Profile

Introduction

They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play their home games at Amalie Arena in Downtown Tampa.

The Lightning have won three Stanley Cup championships: 2004, 2020, and 2021. They also reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015 and in 2022. The team is owned by Jeffrey Vinik, and the general manager is Julien BriseBois. Jon Cooper has served as head coach since March 2013, and is the longest-tenured active head coach in the NHL.

2 Dream Season and 1st Stanley Cup

With a young core of players led by Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis and Fredrik Modin, the Lightning were thought to be very close to respectability. However, they arrived somewhat earlier than expected in 2002–03. The young team was led by the goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin and the scoring efforts of Lecavalier, St. Louis, Modin, Richards and Ruslan Fedotenko. Throughout the season, the Lightning battled the Washington Capitals for first place in the Southeast Division. They finished with a record of 36–25–16 for 93 points, breaking the 90-point barrier for the first time in team history. They won the division by just one point, giving them home-ice advantage in their first-round match-up with the Capitals. At season's end, coach Tortorella was recognized for his efforts by being named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, losing out to Jacques Lemaire of the Minnesota Wild.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Lightning quickly fell two games behind in the series but followed the two losses with four consecutive wins for their first playoff series win in franchise history. However, in the semifinals, they went down in five games to the New Jersey Devils, who went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Lightning's dramatic improvement continued through the 2003–04 regular season, finishing with a record of 46–22–8–6 for 106 points, second-best in the NHL after the Western Conference's Detroit Red Wings—the first 100-point season in franchise history. The Lightning lost only 20 man-games to injury. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lightning ousted the New York Islanders in five games, with Khabibulin posting shutouts in games 1, 3, and 4.

In the second round, the Lightning faced the Montreal Canadiens; Lecavalier, Richards, and Khabibulin led the team to a four-game sweep of Montreal. Next, they faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the Conference Finals. After a tightly fought seven-game series in which neither team was able to win consecutive games, Fredrik Modin notched the winning goal of the seventh and deciding game, earning the Eastern Conference championship for the Lightning and their first-ever berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Their opponent in the final round was the Calgary Flames. The final round also went the full seven games, with the deciding game played in the St. Pete Times Forum on June 7, 2004. This time, Ruslan Fedotenko was the Game 7 hero, scoring both Lightning goals in a 2–1 victory. Brad Richards, who had 26 points in the postseason, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs; the Lightning had won all 31 contests in which he had scored a goal since the opening of the season. Tortorella won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's Coach of the Year. Only three years after their last of four consecutive seasons of 50 or more losses, and in only their 12th year of existence, the Lightning became the southernmost team ever to win the Stanley Cup. Martin St. Louis led the team and the NHL with 94 points (his 38 goals were fourth-most after the 41 of tied trio Jarome Iginla, Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk), and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. St. Louis also won the Lester B. Pearson Award for the NHL's most outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players' Association, and tied the Vancouver Canucks' Marek Malik for the NHL Plus/Minus Award. A season of superlatives was capped with one final accolade, as The Sporting News named GM Jay Feaster as the league's executive of the year for 2003–04.

Lightning Strikes Twice and Back to Back to Back Stanley Cup Finals

Following their earlier than expected exit from the playoffs, several players left the Lightning. Left winger J. T. Miller was traded to the Vancouver Canucks. Backup goaltender Louis Domingue was dealt to the New Jersey Devils for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2021. Defenseman Anton Stralman signed a three-year contract with the Florida Panthers. Right winger Ryan Callahan's career was effectively ended when he was diagnosed with a degenerative back disease. The Lightning signed defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to a one-year contract, after his contract with the New York Rangers was bought out. Left winger Patrick Maroon, who was coming off a Stanley Cup championship with the St. Louis Blues, was also signed to a one-year deal. The Lightning re-signed centers Cedric Paquette and Brayden Point to two and three-year contracts, respectively. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy's contract was extended by eight years.

The Lightning began the season with a 17–13–4 record after 34 games. After this point, they won 23 of their next 26 games, including two separate win streaks of at least ten games, the second of which eventually set a new franchise record of eleven consecutive wins. They lost captain Steven Stamkos to injury once again, as he underwent surgery to repair a core muscle in March. He was expected to miss 6–8 weeks as a result, which at the time was expected to keep him out for the remainder of the regular season and the start of the playoffs.

Andrei Vasilevskiy backstopped the Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2021.

Tampa had only played 70 games when the NHL suspended the season on March 12, 2020, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. It was not until late May that the league decided to cancel the remainder of the regular season. At the time, the Lightning had a record of 43–21–6 and were second in their conference. To finish the season the league expanded the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs to include 24 teams. In July, it was announced that the playoffs would begin August 1, and would take place in the Canadian cities of Toronto as the Eastern Conference hub, and Edmonton for the Western Conference. By virtue of having one of the top four highest point percentages at the time the season was suspended, the Lightning not only qualified for the playoffs, but would first compete in a single round-robin opening round group with the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Philadelphia Flyers to determine seeding. Winning two out of three games, the Lightning earned the second seed in the East.

