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Lightning practice features new-look power play
With two non-game days in a row, the Tampa Bay Lightning had some time to work on the finer aspects of their game. Despite a vast improvement in most areas of their play after a disappointing opener against the Rangers, the goal total in the power play column remains a glaring “0”. After two seasons of repeatedly banging their heads into Steven Stamkos-less wall, it seems they are willing to explore a slightly different approach. At practice on Wednesday, the Lightning unveiled a new look: ...
Lightning Morning News: Welcome back Dominic James!
Lightning News The Lightning placed Jansen Harkins on waivers yesterday and intend to send him to Syracuse. Harkins filled in nicely in his role in the preseason and ended up playing in the season opener as a result. His demotion signals the likely return of Dominic James. The Lightning could use James’ youth and speed in the line-up. [ Raw Charge ] The Hockey Gods have a funny way of making their presence known. When one player is healthy enough to play, another inevitably goes down...
With Dominic James set to return, Lightning place recently signed free agent on waivers
One of the surprising Tampa Bay Lightning players from the 2025-26 season appears to be set to return to the line-up after an off-season injury kept him out for the first three games. Dominic James has recovered from the broken hand he suffered during his workouts and could be in the line-up as soon as Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild. In order to open up a roster spot for James, the team placed center Jansen Harkins on waivers for the purpose of reassigning him to the Syracuse Crunch...
2026-27 Atlantic Division Preview: Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are back! At least that seems to be the prevailing train of thought throughout the summer. They are also older, have two new netminders, and face a much tougher Atlantic Division. 2025-26 Record 40-38-4, 84 points (7th in Atlantic) 2025-26 Record Against Lightning 1-3-0 2025-26 Goals For 246 (18th) 2025-26 Goals Against 274 (28th) 2025-26 Power Play 19.5% (19th) 2025-26 Penalty Kill 81.0% (9th) 2026-27 Division Odds +155 2026-27 Stanley Cup Odds +650 Stats via NHL, od...
Four goalscorers lead Lightning to 4-1 victory over Flyers
The offense is slowly starting to find its footing for the Tampa Bay Lightning. For the second straight game they piled up the scoring chances, and while it was a one-goal game late, a strong third period pushed them to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Pontus Holmberg and Ilya Mikheyev each had a goal and an assist while Andrei Vasilevskiy made 13 saves on 14 shots. Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel added goals while Tyson Foerster was credited with the lone Flyers’ goal. Max Crozier...
Flyers at Lightning Game Preview: Build on the success
The Lightning continue their home stand against the Flyers, who are off to a bit of a rough start. Time: 7:00 PM EST Location: Benchmark International Arena TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, NBCSP, NHLNetwork, 102.5 The Bone Odds: Lightning -205 Know the Opponents: Broad Street Hockey The Tampa Bay Lightning continue their romp through the Metropolitan Division as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at Benchmark International Arena. While Bolts fans are res...
The Atlantic Current: Week 1
We’re introducing a weekly recap of the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division this year at Raw Charge. Every Monday morning I’ll be putting together a weekly recap of the action around the Atlantic as the season rolls on. Be sure to check back each week to see the ups and downs on this roller coaster ride this season. Without further adieu, let’s get into it: (6)Tampa Bay Lightning (1-1-0, 2 PTS) Goals For: 4 (T-25th in the NHL); Goals Against: 6 (T-12th fewest in the NHL) Last we...
Lightning pick up first win of the season, 3-1, over Capitals
The Tampa Bay Lightning started fast, battled a much bigger Washington Capitals team, and held on for a 3-1 victory in their home opener. First period goals from Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Conor Geekie built the lead, and Jake Guentzel’s empty-netter sealed it as Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves in his 600th career game. Brandon Hagel finished the night with two assists. In just the second game of the season, Coach Jon Cooper made some tweaks to the line-up as he went with an 11/7 rotati...
Capitals at Lightning Preview: Opening night, take two
Time: 7:00 PM EST Location: Benchmark International Arena TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, MNMT, ESPN+, 102.5 The Bone Odds: Lightning -150 Know the Opponents: Russian Machine Never Breaks They say that you never get a second chance at a first impression. They, being Will Rogers, an American humorist who was born all the way back in 1879. The Tampa Bay Lightning are hoping that Mr. Rogers is just a little bit off in his assessment of human nature. Because, if they can’t conv...
