Ottawa Senators Centre Shane Pinto Reflects On A Pair Of Milestones On Saturday Night

Ottawa Senators winger Shane Pinto hit a pair of personal milestones on Saturday night in a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The game was the 200th of his career, and with two assists, he hit 100 career points.

For any young player in the league, those are fine milestones, but it probably took a little longer than expected to reach them. This is Pinto’s fifth season in the NHL, but three of them weren't even close to completion.

He left school in 2021 after his second season at the University of North Dakota and played the final 12 games of the Senators' 2020-21 COVID-shortened season. Pinto scored 7 points in those games, and the Sens went 9-2-1, so hopes were high the following season. But that lasted just five games before he slammed into the boards and suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

Pinto finally played a full campaign in 2022-23, posting 20 goals. But year four was cut in two for a highly unexpected reason. Commissioner Gary Bettman hit him with a 41-game slap on the wrist for violating the league’s gambling rules.

With 30 points in 60 games this season, Pinto is right on pace with his amazingly symmetrical career numbers of 100 in 200 – not as symmetrical as the perfect new mustache he showed up to camp with earlier this season, but pretty close.

The affable 24-year-old took a moment to reflect on the numbers after Saturday's game.

“Yeah, I think obviously, it’s a hard league to play in and I never would have thought – my 7-year-old self – that I’d get to 200 games in the NHL,” Pinto told the media. “So, I can't take it for granted, and I’m grateful for all the people that helped me. And yeah, just super cool.”

Personal milestones aside, Pinto is far more excited about the team’s quest to end a seven-season Stanley Cup Playoff absence. The final ten games begin on Sunday (5 p.m., TSN5, RDS) in Pittsburgh against Sidney Crosby.

“Yeah, obviously, (Crosby is) one of the best players ever to play the game, and it's always fun to play him, and obviously, I have that respect, but it’s just another game tomorrow.”

Pinto got a chance to spend some time with Crosby last summer when he visited teammate Drake Batherson in Nova Scotia. For several years now, Batherson has trained there with Crosby, Brad Marchand, and Nathan MacKinnon. This year, Pinto joined in the fun for a couple of weeks.

TSN’s Clare Hanna asked Pinto if it’s true he’s in a group chat with Crosby now. But the friendship isn’t quite at that level just yet.

“He texted me once, that's about it,” Pinto said with his trademark chuckle. “No group chat.”

That's okay. Pinto is far more focused on getting to the day when he can punch up NHL.com on his phone and finally see the beloved playoff X appear beside his team's name in the Eastern standings.