Fast Start Fizzles as Bolts Drop Opener

Mike Smith
Oct 9
3 min read

Bjorkstrand scores 10/9/25 — Oliver Bjorkstrand snaps a shot past Linus Ullmark early in the first period as the Tampa Bay Lightning jump out to a quick lead. Photo Credit: Alyssa Shimko | Thunderstruck Sports

Shane Pinto scored the game winning goal late in the third period as the Ottawa Senators rallied to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-4. The goal was Pinto's second of the evening with his first being the equalizer after the team was once down by two. Ottawa's win over the Bolts put a damper on a night celebrating the return of NHL hockey for 2025-26.

The Lightning started out fast and furious in the first period. Making his NHL debut, Curtis Douglas dropped gloves with Kurtis MacDermid less than three minutes into the game. Jumping up from the ice after the fight, Douglas pumped his fist in the air as the home crowd roared. The rookie set the tone as the Bolts would go on to physically dominate the period.

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored moments later with a nice feed from Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point. Coming off a season-ending compartment syndrome injury to his leg last year, Bjorkstrand stood tall as the puck snapped across the goal line past Ottawa net minder Linus Ullmark.

Bolts Add to Early Lead

Brayden Point quickly scored only minutes after the Bjorkstrand goal to put the Lightning up by two. Dylan Cozens cut the lead in half later in the period before Nikita Kucherov extended the Tampa Bay lead again with a goal of his own.

Point and Kucherov both picked up right where they left off last regular season. Kucherov ended up with two goals on the night. Point had a goal and two assists. Jake Guentzel, Darren Raddysh, and Captain Victor Hedman each had two assists.

With the 3-1 lead, the Lightning continued to flex their muscle with aggressive play and focused effort. Unfortunately, the game took a turn quickly in the second period.

The Lightning Fizzle Out

The Lightning barely had time to settle into the second period when Arteem Zub scored in 42 seconds. Zub took a shot from the post that initially went over Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy's shoulder. The puck then hit the crossbar, and awkwardly bounced off Vasilevskiy's back into the goal. The goal revived the Senators' stamina as they continued to build momentum.

Pinto would score late in the second period to even the game up at three. Zub found Pinto on a deep down-ice pass that created a breakaway opportunity resulting in the goal. With the game tied, Ottawa continued to press into the third period.

Ottawa's Stringent Defense Slows Bolts' Roll

With quick attacks and stringent defense, Ottawa continued to limit Tampa Bay's ability to shoot. At one point, the Lightning went nearly 10 minutes without a shot in the third period. The Senators' continued to tie up Lightning forwards as they controlled the neutral zone most of the game.

Pinto would score the game winner with less than two minutes to play in regulation. Jake Sanderson took control of a bouncing puck to get a shot off at Vasilevskiy's pads. Pinto scooped the rebounding puck into the back of the net to give the Senators their first lead of the night.

"That's a cardinal sin," Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper said. "To be at home with the lead, and the last couple of minutes you give it up with two minutes left."

"The third period (we) really had nothing going on."

Claude Giroux would add an empty net goal right before Kucherov scored with seconds left to make the score more respectable.