2026-27 Atlantic Division Preview: Ottawa Senators
It was another summer of change in Ottawa as the Senators traded Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in exchange for two 1st Round picks (9th and 25th overall) in the 2026 NHL Draft, Florida’s 2029 1st Round pick and Florida’s 2027 2nd Round pick. The Senators then traded Florida’s 9th pick in the 2026 Draft to the San Jose Sharks for William Eklund(23 years old), Kasper Halttunen(21) and Brandon Svoboda(21). The Brady Tkachuk trade tree will likely be branching out for a long time in Ottawa...
The 2026-27 Tampa Bay Lightning and NHL Predictions Post
A tradition as old as time itself is back. Yes, that’s right, three days into the NHL season, we finally post our preseason predictions. You call it procrastination, we call it building suspense. No matter what we call it, it’s a chance to believe in all that can be good in the world of hockey. It is hope in 1,500 words or more. It’s also entertaining to look back on this many months from now and see what we got right, and what we got so horribly, horribly wrong. The Tampa Bay Lightning s...
Lightning Morning News: Rusty Bolts
Lightning News Last night was a rough game to begin the new season. The New York Rangers scored early and often in the season opener for the Tampa Bay Lightning in New York City. It wasn’t all bad, but certainly no fun, and even included an empty-net goalie goal for Igor Shesterkin in the Rangers 5-1 beat down of the Lightning. Gross. [ Raw Charge ] Things were a little more positive on the New York side as the mood has definitely improved following their 3-0 loss against Boston earl...
Lightning power outage leads to 5-1 loss to Rangers in season opener
Late in the third period, the New York Rangers faithful cheerfully serenaded their long-time goaltender with “Igor’s Better” chants as Igor Shesterkin thwarted chance after chance by the Tampa Bay Lightning on his way to making 24 saves. He rewarded their efforts and sent them into a bigger frenzy when he scored the first goal by a goaltender in Rangers’ history as the Lightning dropped their season opener, 5-1. The Lightning’s effort was there, but their execution was lacking. Missed pas...
Lightning at Rangers Preview: Here. We. Go.
Game 1: Tampa Bay Lightning (0-0-0) at New York Rangers (0-0-0) Time: 7:00 PM EST Location: Madison Square Garden TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, MSG, ESPN+, 102.5 The Bone Odds: Lightning -135 Know the Opponents: Blue Shirt Banter Four seasons ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning opened their season with a 3-1 loss on the road to the New York Rangers. The Bolts were coming off their third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final and there was no reason to think they wouldn’t be...
Three things to carry over from training camp
Can you believe it? The regular season is here (well for some teams). That means training camp is officially over, and everything counts for the next few months. The Tampa Bay Lightning had a good, but not perfect preseason as they went 2-1-1 in their four games against the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers. There are some things that definitely still need work (power play) and we there is still probably some shuffling to do among the defensive pairings and lines, but for the most part ...
2026-27 Atlantic Division Preview: Detroit Red Wings
Vibes. They aren’t great in Detroit right now. A rough off-season is over. Will the regular season be even rougher, or will some of the youngsters shine bright in the Motor City? 2025-26 Record 41-31-10 (6th in Atlantic) 2025-26 Record Against Lightning 1-2-1 2025-26 Goals For 239 (22nd) 2025-26 Goals Against 254 (19th) 2025-26 Power Play 22/6% (12th) 2025-26 Penalty Kill 77.1% (23rd) 2026-27 Division Odds +3000 2026-27 Stanley Cup Odds +10000 Stats via NHL, odds via Hard Rock Bet as of 9...
Lightning Morning Links: Face-Off!
NHL Opening Night The puck has finally dropped for the new season! The Carolina Hurricanes raised their new Stanley Cup banner to christen the new season in Raleigh against the Florida Panthers. It took a while before the first goal was scored as the game entered overtime scoreless and seemed destined for a shutout shootout before Gustav Forsling scored from distance on a slapshot with 4.3 seconds left. You probably won’t ever see a first goal of the game scored any later than that in the...
