Numbers never lie: Sens open with statistical statement in Tampa Bay

The Senators came back late — real late, as we’ll dive into in one section of this column — to knock off the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 in their season opener on Thursday night at Benchmark International Arena.

From individual record-setting performances to franchise firsts, Ottawa’s season opener offered no shortage of statistical storylines. Here’s a look at the six narratives that defined a dramatic first win of the 2025–26 campaign.

ULL ABOARD

The Senators held the Lightning from a shot from 8:12 of the second period to 9:22 of the third period — a span that lasted 18:50 of game time. That defensive throttling helped Linus Ullmark extend his streak of winning his first start of the season to five on Thursday, as the Swede stopped 21 of 25 shots. Ullmark has posted a 5-0-0 record, with a 1.80 GAA and .940 save percentage in his first start of the season dating back to the 2021-22 season.

TWO PINT(O)S, PLEASE

Shane Pinto opened the season with a pair of goals. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, the Senators record is now 27-1-1 when Pinto registered at least one point – with their only regulation loss coming when he collected an assist in a 4-2 loss at Dallas on January 2, 2025. With an assist on Claude Giroux’s empty netter, Pinto recorded the fifth three-point game of his career.

$7.77 PIZZA, HOLD THE STRESS

The Senators scored five goals– which matched the franchise record for most goals scored in a regular season opener. It was only the second time they managed to accomplish this feat on the road, as they also scored five goals in a 5-4 win at Toronto on Oct. 3, 2001.

THE TKASSISTANT

Brady Tkachuk became the first player in Sens history to notch three assists in a regular season opener. It was just the eighth time in his career that Tkachuk collected three assists in a game, and first since Oct. 14, 2024 vs Los Angeles.

ONE-ZUB-THREE-FOUR

Artem Zub scored a goal, collected a pair of assists for three points, and posted a +4 rating in the win. Since the NHL started tracking plus-minus as an official stat in 1959-60, Zub became the first NHL defenceman to record a goal, multiple assists and a +4 rating in his team’s regular season opener. This was also the first game since Jan. 13, 2024 in which Zub racked up three points.

LAST CALL

Pinto’s second goal, which put the Sens ahead with 1:47 remaining in regulation, was the third latest game winner in a season opener in franchise history. Pinto trails defencemen Wade Redden (1:22 remaining on Oct. 10, 1996) and Erik Karlsson (1:35 remaining on Oct. 4, 2013).

UP NEXT

The Senators continue their opening road trip with a trip across the state to visit the Florida Panthers on Saturday at 7 p.m.

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