Following the round-robin, the Lightning drew the Columbus Blue Jackets again in the first round. The first game of the series ultimately became the fourth-longest NHL game in history, as the game-winning goal was scored by Brayden Point at the 10:27 mark of the fifth overtime period. Point also scored in overtime for a second time in game five, eliminating Columbus. In the second round, the Lightning faced the Boston Bruins. After losing the first game of this series, the Lightning rallied to win the next four, with Victor Hedman's double-overtime goal in game 5 sealing the series victory for Tampa. After advancing, the remainder of the Lightning's playoff run took place in Edmonton, which had been planned as the site of both of the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Lightning took on the New York Islanders. The Islanders extended the Lightning to six games, but Tampa Bay would once again prevail in overtime to win the series, with the game-winning goal this time being scored by Anthony Cirelli. The win earned the Lightning the Prince of Wales Trophy for the third time in their history, and their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 2015.

In the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals, the Lightning met the Dallas Stars. The teams split the first two games of the series. In game three, Steven Stamkos returned to the lineup, having missed the entire playoff run to that point after suffering an injury prior to the start of the playoffs, unrelated to an injury he sustained during the regular season. He scored a goal on what was his only shot on goal of the series, as he did not take to the ice again following the end of the first period. Tampa did, however, win both game three and four to take a 3–1 series lead. Dallas stayed alive in the series by winning game five in double-overtime, but the Lightning closed them out with a 2–0 win in game six to win their second Stanley Cup championship, and first since 2004.

Due to COVID-19, the league moved the Lightning to the Central Division, where they would compete with the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Hurricanes, Panthers, Predators, Red Wings, and Stars for the 2020–21 season. The Lightning would only play against teams in the Central Division, with limited attendance to start the season. The team once again played in a shortened season, playing 56 games in total. Nikita Kucherov would miss the entire regular season with a hip surgery he had in December 2020. During the season, the Lightning acquired defenseman David Savard through a multi-team trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings. The Lightning would also acquire defenseman Fredrik Claesson in another trade with the San Jose Sharks. The Lightning finished the season with a 36–17–3 record, and would finish third in the Central Division.

Entering the playoffs, the Lightning would face against the Florida Panthers in the first round, making this the first time the state rivals would meet each other in the playoffs. The Lightning would win the series 4–2, with the last game continuing a playoff series clinching shutout streak that had carried over from the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals against Dallas. In the second round, the Lightning would face the Carolina Hurricanes. In the third game of the series, Brayden Point would score the first goal in a playoff goal-scoring streak that would last for 9 games, coming in second to Reggie Leach with 10 games in a single playoff year. The Hurricanes would win game 3 in overtime, however the Lightning would win the next two games to win the series 4–1. For the second consecutive year, the Lightning would again face the New York Islanders before heading to the Stanley Cup Finals. Due to the lack of conferences for this season, this series would not be called the "2021 Eastern Conference Finals", but instead it would be known as the "2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals". The Islanders would once again take the Lightning to an extended series, having won game 6 in overtime to force the series to seven games. However, the Lightning would clinch the series in game 7 with a single shorthanded goal scored by Yanni Gourde. The win would earn the Lightning their second consecutive Prince of Wales Trophy, and a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals, the Lightning went up against the Montreal Canadiens. In the first three games, the Lightning would prevail, a notable highlight being the diving goal Blake Coleman would score with 1.1 seconds left in the second period in the second game in the series. The Canadiens however would force a game 5 and prevent a sweep, winning game 4 in overtime. The Lightning however would win the Stanley Cup in game 5, with a single goal scored by Ross Colton in the second period. The game would also see the Lightning win in their own arena, the second time in team history, and the first time since the Chicago Blackhawks won the Cup in 2015. Andrei Vasilevskiy won the Conn Smythe Trophy with 5 shutouts during the playoffs, 4 of which were series-clinching shutouts. Patrick Maroon would win his third consecutive Stanley Cup, one with the St. Louis Blues and two with the Lightning. Maroon later slipped and dropped the Stanley Cup and severely dented the trophy's bowl during a celebration at Julian B. Lane Park following the team's victory parade on July 11. Maroon cited the strong thunderstorm during the outdoor celebration as the reason, and the Cup was quickly repaired with no further issues.

On February 26, 2022, the Lightning played their first outdoor game in franchise history against the host Nashville Predators in the 2022 NHL Stadium Series at Nissan Stadium. The Lightning would win the game against the Predators with a score of 3–2, with Steven Stamkos receiving first star. On April 14, 2022, the Lightning clinched a playoff berth after a 4–3 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks. In the 2022 playoffs, the Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the First Round and swept their in-state rivals in the Second Round. On June 11, 2022, the Lightning clinched their third straight Stanley Cup Finals berth after a 2–1 win against the New York Rangers in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals. However, in the 2022 Finals, they came up short for a third consecutive Stanley Cup title, in game six against the Colorado Avalanche on June 26.

See Also

• Tampa Bay Rays (MLB)
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL)

• Florida Panthers: Their in-state and intra division rival.

• Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA): Both teams using Electricity related as teams name.
• Los Angeles Chargers (NFL): Both teams using "Bolt" as their nickname.

National Hockey League