Senators to host Lightning in 2,000th NHL game for each team

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators each will play their 2,000th NHL game when they face off at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS, SUN, NHL.TV).

The Lightning and Senators joined the NHL as the 23rd and 24th teams when they began play in the 1992-93 season. The Lightning were the NHL's first team in Florida; the Senators inherited the name of a team that was arguably the NHL's first dynasty, winning the Stanley Cup in three times from 1920-23 and again in 1927, the first season the NHL had exclusive control of the Cup.
The history of the two teams has intertwined since they began play in the NHL 26 years ago. Here's a look at some of the major events in each team's history:
Dec. 6, 1990:The NHL Board of Governors votes unanimously to expand from 22 to 24 teams, awarding two franchises on a conditional basis. One goes to Ottawa, then the largest market in Canada without an NHL team. The other goes to a group from Tampa that's led by Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito. Tampa is awarded a franchise three months after a preseason game between the Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins draws 25,581 to the Suncoast Dome (now Tropicana Field) in St. Petersburg. The price tag is $50 million for each team, and they'll begin play in the 1992-93 season.
June 18, 1992: The Lightning and Senators stock their teams at the NHL Expansion Draft. Each newcomer picks 21 players (two goaltenders, seven defensemen and 12 forwards), two from each of 21 teams (the San Jose Sharks, coming off their first NHL season, are exempt). Two days later, the Lightning and Senators have the first two picks in the NHL Draft. The Lightning select defenseman Roman Hamrlik at No. 1. The Senators, picking second, choose center Alexei Yashin. Hamrlik joins the Lightning for the 1992-93 season; Yashin spends one more season in Russia before joining the Senators in 1993-94.

Oct. 7, 1992: The Lightning delight the packed house at Expo Hall, their temporary home, by stunning the defending Western Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 in their first regular-season game. Forward Chris Kontos, signed by Esposito as a free agent, scores four goals, still a Lightning single-game record.

Oct. 8, 1992:One night later, the Senators play their first NHL game at the Ottawa Civic Centre and defeat the Montreal Canadiens 5-3. Forward Neil Brady scores 26 seconds into the second period to put Ottawa ahead 1-0, and forward Doug Smail scores two goals, including an empty-netter with 15 seconds remaining to ice the win. Goalie Peter Sidorkiewicz makes 25 saves.

April 14, 1993:Ottawa finishes its first NHL season by losing 4-2 to the Boston Bruins at home. The Senators end their first season 10-70-4, last in the Adams Division. One night later, the Lightning lose 6-5 at the St. Louis Blues, finishing last in the Norris Division at 23-54-7.
June 26, 1993:The Senators get the first pick at the 1993 NHL Draft in Quebec and select center Alexandre Daigle from Victoriaville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Two picks later, the Lightning choose center Chris Gratton from Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League. Daigle, touted as the future of the franchise, plays parts of five seasons with the Senators and never exceeds his rookie total of 51 points. Gratton plays 1,092 NHL games with seven teams and has three stints with the Lightning, but never scores more than 30 goals in a season.
June 28-29, 1994:The Senators select forward Radek Bonk with the No. 3 pick in the 1994 NHL Draft at Hartford. However, Ottawa strikes gold in the sixth round by selecting forward Daniel Alfredsson with the No. 133 pick. He goes on to win the Calder Trophy in 1996 and become the leading scorer in Senators history. The Lightning's top pick, defenseman Jason Wiemer, is traded to the Calgary Flames four years later.

Jan. 17, 1996: The Senators move into their new home, then known as the Palladium. As when the Senators played their first NHL game, the Canadiens are the opponent; however, this time the Canadiens disappoint the sellout crowd by winning 3-0. The Senators finish 18-59-5; the 41 points are the most they've managed through their first four seasons.
April 23, 1996: After finishing 38-32-12 and qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time, the Lightning set back-to-back records for the largest playoff crowd in NHL history. Two days after 25,945 fans attend Tampa Bay's 5-4 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at the Thunderdome (the renamed Suncoast Dome), 28,183 attend Game 4, a 4-1 Flyers victory. The Lightning lose the series in six games.
Oct. 20, 1996:The Lightning open the new Ice Palace (now Amalie Arena) with a 5-2 victory against the New York Rangers. However, they fail to return to the playoffs, finishing 32-40-10.
April 17, 1997: The Senators lose 3-1 at the Buffalo Sabres in the first playoff game in their history. Appropriately, Alfredsson scores Ottawa's first postseason goal. The Senators win 3-1 in Game 2 and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals with a 4-1 win in Game 5 at Buffalo. But the Sabres win 3-0 in Game 6 and eliminate Ottawa when Derek Plante scores 5:24 into overtime of Game 7.
May 2, 1998:The Senators defeat the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to wrap up the first playoff series in their history. Damian Rhodes makes 21 saves, and Janne Laukkanen's goal midway through the second period breaks a 1-1 tie. Ottawa loses in five games to the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
June 27, 1998:After finishing last in the NHL at 17-55-10, the Lightning select center Vincent Lecavalier with the No. 1 pick in the 1998 NHL Draft in Buffalo. Lecavalier struggles to meet expectations early in his career but grows into a cornerstone of Tampa Bay's first championship team six years later.

