The 2025-26 NHL season is officially underway for the Tampa Bay Lightning with Thursday’s 5-4 loss against the Ottawa Senators.
Tampa Bay received goals from Oliver Bjorkstrand, Brayden Point and two from Nikita Kucherov during the first home game of the season at Benchmark International Arena, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves.
The Lightning led 3-1 before the Senators took four of the game’s final handful of goals.
The Lightning will return to home ice on Saturday for a 7 p.m. matchup with the New Jersey Devils.
Scoring summary
First period
TBL 1, OTT 0
5:35 Oliver Bjorkstrand (1) - Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point - PP
The first Lightning goal of the season came off the stick of Oliver Bjorkstrand, who tapped in Jake Guentzel’s power-play pass for a 1-0 lead at the right post.
TBL 2, OTT 0
7:00 Point (1) - Guentzel, Darren Raddysh
Tampa Bay added to the lead quickly on Brayden Point’s second point of the night. Point scored with a shot from the right circle following a pass from Guentzel down low.
TBL 2, OTT 1
10:18 Dylan Cozens (1) - Brady Tkachuk, Jake Sanderson - PPG
The Senators halved the Lightning advantage midway through the first on the power play.
TBL 3, OTT 1
14:45 Nikita Kucherov (1) - Victor Hedman, Point - PP
Tampa Bay’s power-play got its second goal of the night from the NHL’s back-to-back scoring champion. Kucherov beat Ullmark on the glove side with his shot from the right faceoff circle.
Shots on goal: TBL 14, OTT 13
Second period
TBL 3, OTT 2
00:42 Artem Zub (1) - Tkachuk, Tim Stützle
A screened point shot took a fortunate bounce for Ottawa off the goalpost to cut into the Lightning lead early in the middle frame.
TBL 3, OTT 3
15:09 Shane Pinto (1) - Zub, Tkachuk
Ottawa tied the game on a short breakaway by forward Shane Pinto.
Shots on goal: OTT 13, TBL 7
Third period
OTT 4, TBL 3
18:13 Pinto (2) - Sanderson
The Senators took the lead late in regulation on a rebound goal.
OTT 5, TBL 3
19:12 Claude Giroux (1) - Pinto, Zub - EN
Ottawa extended the lead on an empty-net goal.
OTT 5, TBL 4
19:46 Kucherov (2) - Raddysh, Hedman
Kucherov’s shot at 6-on-5 deflected in off a Senators defenseman to draw the Lightning within a single goal in the game’s final seconds.
Total shots: OTT 34, TBL 25
