Every year, as the calendar slowly turns into the month of April, you start to get some real previews of what the NHL playoffs will look like. Tuesday night was one of those previews, with the Montreal Canadiens taking on a likely first-round foe in the Tampa Bay Lightning. It had all the checking and intensity of a playoff game, as the players knew how important the game could be for the final standings, on top of wanting to set the tone for a potential seven-game series to start between them...
Cole Caufield’s second period goal broke a 1-1 tie and Jakub Dobes stopped 36 saves as Tampa Bay’s eight-game point streak comes to an end in a 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Jake Guentzel had the Lightning’s lone goal while Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 19 shots, including several big saves early in the third period when the game was 2-1.
Nikita Kucherov was held off of the scoreboard (and had two penalties) in his return to action after missing two games with an illness. Scott Sabouri...
First period
This is an encouraging start from Montreal. They’re quickly moving the puck with support to get out of the defensive zone, and have gotten out to a 3-0 shot advantage in the opening couple of minutes.
Jayden Struble loses body position and reaches out to give himself a boost to correct that. The referee is 20 feet away to see it and call the holding penalty.
Tampa Bay uses the power play to take the lead in shots, but the game remains 0-0. That’s the type of urgen...
Game 74: Montreal Canadiens @ Tampa Bay Lightning
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French) In the Lightning region: The Spot Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
For much of the 2025-26 season, the Montreal Canadiens have won games despite their goaltending, getting impressive performances on offence to outproduce what they were giving up. They may currently be on their longest winning streak of the season at five games, but now they’re...
Game Seventy-Four: Montreal Canadiens (42-21-5) at Tampa Bay Lightning (46-21-6)
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Location: Benchmark International Arena, A stone’s throw away from the home of Phoebe the Flamingo
TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App
Odds: Lightning -170
Know the Opponents: Eyes on the Prize
While everyone (and by everyone, we mean us) has been focused on catching the Buffalo Sabres, the Montreal Canadiens have slowly been lingering right beh...
Game 74: Montreal Canadiens @ Tampa Bay Lightning
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French) In the Lightning region: The Spot Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Tampa Bay Lightning were in a serious slump when the NHL schedule resumed after the Olympics, going 3-7-0 in the next 10 games, and the three wins were versus a shockingly bad Toronto Maple Leafs team which has since fired its GM, and the free-falling Detroit Red Wings. With two...
There are 18 days remaining in the NHL’s regular season. Two teams, Colorado and Dallas, have officially clinched playoff spots, while Carolina, Tampa Bay, Buffalo, Minnesota, Montreal and Anaheim are locks to get in. The Edmonton Oilers’ three-game winning streak, only their second of the season, has them in a very favourable position to get…
We could write a thousand words about today’s game. Or we could just link back to the previous three or four recaps. The Tampa Bay Lightning struggled to start the game, fell behind, tied the game, and were the better team in the third period. Corey Perry tapped home a shot that snuck through Justus Annunen’s pads seven minutes into the third period to give the Bolts the 3-2 lead.
To the Lightning’s credit, they’re getting better. They only went down one goal this time, and it took almost...
Game 73: Nashville Predators (34-30-9) at Tampa Bay Lightning (45-21-6)
Time: 5:00 PM EST
Location: Benchmark International Arena, Steven Stamkos’ house for sixteen seasons
TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App
Odds: Lightning -205
Know the Opponents: On the Forecheck
For much of the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been lagging behind the rest of the league in terms of games played. Entering today’s play, only San Jose (71 games) have suit...
Heading into their Saturday afternoon contest with the Ottawa Senators, the Tampa Bay Lightning knew they needed to start fast and break the string of early multi-goal deficits they’ve faced over the last few games. Just because they knew what they needed to do didn’t mean they actually did it. On the very first shift of the game they conceded a goal. Four minutes later they gave up another one.
As they have every other time, they came back to tie the game up. Unlike against Seattle and C...
The stock image that keeps on giving.
Game Seventy-Two : Ottawa Senators (38-24-10) at Tampa Bay Lightning (44-21-6)
Time: 1:00 PM EST
Location: Benchmark International Arena, Where Pat Jablonski made 38 saves on 11/13/1992 as the Lightning beat the Senators 1-0 on a Brian Bradley goal. It was the first shutout in franchise history.
TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, TVAS, TSN5, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App
Odds: Lightning
Know the Opponents: Silver Seven Sens
First off. Thank you Detroit Red Wings. Your 5-...
The Minnesota Wild’s newest bruisers did more than just drop the gloves in Tampa; they spilled blood and sent a message that nobody will push this Wild team around.
Early against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Michael McCarron answered a simmering, playoff-style tone by squaring up with Corey Perry,...
