Lightning deal the Senators a blow in the playoff race by beating them 4-2

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Defenseman Emil Lilleberg scored the go-ahead goal and had a career-high three points, and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied to defeat the Ottawa Senators 4-2 on Saturday.

Brandon Hagel and Charle-Edouard D’Astous each had a goal and an assist, while Jake Guentzel scored for a third consecutive game. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves for Tampa Bay, which played without leading scorer Nikita Kucherov and others.

Nick Paul and Kucherov, who entered the weekend tied with Connor McDavid for the most points in the NHL, were both out because of illness. Despite not having them and captain Victor Hedman, who is on a leave of absence for personal reasons, the Lightning improved to 5-0-2 in the past seven games.

Dylan Cozens and Jordan Spence scored for Ottawa, and James Reimer allowed four goals on 27 shots. The Senators, in the middle of a fierce playoff race in the Eastern Conference, lost in regulation for the first time since March 18 and are on the outside looking in with nine games remaining.

With the score tied at 2, Lilleberg took a pass from Hagel and chipped a backhand shot past Reimer with a little more than 11 minutes left in regulation. Guentzel scored on a breakaway later to provide some breathing room.

Ottawa had taken a 2-0 lead on goals by Cozens and Spence. This was the fourth game in a row the Lightning fell behind by multiple goals, and just like in the previous three, they got back into it in the second period.

Senators: Visit the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.

Lightning: Host the Nashville Predators on Sunday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser (90) is pulled down to the ice by Ottawa Senators right wing Drake Batherson (19) as they battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) makes a save on a shot by Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto (12) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) and Ottawa Senators center Dylan Cozens (24) battle for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Ottawa Senators center Tim Stützle (18) grabs Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak (81) as Cernak and defenseman Carter Yakemchuk (58) fight during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate a goal by left wing Brandon Hagel (38) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Denny Hamlin earned his fifth pole position at Martinsville Speedway and 49th of his Cup Series career, tying him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Isaac for 10th all time.

The Joe Gibbs Racing star turned a 98.241-mph lap Saturday in the No. 11 Toyota to beat William Byron, whose No. 24 Chevrolet qualified second at 97.957 mph for Sunday’s 400-lap race.

With his win two weeks ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hamlin, 45, broke a tie with Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time win list in NASCAR’s premier series. He is two poles away from tying the career total of Ryan Newman, one of the greatest qualifiers in NASCAR history.

“It’s pretty awesome,” said Hamlin, who grew up a few hours east of Martinsville in the Richmond, Virginia, suburb of Chesterfield. “Really with age, the hardest part is still having the fast time. It’s one thing to be able to manage races and use your experience to your advantage. But usually the first thing to go is your all-out speed, and we’re still knocking off poles, which is really good. I was around when Newman was just unstoppable in qualifying. So damn, I didn’t know he had that many.”

Hamlin has six wins at Martinsville, and his victory last season broke a 10-year drought at the 0.526-mile oval.

Byron won the most recent race at Martinsville last October and has victories in three of the past eight races there.

“I feel like our race car is going to be really good tomorrow,” said the Hendrick Motorsports driver, whose previous best start this season was ninth at Phoenix and Las Vegas. “We’ve learned a lot this year. It seems like Saturdays have been a struggle for us this year and not as consistent as we’d like.”

Josh Berry qualified third, followed by Ty Gibbs and Shane van Gisbergen.

Brad Keselowski, who will make his 600th career start Sunday, qualified 23rd.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

FILE - Denny Hamlin poses with the trophy in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Martinsville, Va., March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)

Denny Hamlin waves during driver introductions before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)