Sanderson strikes twice for Ottawa Senators in 6-2 win over Tampa Bay Lightning

By Canadian Press on April 7, 2026.

OTTAWA — Jake Sanderson scored a pair of goals and the Ottawa Senators were closer to a playoff appearance with a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

Jordan Spence, Fabian Zetterlund, Tim Stützle and Shane Pinto also scored for Ottawa (41-27-10). Brady Tkachuk had four assists and goaltender Linus Ullmark made 27 saves for the win.

Nick Paul and Corey Perry scored for the Lightning (48-24-6). Jonas Johansson made 25 saves.

Tied 1-1 to start the third, the Senators scored twice in less than two minutes to take a two-goal lead.

Zetterlund came across centre, took a pass at the blueline and let a shot go that went off Erik Cernak to beat Johansson five-hole.

Just over one minute later, Sanderson drove to the net and held off J.J Moser to slide the puck in short side for his 12th of the season and a career-high in points.

Perry pulled the Lightning within one midway through the third when he was left all alone and raised a shot over a sprawled Ullmark.

The Senators added a pair of power-play goals to secure the victory.

Stützle jumped on a loose puck at 12:51 to make it 4-2. Tampa lost a goaltender interference challenge and Sanderson scored his second of the game on the ensuing power play.

Pinto scored into an empty net.

Ottawa opened the scoring at 15:46 of the second period when Tkachuk and Spence played give and go on an odd-man rush. Spence finished it with a wrist shot high glove side.

The Lightning tied it less than three minutes later when Perry’s pass went off Tkachuk’s skate to Paul in the slot. Paul quickly backhanded the puck past Ullmark.

Ottawa had a brief scare in the second period when Sanderson took a shot off his left foot and left the game, but he was able to return.

Thomas Chabot skated with the Senators in a non-contact jersey for the first time since his right arm injury sustained March 23.

Takeaways

Senators: Ottawa’s net front presence had a definite impact.

Lightning: The Lightning struggled to generate shots from the inside early in the game.

Key Stat

With an assist on Ottawa’s opening goal, Stützle recorded his second-career 80-point season.

Up next

Senators: Host the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

Lightning: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2026.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press