It started as a compliment. After Edmonton's 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, Connor McDavid called Jon Cooper's team "perfectly coached," "extremely well organized," and "very rehearsed in everything they do." When asked about the Oilers by comparison, McDavid said "that's a coaching question," then added they were "somewhat rehearsed and organized, but not to their level." Whether he meant it as a shot at Kris Knoblauch or not, the hockey world ran with it, ...
We’re keeping this one short. Since we were live in the building, haven’t had a chance to dive too deep into things, but here are few positive thoughts, and a few negative thoughts from the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken.
Positive thought:
The Lightning went 1-for-1 on the power play. Not only that, it was the second unit that scored the goal. Corey Perry was doing Corey Perry things and roofed a nice shot from in close to tie the game up at three. It w...
Game Seventy-One : Seattle Kraken (31-29-10) at Tampa Bay Lightning (44-21-5)
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Location: Benchmark International Arena, Where the Lightning are 0-1 with Raw Charge in the building this season
TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, KONG, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App
Odds: Lightning -290
Know the Opponents: Davy Jones Locker Room
It wasn’t that long ago that these two teams faced off in Seattle. A somewhat struggling Lightning team kicked off a successful roa...
Obviously losing hockey games at any point of the season is not a good thing, but considering the Minnesota Wild had a streak of losses against non-playoff teams and have now lost back-to-back games against for-real Stanley Cup contenders in the Stars and Lightning, the doubt is starting to creep in...
The Tampa Bay Lightning have done amazing work with undrafted defenseman Darren Raddysh. His fifth year in the organization, and third season as a member of the team, has paid off handsomely. As a blueliner who has found himself in an enviable position, with Victor Hedman being out nursing an injury earlier this year, he took it upon himself to transform into a player the team needed. At this point in his career, a 64-point defenseman, who has scored a whopping 20 goals, whil...
After being scratched from the last few games, it appears the Tampa Bay Lightning’s captain will be away from the team for an undisclosed amount of time. On Wednesday the team announced that Hedman will be “on a temporary leave for personal reasons”.
It’s been an up and down season for the future hall-of-famer who has been limited to just 33 games this season due to injuries. However, he was able to represent his home country in the Olympics, a thrill that ranks as one of his top experien...
The Tampa Bay Lightning 's push to try to get back to first place in the Atlantic Division has taken a major hit, as they've announced that defenseman Victor Hedman is taking a "temporary leave of absence from the team for personal reasons." The Tampa Bay Lightning announced today that defenseman Victor Hedman will be taking a temporary leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. No further details will be shared, and the team asks that his privacy be respected at this time. — T...
Down by two goals to a team that has had their number over the years, the Tampa Bay Lightning found a way to come back as they scored five straight goals to defeat the Minnesota Wild 6-3 to start their road trip. Darren Raddysh had three points, including his 20th goal of the season, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20-of-23 for league-leading 34th win of the season.
First Period
For much of the first period, the Lightning were skating in cement as the Wild controlled the pace of ...
Game Seventy: Minnesota Wild (40-19-12) at Tampa Bay Lightning (43-21-5)
Time: 7:30 PM EST
Location: Benchmark International Arena, where we once saw Brian Johnson run around on stage with Klaus Meine on his shoulders
TV/Stream/Radio: TNT, truTV, HBO MAX, 102.5 FM, Lightning App (audio only)
Odds: Lightning -170
Know the Opponents: Hockey Wilderness
The Tampa Bay Lightning had the day off on Monday as they reacclimated to their usual time zone after a long trip ou...
It was a pretty good week for the Tampa Bay Lightning as they took seven out of eight points on their trip out west. Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up three wins, but the engine behind the wins was Nikita Kucherov. The winger put up 6 goals and 7 assists with two of those tallies counting as game-winners. The thirteen points moved him past Connor McDavid in the Art Ross race and garnered him the First Star of the Week Award from the NHL.
The Predators Filip Forsberg, 4 goals, 5 assists, and Mo...
It’s never a dull moment in Oil Country with the Edmonton Oilers. After Saturday night’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the spotlight was on Connor McDavid, praising how well-coached the Lightning are, subtly turning attention toward his own coach — this while Leon Draisaitl is in Germany receiving treatment, with Oilers fans crossing their…
The Tampa Bay Lightning started their four-game road trip four points behind the Buffalo Sabres and a two-point lead on the Montreal Canadiens. Despite picking up seven out of eight points they are still four points behind the Sabres, but they did manage to stretch their lead over third-place Montreal to five points. They almost made it a perfect eight points on the road trip, but Ryan Strome’s shot in overtime trickled through Jonas Johansson to give the Calgary Flames a 4-3 win.
Johanss...