first period, McElhinney made several high quality saves with the Senators knocking on the door, at one point stopping three good scoring opportunities in quick succession to frustrate Ottawa.
McElhinney made a couple more point-blank stops in the third period to keep the Lightning deficit at one.
The backup goalie has looked sharp in both of his starts so far this season. But his record stands at 0-1-1 mainly because the guys in front of him can't produce enough offensively to give him a chance for a win. Against Ottawa, the Lightning tallied just 21 shots on net. In his first start at Carolina, an overtime loss, the Lightning could only muster a paltry 13.
"He's been incredible," McDonagh said. "He came up with some huge stops to give us a chance. It's really unfortunate we aren't able to get him a W the way he's started the year. Hats off to him, he's doing everything that's expected of him and that's great to see."
Unfortunately, the Lightning aren't doing enough in front of McElhinney to allow him to collect his first victory with the Bolts.