At long last, the 2025-26 regular season finally arrived for the Ottawa Senators. The first game of the new season offered as a tough road game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Heading into Tampa, the Senators would be without both forward Drake Batherson and defenseman Tyler Kleven. Both Batherson and Kleven went to IR on Monday, and were not able to play. Newly acquired Jordan Spence was also a healthy scratch. In the first game of the new season, the Senators refused to quit.
The Senators defeated the Lightning 5-4 at Benchmark International Arena to start the season off 1-0-0.