3 takeaways from Senators' 5-4 Saturday matinee win over Lightning

1. Special teams is helping the Senators big time

One of the biggest reasons why the Senators are having success this season is due to special teams. Prior to today, the Senators recorded a powerplay goal in three of their first four games. Today, the Senators' powerplay contributed again, and the shorthanded unit came through when least expected.

Drake Batherson scored the opening goal of the game 1:50 in on the powerplay, and would later record two more points in the game. For the second consecutive game, captain Brady Tkachuk scored a powerplay goal. Tkachuk's goal came with 1:04 remaining in the second period to give the Senators a 4-3 lead, and it came 43 seconds later after the Lightning tied the game at three.

Noah Gregor came through clutch in the third period to score his first goal of the season shorthanded to give the Senators an insurance goal to improve the lead to 5-3. Gregor's goal turned out to be important as the Lightning scored under two minutes later.

To have three of the fives goals scored today against Andrei Vasilevskiy on special teams is a big deal. Vasilevskiy entered today's game with a 1.00 goals against average and a 3-0-0 record. Today marked the first time since the 2008-09 season that the Senators scored a powerplay goal in each of their first 4+ games at home to start the season.

The Senators will be back in action when they head to Utah for the first time ever and take on the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night. Puck drop for the game is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. ET.