Fan’s Guide to the Tampa Bay Lightning: Tickets, Experiences, and More

Can we go ahead and get rid of the All-Star break?!

Leading up to the time away from the ice the Tampa Bay Lightning were firing on all cylinders. The Bolts won eight of ten contests, even beating the Boston Bruins, who are still on pace to break the all-time regular season points record. The Lightning carried a franchise best 12-game home winning streak into the break.

Then upon return to action the Bolts’ game started to break. The first game back saw the Lightning lose 7-1 to state rival the Florida Panthers in a lackluster performance. The home winning streak came to an end the very next night with an overtime loss to the Sharks. Things seemed to be looking up when the Bolts took down their latest Stanley Cup rival, the Colorado Avalanche, twice in the span of five days 5-0 and 4-3 in a shootout, not to mention beating a tough Dallas Stars team 3-1 on the road. But then an agonizing 1-0 shootout loss to the Arizona Coyotes, in which the Lightning outshot Arizona 47-26, but failed to find the back of the net set off a 2-8 stretch in which the

Lightning at one point dropped five straight. The low point was a blowout 6-0 loss to Carolina in which the Bolts were outshot 23-4 in periods one and two, including a dismal second period in which the Lightning didn’t record a single shot on goal.

With the playoffs looming and the defense beginning to show cracks, not to mention their playoff rivals making huge acquisitions, the Lightning needed to take action at the Trade Deadline to turn things around.

The New York Rangers traded for former Stanley Cup champions Vladimir Tarasenko from St. Louis and Patrick Kane from Chicago. The Bruins didn’t rest on their laurels and signed longtime Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov and also Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit. The Lightning’s first round playoff opponent, the Toronto Maple Leafs, traded for star veteran Ryan O’Reilly from St. Louis. What did the Bolts do to match all these moves? The Lightning traded Cal Foote and FIVE draft picks (including a first rounder) for Tanner Jeannot, a left winger known for being a complete pest to play against. Jeannot sits near the top in the league in hits and plays a gritty style, exactly the style of play essential for winning in the playoffs. Only time will tell if Foote and the five picks given up were worth making a move to extend the current championship window.

With multiple Eastern Conference rivals going all in by bolstering their already strong rosters, the Bolts will need to quickly get Jeannot acclimated and find their groove again before the playoffs. After all, only one of these teams can win it all Let’s hope it’s the Bolts for a third time in four seasons!