Senators’ Shane Pinto leaves game against Lightning with upper-body injury

An unfortunate injury for one of the better youngsters in the NHL.

During a game on Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto was forced to leave the game with an upper-body injury.

Pinto was hurt during the first period of the game. While going in on the forecheck in the Tampa zone, he was hit by Lightning forward Nick Perbix into the endboards. While the check wasn’t egregious by any stretch, it led to an awkward result as Pinto’s left arm rode up the glass, seemingly overextending his shoulder.

Pinto went right down the tunnel after leaving the ice under his own power and didn’t return.

The 24-year-old registered just 2:57 of ice time across five shifts before his premature exit.

While it’s too early to tell the severity of Pinto’s injury and whether he will have to miss time, he already has an injury history this season. In October, the Franklin Square, New York native suffered an undisclosed injury that led to him missing eight games.

Despite missing time, Pinto is having a solid season for an Ottawa team that has quickly shot up the Eastern Conference standings. In 45 games, the former North Dakota star has scored 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points, placing him sixth on the team in goals. Pinto was on a five-game point streak heading into Tuesday night’s contest.

At the pace he’s been scoring, Pinto was well on his way to besting his career-best 2022-23 campaign, when he notched 20 goals and 35 points in 82 games.

Coming into the busy Tuesday night of action, the Senators (29-20-4) were third in the Atlantic Division, five points back of the first-place Florida Panthers.