Tampa Bay Lightning

NHL Playoffs: Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Game 3 Recap | 4/25/2024

Game 3 on the road? That’s no problem for the Florida Panthers, who didn’t miss a beat Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Cats have been great on the road this season winning a franchise-best 26 games in enemy arenas. Even with two players out of the lineup, Bennett and Lomberg, the team […]

NHL Playoffs: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers Game 3 Recap | 04/25/2024

Heading home with an 0-2 deficit, the Tampa Bay Lightning knew they had to win to make this a series. Unfortunately, another close loss puts a season that at times looked promising on life support. While this team lacks experience defensively and stumbled through much of the regular season, a March to remember showed they […]

Lightning’s Playoff Fate Hinges on Kucherov Showing Up

Staring at an 0-2 deficit against the Florida Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning are in real danger of getting swept out of the first round for the first time since 2019. If that occurs, one key reason would be the play of top-line winger Nikita Kucherov. For the current Art Ross Trophy winner with 144 […]

Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning | Game 2 Recap

If viewers thought Game 1 was good in the Battle for Florida, Game 2 was somehow even better. The goalie saves were outrageous, and tensions are already getting even more heated. Regulation wasn’t enough this time around as the game headed into overtime. For those unfamiliar, playoff overtime works differently than the regular season; teams […]

NHL Playoffs: Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Game 1 Recap | 04/21/2024

As advertised, Game 1 of the Battle for Florida did not disappoint. The in-state rivalry kicked off with a lot of pace from both teams, very strong defense, and a bit of chippiness, but no major fights yet. Florida made a couple of big hits on Tampa, and the Lightning responded in kind. It was […]

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers Playoff Preview

It’s the best time of the year. The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs are here. For the Tampa Bay Lightning, this is the seventh consecutive season that they have made the postseason. Last season was their only first-round exit in the current run, as they fell short in six games to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Entering […]

2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Quarterfinals Primer

The 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are ready to start. Here’s a 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Primer exclusively at Inside The Rink. Eastern Conference Quarterfinals The Eastern Conference is the easier of the two conferences in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. It will still be as hard-hitting as the Western Conference, but not […]

Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Round 1 Series Preview

This series is being dubbed the battle for Florida; which team will come out victorious, the Panthers or the Lightning? After clinching the Atlantic Division title, Florida is set up for an in-state rivalry in round one. While I personally would have preferred a matchup with the Maple Leafs, the Cats went 2-1 this season […]

Kucherov Joins Rare Company in Lightning’s Win Over Maple Leafs

In what was otherwise a meaningless game before beginning the playoffs, Nikita Kucherov joined rare company by becoming only the fifth player in NHL history to reach 100 assists in a season during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 6-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. After scoring the second goal of the game and having a […]

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Varlamov Shining for the Islanders

It was not that long ago that the New York Islanders were out of a playoff spot in the extremely competitive Eastern Conference. They were not playing well defensively, not capitalizing on their chances, not getting good goaltending, and were struggling on special teams. They looked like a team that deserved to be on the […]