Lightning Morning News: A big trade on the eve of the new season
Lightning News: The Lightning will sit back the next few days as the rest of the NHL drops the puck on the new season. The Panthers head to Raleigh to face the Stanley Cup winning Carolina Hurricanes at 5 p.m. today while the Lightning won’t start their season until Thursday night at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. The Lightning made their final roster cuts and as they finalize their opening night roster. [ Raw Charge ] One of the last cuts this year was forward Benjamin R...
Tampa Bay Lightning set 2026-27 roster
The five o’clock window for having a cap-compliant roster has come and gone, and the Tampa Bay Lightning have officially announced their 2026-27 roster. With no one claimed off of waivers, and the Bolts making no claims, the Lightning had one more transaction to conduct to get to 23 players (well technically they had to make three moves) and they did it by loaning Benjamin Rautiainen back to Tappara to finish off his European contract. They then placed Yanni Gourde and Dominic James on in...
2026-27 Atlantic Division Preview: Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres were one of the biggest surprises of the 2025-26 season. Can they build on their success or will they get swallowed up by a tough Atlantic Division? 2025-26 Record 50-23-9 (109 Points) 1st in Atlantic 2025-26 Record Against Lightning 3-0-1 2025-26 Goals For 283 (5th) 2025-26 Goals Against 240 (10th) 2025-26 Power Play 19.5% (21st) 2025-26 Penalty Kill 81.9% (4th) 2026-27 Division Odds +900 2026-27 Stanley Cup Odds +3000 Stats via NHL, Natural Stat Trick, and Hockey Reference. O...
Sam O’Reilly among final Lightning roster cuts
The Kid Line will have to wait a little while longer before taking the NHL by storm. On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Lightning all but finalized their 2026-27 roster as they made eleven moves in order to trim the head count to 26 players. While they don’t take to the ice until Thursday, their final 23-player roster has to be finalized by 5:00 PM on Monday. Most of the moves that the Lightning made were expected. Matteo Pietroniro and Jarred Tinordi were released from their try-out deals and will...
One more for the road, well, on the road
The Tampa Bay Lightning’s preseason comes to an end in Sunrise tonight as they take on the Florida Panthers just a couple of days after the two teams met in Tampa. With the majority of the assumed regular season starters on both teams having hit their two-game maximum, tonight’s tilt should resemble a Syracuse Crunch versus Charlotte Checkers game more than a NHL contest. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth a watch, especially for Lightning fans. If the lines from the morning skate are to be...
Lightning trade Johansson to division rival
Jonas Johansson’s time with the Tampa Bay Lightning has come to an end. After clearing waivers and being assigned to the Syracuse Crunch, the veteran backup was traded to the Ottawa Senators for future considerations. With the move, the Bolts clear out his $1.25 million cap hit and open up a roster spot. Per Puckpedia the Lightning currently have 47 of their 50 contract slots are taken. Johansson gives the Senators another experienced netminder after Leevi Merilainen was claimed off ...
Roster cutdown day leaves Lightning with 37 players in camp
With just one game left on the preseason schedule and a week to go until the regular season starts, the Tampa Bay Lightning made their biggest roster cut of training camp. The roster was reduced by 21 players with most of them going to Syracuse. With the Crunch announcing their training camp starting on Sunday, it wasn’t a surprise that the transactions were made today. Here’s how it broke down: Players placed on waivers: Simon Lundmark Olivier Rodrigue Steven Santini ...
Lightning Morning News: Panthers take down the Lightning in first preseason match-up
Lightning News: The Lightning took on the Panthers last night at Benchmark. This game had a lot less fireworks than last year and featured some honest-to-goodness hockey. The Panthers scored an ENG late in the game and won in Tampa by a 5-3 score. Jansen Harkins scored twice and Connor Geekie finished a nice 2-on-1 with Sam O’Reilly as the Lightning goal scorers. The two teams meet again on the other side of Alligator Alley on Saturday. [ Raw Charge ] Jansen Harkins did his part to s...
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