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It was a 12 noon game for the Tampa Bay Lightning today in Detroit against the Red Wings. This Motowin Matinee didn't look like much at the beginning of the season but as Detroit has been one of the surprise teams in the division, this game has taken on more importance for the Bolts. This game is also the first of three games over the next four days for the Lightning on the road that puts more emphasis on getting the two points today. Andre Vasilevskiy gets the start for the

Where was your head at when the Tampa bay Lightning sat at 1-4-2 to start the 2025-26' season? Were you one of the many calling for Jon Cooper's head, admitting defeat early and standing on the panic button? Or maybe, just maybe, you had the unwavering faith 'Coop' has shown this group over the years. The faith that things would be okay. Flash forward a month, and the landscape has changed dramatically for a Bolts team seemingly determined to battle to the top of the Atlantic

By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports Lightning Defenseman Declan Carlile snaps a shot past Flames' goalie Devin Cooley as part of a 5-1 victory over Calgary Wednesday night at Benchmark International Arena. Photo Credit: Alyssa Shimko | Thunderstruck Sports The Tampa Bay Lightning started strong and defeated the Calgary Flames at Benchmark International Arena on Wednesday night, 5-1. Brandon Hagel scored 39 seconds into the game, and Charle-Edouard D'Astous added a quick seco

Photo Credit: Alyssa Shimko| Thunderstruck Sports The Tampa Bay Lightning came into tonight on a 3-game winning streak after a gutty performance on the road in Washington Saturday night. Tonight, the fiesty Philadelphia Flyers came into town for a visit. They've been hot as of late, but Andrei Vasilevskiy shut them down with the Bolts' first shutout of the season. The top line was clicking contributing to all 3 Tampa Bay goals. Top Line Gets Things Started The injury plagued

Two of the league’s hottest teams faced each other in our nation’s capital. In net for the Lightning was Jonas Johansson. Logan Thompson was between the pipes for the Capitals. Tampa Bay was still without two defensive stalwarts in Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh. This could be an issue as Washington comes in having scored 17 goals in their last three games. Needless to say, they won all three. Great Opening Just six seconds after the first minute, Justin Sourdif of the Cap

By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning came from behind to defeat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, Thursday night at Benchmark International Arena. Photo credit: Alyssa Shimko | Thunderstruck Sports Jake Guentzel scored 1:43 into overtime to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a come-from-behind victory over the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, Thursday night at Benchmark International Arena. Nick Paul returned to action for the first time this season s

By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports The Tampa Bay Lightning cruised past the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at Benchmark International Arena. Photo Credit: Alyssa Shumko | Thunderstruck Sports Jake Guentzel scored a hat trick for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. Darren Raddysh had a goal and two assists, and Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist for the Lightning. The hat trick was the eighth of Guentzel's career and hi

Photo Credit: Alyssa Shimko| Thunderstruck Sports With a still-depleted roster, the Lightning took on the Vancouver Canucks this evening. In good news, Brandon Hagel was back in the lineup! In bad news, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Anthony Cirelli, Nick Paul, Pontus Holmberg, and Dominic James were all still out. But the depleted roster got the job done in Sunrise last night against the arch-rival Panthers, so there was reason to be hopeful. That hope was alive and well in

The season's first battle of Florida saw both teams dealing with depleted rosters but in the end the Tampa Bay Lightning came out on top with a much-needed win. Lightning was without Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Dominic James, and Nick Paul severely hindering the roster. Depth players and rookies understood the assignment tonight while Andrei Vasilevskiy bounced back to his normal self in an always eventful match-up with the Florida Panthers.

