Nikita Kucherov

Quick Strikes: Pre-Christmas Cheer, Post-Christmas Hangover & A Pair of Milestones

Fresh off of a subpar end to their five-game road trip, collecting two of a possible six points in Western Canada, the Tampa Bay Lightning returned home for five of six games to end 2023. They hoped to use home ice to their advantage, something that helped propel them to the playoffs in previous years. […]

Lightning Struggling to Find Consistency This Season

Coming off a disappointing first-round exit after three straight deep playoff runs, the Tampa Bay Lightning seemed to be ready to go from the start of training camp. Once the regular season got underway, though, this team hasn’t been able to keep momentum from game to game, let alone period to period. After a nationally […]

Quick Strikes: Hedman’s 1,000th Game Celebration, Vasilevskiy Shines, Cirelli Heats Up & Power Outage in Music City

Coming off of a bad week that saw the Tampa Bay Lightning fall out of a playoff spot, there was plenty of motivation heading into the first week of December. Home ice became sweet once again, with two regulation wins to start the week. Andrei Vasilevskiy got redemption for a poor outing two days prior, […]

Stars Blown Out By Lightning 4-0

The Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning met again for the second game of the home-and-home series on Monday. But this time, the Stars got shutout 4-0 by the Lightning at Amalie Arena. Dallas fell to 14-6-3, while Tampa Bay improved to 11-10-5. Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 25 shots he faced en route […]

Quick Strikes: Kucherov Named First Star for November, Road Woes Continue & Another Blown Multi Goal Lead

Coming off of a good week, earning points in five straight games, the Tampa Bay Lightning were riding high and in a playoff spot heading into this past week. Unfortunately, four straight regulation losses undid any of the good they had done and left many scratching their heads. The beginning of the week saw back-to-back […]

Stars Take Down Lightning 8-1

The Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning played the first game of their home-and-home series on Saturday afternoon. The Stars took down the Lightning 8-1 at the American Airlines Center. Dallas improved to 14-5-3, while Tampa Bay fell to 10-10-5. The Stars’ starting lineup featured Jani Hakanpää, Esa Lindell, Ty Dellandrea, Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn, and […]

November 30: Lightning vs. Penguins Game Preview

The Pittsburgh Penguins look to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, November 30th, at 7 pm EST, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The Penguins are coming off a tough 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday and will be looking to take a step forward tonight in Tampa. The Lightning […]

Quick Strikes: Reviewing the Past Three Weeks

It’s just past American Thanksgiving, the time in which teams can legitimately assess their postseason chances. Three weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning had struggled to hold leads late in games despite solid goaltending from two career backups, couldn’t win in overtime to save their life, and had a single win in four games away […]

Bruins-Lightning Game Preview With Projected Lines

Bruins Benders Podcast Bruins Game Day Preview Game 17: Boston Bruins (13-1-2) at Tampa Bay Lightning (8-6-4) Date: Monday, November 20 Time: 7:00 pm TV: NESN Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub DraftKings Sportsbook Betting Lines: BOS -1.5 TBL +1.5 O/U 6.5 Bruins Notes: Bruins are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games, including a 5-2 win […]

Quick Strikes: Kucherov Heats Up; Defense Remains a Work in Progress

The 2023-24 regular season is two weeks old, and while there has been a little progress, the results have not come often enough for the Tampa Bay Lightning. They came back late to salvage one point out of the finale of a three-game road trip, all against Atlantic Division foes. Once they got back inside […]