It was Sparty’s birthday party at Canadian Tire Centre this afternoon, and for his special day, the Ottawa Senators gave their beloved mascot a 5-4 win. The Tampa Bay Lightning came into today’s game with an undefeated record of 3-0, but the Senators took no issue in upsetting their perfect start to the season. It was a three point night for Drake Batherson (two goals, one assist) while Claude Giroux and Jake Sanderson both had two points (two assists each).

The Senators went to the powerplay just 30 seconds into the game. 39 seconds later, the Lighting took a second penalty for delay of game, putting the Senators onto a 5-on-3 powerplay. The Senators were quick to capitalize on the opportunity, as forward Drake Batherson scored a one-timer past goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy less than two minutes into the game. Assists on the goal went to forward Claude Giroux and defenceman Jake Sanderson.

With 6:39 left in the first, the Senators doubled their lead off a goal by forward Josh Norris. Claude Giroux had his second assist of the game, while Drake Batherson got his second point of the night with the second assist.

A strong start to the game saw the Senators head into the intermission with a lead of 2-0.

Just under two minutes into the second, the Lightning got back within one as forward Nikita Kucherov buried a one-time shot past goaltender Anton Forsberg to make things 2-1.

Just over ten minutes into the period, the Lightning tied the game at 2-2 as former Senator Nick Paul scored his first of the season for Tampa Bay.

It was a sequence of determination and battling that got the Senators their lead back. What began with a series of saves by Anton Forsberg and a shot block on the goal line from Michael Amadio, followed by a diving clear from Tim Stützle, led to a transition up the ice and culminated in a goal by Drake Batherson, his second of the game. The goal was unassisted, but it was a total team effort.

With 1:47 left in the period, Tampa Bay tied the game once more as Jake Guentzel tucked the puck near post to even the game at 3-3 with his first of the season.

It only took 14 seconds for the Senators to capitalize on a powerplay opportunity — their second powerplay goal of the game — to regain a 4-3 lead. Captain Brady Tkachuk tucked a loose puck between the legs of Vasilevskiy to earn his second of the season. Jake Sanderson earned his second assist of the game on the goal, while Tim Stützle got his first.

Thanks to Tkachuk’s goal, the Senators headed into the intermission with a lead once again, up 4-3 to start the third.

The Senators doubled their lead with 13:43 left in the third as forward Noah Gregor scored his first of the season shorthanded. Shane Pinto and Jake Sanderson received assists on the goal that moved the score to 5-3. The goal came after the Senators successfully killed off a 5-on-3 Lightning powerplay, sending the energy of the arena through the roof.

The Lightning got back within one just under two minutes later, as Mitchell Chaffee tipped one in to cut the Senators’ lead to 5-4.

With the net empty, the Lightning pressed the Senators in an effort to tie the game in the last couple minutes, but Ottawa’s defence and Anton Forsberg stood strong to hold the lead. The culmination of a team effort, the Senators took the game by a final score of 5-4.

The Senators will play next on Tuesday at 9:15 p.m. as they head to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Hockey Club for the first time in franchise history. The next Ottawa Senators home game is on Tuesday, October 29, as the St. Louis Blues come to town at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased HERE.

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