It’s only one game of 82, a tired but necessary cliché we roll out every October. But sometimes, Game 1 feels like something more. Sometimes it’s a mission statement. For the Ottawa Senators, their 5-4 regulation comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night was exactly that—a loud, defiant declaration that the hype might finally be real.
On the road, against a perennial contender, and staring down a significant early deficit, the Senators didn’t just win; they snatched a victory from a team that looked poised to skate them out of the building. It was a performance that had Sara Civian of Bleacher Report aptly describing this Ottawa squad as “enticing,” and for once, the description felt like an understatement. They defied the pre-game analytics, which gave Tampa a 66.9% chance of winning, and served notice that they intend to be a problem in the Atlantic Division.
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Bolts Bring the Thunder
For the first 20 minutes at Amalie Arena, the game followed the expected script. The Lightning came out with the “verve and vigor” of a team ready to reassert its dominance, playing a punishing, direct, north-south game that had the Senators on their heels. The home crowd was roaring, and the Bolts’ stars were shining.
The onslaught started on the power play, with Oliver Bjorkstrand capitalizing to draw first blood. Before Ottawa could catch its breath, Brayden Point—projected to be Tampa’s leading goal-scorer this season—made it 2-0. The physicality was also on full display, a throwback to a grittier era. Eight seconds into his first NHL shift, Senators’ heavyweight Curtis Douglas dropped the gloves and reportedly knocked out a veteran fighter. Not to be outdone, Donovan Sebrango and Emil Lilleberg also engaged in a spirited tilt.
Amid the chaos, Ottawa found a brief lifeline. Dylan Cozens got his team on the board with a power-play marker, but the relief was short-lived. The ever-lethal Nikita Kucherov responded with a power-play goal of his own, restoring the two-goal cushion and sending the teams to the dressing room with Tampa firmly in control at 3-1. At that point, it looked less like a hockey game and more like a foregone conclusion.
The Turning of the Tide
Championship-caliber teams are defined not by their ability to avoid adversity, but by how they respond to it. Trailing 3-1, the Senators spent the next 40 minutes proving they possess that crucial resilience. This was a clear case of “heart over hype.”
The comeback began less than a minute into the second period with a goal that felt like a gift from the hockey gods. Defenseman Artem Zub fired a shot from the point that pinged off the crossbar, ricocheted off the back of a helpless Andrei Vasilevskiy, and trickled over the line. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a spark. And it was all Ottawa needed.
From that moment on, the game’s complexion changed entirely. The Lightning’s suffocating forecheck seemed to evaporate. Passes began missing their targets, and costly turnovers piled up. The Senators seized control, tilting the ice in their favor and pressing the attack. As Tampa Bay Head Coach Jon Cooper lamented post-game, “When you don’t execute, it makes you look slow…Our execution has to get better.”
Ottawa’s persistence paid off with just under five minutes left in the frame. Shane Pinto, who would soon become the night’s biggest star, found space and beat Vasilevskiy cleanly to tie the game 3-3. The building fell quiet. The comeback was on.
Pinto’s Third-Period Masterclass
The third period was a tense, tightly-contested affair, with both teams trading chances, waiting for one player to make a definitive play. With under two minutes remaining in regulation, Shane Pinto answered the call.
The sequence that led to the go-ahead goal was a perfect microcosm of Ottawa’s effort. Young defenseman Jake Sanderson, who was excellent all night, intercepted a sloppy outlet pass in the neutral zone. He drove hard to the net, forcing Vasilevskiy into a difficult save that left the Vezina-winning goaltender “off-kilter” and out of position. The puck squirted free, and Pinto, crashing the net like all good centers should, was there to slam it home for a 4-3 lead.
The Senators bench erupted. The comeback was nearly complete. Claude Giroux added an empty-net goal shortly after, with Pinto picking up an assist, to make it 5-3. While a late 6-on-5 goal from Kucherov with 15 seconds left provided a final scare, it was ultimately “too little too late” for the Lightning. The Senators had done the improbable.
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Dissecting the Performances
While Pinto was the clear headliner with his clutch two-goal, three-point night, he was far from the only Senator making a significant impact. The box score reads like a checklist of who Ottawa needs to step up this season.
- Brady Tkachuk: The captain was a force, registering three assists and leading by example with his relentless puck pursuit.
- Artem Zub: Often overlooked, the blueliner had a monster three-point game (1G, 2A), contributing at both ends of the ice.
- Jake Sanderson: His two assists, including the primary helper on the game-winner, highlighted a poised and impactful performance that belies his age.
For the Lightning, it was a frustrating night of missed opportunities. Their power play was a bright spot, converting on two of its three chances, and Kucherov (2G) proved he remains one of the league’s most dangerous offensive talents. But Vasilevskiy, with 29 saves, was ultimately outdueled, and the team’s five-on-five execution simply wasn’t sharp enough.
This loss will serve as a necessary, if “disappointing,” wake-up call for Tampa Bay. For Ottawa, it’s fuel. They faced down a giant, took their best punch, and punched back harder. Now, they look ahead to a matchup with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, and for the first time in a long time, they’ll skate into that game not with hope, but with expectation. Game 1 is in the books, and the Senators’ statement has been made.
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