The newly named Benchmark International Arena welcomed fans in for a new season of Lightning hockey.
Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Lightning
By Irena Mesa
The Tampa Bay Lightning put on a show for the fans who packed the Benchmark International Arena in their season opener against the Ottawa Senators—only during the first 20 minutes.
The Lightning were playing the fast and intense style of play that they are known for. The power play was also strong, with two of the three first-period goals coming on the power play.
The next 40 minutes were a completely different story. The Senators controlled the rest of the game, scoring four unanswered goals and completely erasing the Lightning’s 3-1 lead.
In both the second and third periods, the Lightning didn’t bring with the same urgency as the first and were also outshot by the Senators.
Kucherov’s late third period goal was not enough to even the score and bring the game to overtime, and the Lightning went on to drop the season opener 5-4.
Game two vs. New Jersey Devils (10/11)
Going into game two against the New Jersey Devils, the Lightning were hopeful to get into the win column. But the mistakes that were their downfall against the Senators continued to plague them against the Devils.
In the first 20 minutes, the Lightning only registered two shots on goal to the Devils’ 16, and went into the third period down three goals to none. In the second period, Yanni Gourde and Ryan McDonagh brought the Lightning within one goal of the Devils’ lead, playing with the intensity that was lacking in the period prior.
The Lightning couldn’t keep the momentum going into the third, allowing two more goals from the Devils. Their 17-shot effort wasn’t enough to stave off the Devils in the 5-3 loss.
Game three vs. Boston Bruins (10/13)
Things finally started looking up for the Lightning on Monday, Oct. 13, against the Bruins. They played much closer to a full 60 minutes of hockey and improved their ability to limit scoring chances for their opponents.
Anthony Cirelli got things going in the first period with two goals, and Gourde added to that lead to open the second period. The defense protected that lead, even when the Bruins came close to snatching it away from them.
The third period was quiet on the score sheet, but the Lightning had to kill off a few late penalties in order to clinch their first win of the season with a 4-3 final.
Game four vs. Washington (10/14)
They were then off to Washington to play the Capitals in the second half of a back-to-back, where they built on the successes of their win against Boston. It was another strong outing defensively, with the game tied at 1 going into the third period.
That was when the Lightning and Capitals traded goals to send the game to overtime, where the Lightning’s defense fell victim to exhaustion. After losing the opening faceoff, the Capitals dragged out their possession, keeping the puck off of the Lightning’s sticks and tiring out the skaters on the ice.
Jacob Chychrun put away the winning tally for the Capitals, winning the game 4-3.
The Lightning snagged three out of four points in a back-to-back on the road, which is a positive for a team that looked to be a work in progress for the first two games. They start the season 1-2-1.
They start the season 1-2-1 and are off to Detroit for the first half off another back-to-back on Friday Oct. 17 to continue to build on those improvements.
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Written by: Julia Ferrara on October 17, 2025.
