Bouyed by various great performances, the Ottawa Senators edged the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-4, in the season-opener in Tampa. Shane Pinto jammed home a loose puck after Jake Sanderson drove the net, his second of the game with 1:47 remaining, breaking a 3-3 tie. Claude Giroux added an empty-netter moments later, before Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov scored with 12.1 seconds left to get his team back within one, but it was to no avail.
The Lightning jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead on a power play marker by Oliver Bjorkstrand and a blast from Brayden Point inside the post blocker-side past Senators’ Linus Ullmark.
Dylan Cozens one-timed a Brady Tkachuk pass on a Senators PP of their own to get his team on the board for the first time this season.
Kucherov restored the Lightning’s two-goal lead with their second tally with the man-advantage.
Senators defenseman Artem Zub launched a shot from the blue line through a Fabian Zettelund screen 42 ticks into the second period, then fed Pinto for a breakaway with a pin-point pass from inside his own blue line to even the affair at three heading the into the final frame.
Game Takeaways
A Mature Group
When Travis Green took the helm of the Senators last season, one of his main tasks was to change the mindset of his players. In past seasons, a two-goal first period deficit generally resulted in a pending loss. General manager Steve Staios added Stanley Cup winners Michael Amadio, David Perron, veterans Nick Jensen. Linus Ullmark to assist Green in changing the mentality of the team, which had a positive effect. The Senators went on to break a seven-year playoff drought.
And once again in Game no.1 to open the 2025-26 NHL campaign, the Senators stayed with the game, holding the Lightning to only 11 shots on goal over the final 40 minutes, while putting their own mark on the game to secure the two points.
“It doesn’t matter that it’s game 1, 40, 82, I think it’s a very positive sign of the maturity that we have in the group, and that at the end of the day, all the guys care about is winning. So it’s just continue to persevere, continue to be resilient and happy that was a result in Game One,” said Brady Tkachuk postgame as heard on TSN1200.
“it comes a lot from last year and the experiences we had last year, going into all those important games leading up to play off some playoffs itself. And no, I just think our full commitment is just about winning, and it’s not about how we do as individuals. At the end of the day, it’s what you see is based on winning. So that’s our sole focus is trying to get two points every night.”
Pay the man
A pending restricted free agent, whether it’s sooner or later, there’s little doubt Shane Pinto is going to receive a hefty payday prior next season.
Invited to Team USA’s Olympic Orientation Camp after a Gold medal winning performance at the IIHF World Championship, Pinto continued his hot run into the Senators opening game of the season, notching two goals, one assist. Pinto played in all situations receiving shifts on the power play and penalty kill.
With the trio of Ridly Greig/Pinto/Claude Giroux on the ice, the Lightning were limited to only four shot attempts per Natural Stat Trick.
Tkachuk spoke of his teammate, “He played awesome. I mean, he’s such a guy that embraces those big moments. He came with two huge goals. So no, it’s very lucky to have a guy like that on our team and not shocked that he thrives in those big moments.”
Zuuuuuuuuuub!
One game into the season, Artem Zub is only 10 points away from tying his 2023-24 total (13), a three-point performance, tying a career high will do that. The 30-year-old may have played his best game as a Senator at both ends of the ice. Zub registered one goal, two assists, tying Tkachuk for a team high five shots on goal, nine total shot attempts. He was also a plus-four, while sporting a Senators high 74.67% Corsi For. Zub was on the ice for 26 of his club’s shot attempts and only eight against.
Other Solid Evenings
To go Pinto and Zub’s three point nights, the Senators captain garnered three assists of his own. Tkachuk recorded three helpers for the eighth time in his career.
Jake Sanderson added two assists and was a plus-three paired with Zub, playing a team high 23:10 time on ice. Tim Stützle made a training camp declaration to shoot more this season. While he didn’t score, Stützle compiled seven shot attempts, three on goal, and with any luck should’ve had a pair of tallies.
The Senators were credited with 51 hits, eight of those were from Fabian Zetterlund. The fourth line comprised of Nick Cousins/Lars Eller/Kurtis MacDermid combined for 12 with each counting for four. Eller had a solid Senators debut, with not only that hit total, the Dane posted a shot on goal, and was 9-5 (64%) on faceoffs in 14:20 TOI.
The 1-0-0 Senators head to Sunrise where they’ll meet the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers Saturday.