Brayden Point and the Lightning fall to the New York Rangers on Wednesday night at Benchmark International Arena, 7-3. Photo Credit: Alyssa Shimko | Thunderstruck Sports By Mike Smith, Senior Writer | Thunderstruck Sports Vincent Trocheck scored two goals, and Artemi Panarin contributed four assists as the New York Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-3 on Wednesday night. Although the Lightning outshot the Rangers 36-21, Igor Shesterkin and the New York defense displa

Photo Credit: Alyssa Shimko| Thunderstruck Sports The bottleneck continues in the NHL's Eastern Conference. Coming into today, just 6 points separated the top teams from the cellar dwellers. Several of those 16 teams faced off against each other today, including the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning. Just one point separated these two teams in the standings with both having played 14 games. Earlier this season, these two clubs battled it out in Washington where the

Graphic Credit: Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports By Derek Caldwell- Thunderstruck Sports In a rematch of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals (without Lord Stanley's Cup at stake), the Tampa Bay Lightning fell by a score of 3-2, snapping their five game win streak, on Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. The always dangerous Nikita Kucherov opened the scoring just 1:37 into the game when he found the puck behind the net and wrapped around in front to beat Scott Wedgewood for

By Derek Caldwell- Thunderstruck Sports Jake Guentzel scored the game winning goal with 7:52 remaining in the third period and tallied an assist on an Anthony Cirelli 2nd period goal to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-2 victory on the road against the Utah Mammoth on Sunday afternoon. The Bolts have pushed their win streak to five games on the back of their stars delivering night in and night out. Sunday afternoon was no different. It didn't come without difficulty as an

Photo Credit: Alyssa Shimko| Thunderstruck Sports The Tampa Bay Lightning came into this game enjoying a three-game win streak. That streak was not the only thing Bolts fans were excited about coming into tonight. The evening started with a tribute to the league's newest 1,000-point man, Nikita Kucherov. Kuch hit the impressive milestone on Saturday , and the team celebrated him tonight. In addition to the ceremonial gifts, Kucherov received video accolades from fellow countr

Not only did the offense show up, but the young guns also contributed helping the Lightning propel past the Predators and extend the win streak to end the road trip. Anthony Cirelli reached a career milestone, and Andrei Vasilevskiy saw his win streak against Nashville reach ten games. After a rough start to the season, it seems the team is getting it together and have results to back that up. In the opening minutes Brayden Point was called for tripping meaning the penalty ki

By Ernie Norquist | ThunderstruckSports.com | October 2025 TAMPA, Fla. — Since his NHL debut in Dallas on that Thursday night back in 2018, Anthony Cirelli has been quietly building one of the most respected two-way games in hockey. That debut was no ordinary night for the young forward. He recorded two points, including his first NHL goal, becoming just the fourth player in Lightning history to notch a multi-point game in his first outing. That moment was a glimpse of what

Graphic Credit: Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports Benchmark International Arena had not been kind to the Bolts thus far this year. They had yet to muster a single point through 3 games in their newly renamed arena. Tonight, the Lightning started their third back-to-back of this young season. Jonas Johansson got the start in net against the Anaheim Ducks. On The Board! The line coming into this game would have looked like an error to many a hockey fan. The visiting Ducks came

By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports Ryan Donato scored twice and Frank Nazar added a goal as the Chicago Blackhawks downed the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night, 3-2. The loss was the fourth straight for the Bolts, who continue to struggle to find a path to victory early in the NHL season. Goalie Spencer Knight stops a Nikita Kucherov shot as the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2, Thursday night. Photo Credit: Alyssa Shimko | Thunderstruck Sports The Li

Dominic James participates in his first NHL pregame warmup with his Lightning teammates Thursday night at Benchmark International Arena. Photo Credit: Alyssa Shimko | Thunderstruck Sports I've always been told I'm a numbers guy. I've always preferred math over English (oh the irony of me writing an article), and a lot of that had to do with statistics in sports. From touchdown to interception ratios, to goals against averages, I've always enjoyed finding the devil in the det

By Ernie Norquist ThunderstruckSports.com | October 2025 Dateline: TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning have long judged themselves by postseason standards. Yet this season, through six games, their rhythm hasn’t met their expectations. They have appeared more reactive than composed. Their once-smooth play shows signs of hesitation and miscommunication. So far, they haven't delivered a full 60-minute effort, and that inconsistency marks their uneven start. Jon Cooper’s grou