April 21, 1999: The Senators enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference after winning their first division title. But they lose 2-1 to Buffalo at home in the opener and are swept by the Sabres.
July 31, 2000:After their fourth straight non-playoff season, the Lightning take a flyer on free agent forward Martin St. Louis after the Calgary Flames elect not to re-sign him. St. Louis goes on to become a two-time NHL scoring champion and a three-time Lady Byng Trophy winner. He wins the Hart and Ted Lindsay trophies in 2003-04 before helping the Lightning win the Stanley Cup that season, and is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.
Jan. 6, 2001: The Lightning, third from the bottom in the NHL standings, fire coach Steve Ludzik and replace him with assistant John Tortorella. Tampa Bay finishes 24-47-6-5 (59 points), its best finish since 1996-97. Tortorella goes on to coach the Lightning to their first Stanley Cup championship three years later.
April 4, 2003: Ottawa becomes the first Canadian team in 14 years to win the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular-season team. The Senators finish the season with 113 points (52-21-8-1), 20 more than the Lightning, who win the Southeast Division and qualify for the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Ottawa defeats the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay eliminates the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals; the Senators oust the Flyers and the Lightning lose to the New Jersey Devils in the conference semifinals. The Senators trail the Devils 3-1 in the conference final, win Games 5 and 6 but lose Game 7 at home when Jeff Friesen's late goal gives the Devils a 3-2 win.

June 7, 2004:After repeating as Southeast Division champions and finishing first in the Eastern Conference, the Lightning win the Stanley Cup for the first time in their history, defeating the visiting Calgary Flames 2-1 in Game 7 of the Final. Ruslan Fedotenko scores twice for Tampa Bay, and Nikolai Khabibulin makes 14 saves. Center Brad Richards, picked two rounds after Lecavalier, his junior teammate, in the 1998 NHL Draft, wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP

April 29, 2006: The Senators defeat the Lightning 3-2 in Ottawa to win their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series in five games; it's the first time since entering the NHL they've met in the playoffs. The Senators are first in the East for the second time in three seasons; the Lightning finish eighth. However, the Sabres eliminate the Senators in the conference semifinals in five games, including three overtime victories.
June 2, 2007: Though they drop from first to fourth in the East, the Senators win three playoff rounds to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time. They lose Games 1 and 2 on the road to the Anaheim Ducks, but in the first Cup Final game to be played in Ottawa since 1927, the Senators win 5-3. However, the Ducks win 3-2 in Game 4 and close out the series with a 6-2 win at Anaheim in Game 5.
June 20, 2008: The Senators host the NHL Draft, but the Lightning have the first pick. Tampa Bay, which retains the No. 1 choice in the NHL Draft Lottery, takes high-scoring forward Steven Stamkos. The Senators trade up to the No. 15 pick and select defenseman Erik Karlsson. Each goes on to become a star.
April 10, 2010:At 20 years, two months and three days, Stamkos becomes the third-youngest player to score 50 goals. No. 50 comes against the Florida Panthers. The only players to score 50 at a younger age are Wayne Gretzky and Jimmy Carson. Despite Stamkos' big season, the Lightning miss the playoffs. The Senators finish fifth in the East and lose to the Penguins in the first round.
April 27, 2011:The Lightning defeat the Penguins 1-0 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to win the best-of-7 series after trailing 3-1. Tampa Bay sweeps the Washington Capitals in the conference semifinals and gets to Game 7 of the conference final but loses 1-0 to the Bruins.
April 7, 2012:Stamkos scores his Lightning-record 60th goal of the season in Tampa Bay's season finale at the Winnipeg Jets. No NHL player has reached the 60-goal mark since. However, the Lightning miss the playoffs. Ottawa finishes eighth in the East and loses in seven games to the New York Rangers in the conference quarterfinals.
May 29, 2015: The Lightning earn a berth in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2004 by defeating the New York Rangers 2-0 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final at Madison Square Garden. Tampa Bay splits the first four games of the Final with the Chicago Blackhawks but goes home without the Cup after losing Games 5 and 6.
May 9, 2017: Ottawa advances to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in 10 years by eliminating the Rangers with a 4-2 win in Game 6 of the conference semifinal. The Senators reach Game 7 of the Eastern Final against the Penguins but lose 3-2 in double overtime. The Lightning, who lose Stamkos to an early-season knee injury, miss the playoffs.

Nov. 4, 2018: The Senators and Lightning face each other at Canadian Tire Centre in the 2,000th regular-season game for each team.