It was a terrific first period for the Lightning, followed by a disappointing final 40 minutes. They surrendered a 3-1 lead and dropped a 5-4 decision in regulation.
Most of the positives from this game happened in the first period. The Lightning dictated play for the majority of the opening frame. On an early power play, they worked the puck on the left side of the ice to set up the game’s opening goal. Brayden Point fed Jake Guentzel at the bottom of the left circle, and Guentzel connected with Oliver Bjorkstrand as Bjorkstrand broke to the net. Bjorkstrand finished his shot at 5:35. Just over a minute later, the Lightning added an even-strength goal. Darren Raddysh at the right point hurried a pass to Guentzel in the right corner. Guentzel passed to Point at the inner part of the right circle, and Point snapped a quick shot towards the net. It deflected off Donovan Sebrango and sailed past the stick of Linus Ullmark at 7:00.
The Lightning gave up a power-play goal to Dylan Cozens at 10:18 but answered with a Nikita Kucherov PPG at 14:46. Kucherov whistled a shot from the middle of the ice past Ullmark’s glove to make it 3-1. The Lightning might have scored more than three in the frame, but they hit two goal posts.
(The first period also featured a fight for newcomer Curtis Douglas, making his NHL debut. The crowd voiced its appreciation.)
Even though the Lightning enjoyed the run of play in the first, there were signs of sloppy puck play that would plague them later on. Andrei Vasilevskiy made a handful of tough saves following Lightning turnovers, so Tampa Bay took a two-goal lead into the second period.
The Sens got one back in the opening minute of the second, thanks to a fortunate bounce. Artem Zub’s right-point shot hit the post behind Vasilevskiy and caromed off him into the net. The next several minutes featured wide-open play, as both teams applied pressure and generated chances.
But soon after, the Sens began establishing control. As the second period progressed, they had more possession, shots, and scoring chances. The Lightning yielded some odd-man opportunities and open looks in front of the net. Vasilevskiy made several stops to keep the game at 3-2, but he eventually allowed a breakaway goal to Shane Pinto at 15:09. It was 3-3 after two periods.
There weren’t many scoring chances in the third period for either team. But the Sens looked to be more in sync than the Lightning. The Lightning didn’t manage to post a shot on net until the period was halfway over.
However, the game was still tied at three with time winding down in regulation. The Lightning were in position to bank at least one point. Instead, they committed a costly turnover and surrendered a counter chance off the rush. Jake Sanderson intercepted an outlet pass in the neutral zone and charged into the Tampa Bay end. He took it to the net and attempted a shot. Vasilevskiy made the same, but Pinto crashed the net and sticked in the rebound at 18:13.
Claude Giroux’s empty-netter turned out to be the game-winner because Kucherov netted a sixth-attacker goal in the closing seconds.
As Ryan McDonagh said after the game, scoring four goals should be enough to win. The Lightning had great success in the regular season last year in large part because they defended well. That was not the case in the opener. They’ll look to clean things up defensively when they host New Jersey on Saturday.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Ryan Malone):
- Shane Pinto — Senators. Two goals and assist.
- Jake Sanderson — Senators. Two assists.
- Brady Tkachuk — Senators. Three assists.
