TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Former Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is joining the Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant.
Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois announced the move Tuesday, selecting Blashill to replace Derek Lalonde on coach Jon Cooper’s staff.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings have hired Derek Lalonde to coach their rebuilding team, hoping the two-time Stanley Cup-winning assistant can make all the right moves to make the franchise relevant again.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — If this is Ondrej Palat’s final playoff run with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he’s certainly making it count.
Soon he could be counting in the tens of millions of dollars on a new contract.
DENVER (AP) — Keep the champagne chilled. It's back to the slushy ice of Amalie Arena for the Colorado Avalanche after they failed to close out the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final.
“It's not supposed to be easy, and it's not going to be easy,” Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog said after Colorado's 3-2 loss in Game 5 sent this sensational series back to Tampa, where the Lightning can even things up Sunday night.
Jon Cooper backtracked and shifted a possible missed call to the rearview mirror with the expertise of a coach who has been here before. Counterpart Jared Bednar, on the verge of his first NHL championship, sought to settle the issue once and for all and move on.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche are on the verge of their first Stanley Cup title since 2001, thanks to Nazem Kadri's overtime goal.
Even if the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning don't believe it should have counted.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper took one question during his postgame media session. Without getting into specifics about whether Colorado had too many men on the ice, he suggested the Avalanche’s overtime goal shouldn’t have counted.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — So much for the notion that the Tampa Bay Lightning might be running out of gas against the speedy Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final.
Turns out the team’s recipe for postseason success still works when the two-time defending champions incorporate all the ingredients.
Backup goaltender Brian Elliott didn’t flinch while sitting on the bench, perhaps because he knew what was going through coach Jon Cooper’s head.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning's bid for a three-peat is alive and well.
With Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy leading the way, the star-laden, two-time defending champions beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 Monday night in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
DENVER (AP) — It’s no secret Tampa Bay has played more hockey over the past two years than any other team in the NHL.
That may — finally — be taking a toll on the two-time defending champ Lightning against the Colorado Avalanche, who took a much shorter route to the Stanley Cup Final and lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 going into Game 3 on Monday in Tampa.
DENVER (AP) — Jon Cooper told his Tampa Bay Lightning players in the locker room following their Game 1 loss they need to be a lot better to take out the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final.
DENVER (AP) — Minutes after losing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in overtime, Patrick Maroon scoffed at the idea that it was some sort of gut punch to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
DENVER (AP) — To win the Stanley Cup each of the past two years, the Tampa Bay Lightning had to go through the stingy New York Islanders, defending Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens backstopped by goaltender Carey Price.
Tampa Bay's Brayden Point looked like himself on the ice Tuesday, just a month after being unable to skate when his right leg crumbled beneath him and he needed help to hobble off the rink.
Point appeared ready to return from a significant right leg injury that knocked him out of the past two rounds of the Tampa Bay Lightning's latest run to the Stanley Cup Final.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Just when it appeared the New York Rangers might be ready to push Tampa Bay to the brink of elimination, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning showed they were nowhere near finished.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — There’s no panic in the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions are down 2-0 to the New York Rangers in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final but remain confident they have what it takes to climb back into the best-of-seven series.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — More than a week off between playoff games can seem like an eternity for any team.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning are hoping the extended break they earned with a second-round sweep of the Florida Panthers will benefit them in their quest for a three-peat.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jon Cooper had every reason to be confident the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning could keep their bid for a three-peat alive.
“Our story is not finished being written,” the coach said earlier this month with his team on the brink of elimination in the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy is a not-so-secret key ingredient in the Tampa Bay Lightning's recipe for success in the playoffs.
The reigning Conn Smythe Trophy recipient won his fifth straight postseason game Sunday, stopping 34 of 35 shots to help the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 and move to the brink of another trip to the Eastern Conference final.
The Tampa Bay Lightning don’t want to get ahead of themselves in their bid to become the first team in 40 years to win three consecutive Stanley Cup titles.
The two-time defending champions are up 2-0 on the Presidents Trophy-winning Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference semifinals yet understand there’s still a lot of work to do as they pursue a special place in NHL history.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions on one side. The Presidents’ Trophy winners on the other. Franchises separated by just a couple hundred miles of highway. And two teams that don’t like each other very much.
Turns out a two-goal lead is the safest lead in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
A three-goal lead? Insurmountable. Fall behind at all in a game? Well, good luck.
The first week of the NHL playoffs has been a stark contrast to the regular season that was full of multigoal comebacks and furious finishes.
TORONTO (AP) — Victor Hedman had a goal and three assists for his first four-point playoff game and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 on Wednesday night in Game 2 to even the first-round series.
So much for the notion that goals are hard to come by in the playoffs. If the opening night of the chase for the Stanley Cup is an indication of what’s to come, the NHL is in for another wildly unpredictable postseason.
Jon Cooper doesn't get much sleep from September through June, even less when the NHL playoffs begin.
After coaching the Tampa Bay Lightning to the league's best regular-season record in 2019, getting swept in the first round in stunning fashion and then winning the Stanley Cup back to back, he knows all too well how hockey changes when the playoffs start.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Oliver Bjorkstrand led Columbus with a goal and an assist in the Blue Jackets' 5-2 win over Tampa Bay on Thursday night that kept the Lightning from clinching the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Jon Cooper walked into his postgame interview clutching a pair of hand warmers, something the Tampa Bay Lightning coach never recalled using during any game other than one played outdoors.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov scored first-period power-play goals, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Nashville Predators 6-2 on Saturday night.
Hedman became only the second defenseman in franchise history to score 20 goals in a season, joining Dan Boyle, who did it in 2006-07.
WASHINGTON (AP) — John Carlson was better than good, Alex Ovechkin reached another milestone and the Washington Capitals handed the Tampa Bay Lightning a third consecutive loss.
Carlson scored twice and added two assists for a four-point game, Ovechkin reached 1,400 career points with his 43rd goal of the season and the Capitals beat the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions 4-3 on Wednesday night to snap their own skid at two.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Ross Colton scored two goals and added an assist, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point both had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Friday night.
Jon Cooper is keenly aware that Tampa Bay's path to hoisting the Stanley Cup a third consecutive year got more difficult after a series of big trades in recent days.
“It’s just looks like the Atlantic’s like one big arms race,” Cooper said after practice Monday.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Mika Zibanejad scored a tiebreaking power-play goal with 16 seconds left in the third period and the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Saturday night.
Jacob Trouba also scored and Igor Shesterkin stopped 28 shots for New York.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists, Tristan Jarry made 20 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 on Thursday night.
It was Malkin's 103rd career three-point game, which ranks fourth in team history behind Mario Lemieux (272), Sidney Crosby (155) and Jaromir Jagr (129).
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning sure know how to spoil a great party.
Steven Stamkos scored the game-winner at 11:31 of the third period as the Lightning beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 Saturday night to put a damper on the first outdoor NHL game in Music City.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Mark Stone scored the winner in the seventh round of a shootout and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period Saturday night.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Cirelli had the tiebreaking goal midway through the third after failing to score on a second-period penalty shot, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Thursday night.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Derek Grant scored two goals, John Gibson made 32 saves and the Anaheim Ducks emphatically snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand each scored twice, Linus Ullmark made 27 saves and the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Saturday night.
Anton Blidh had the other Boston goal, and Taylor Hall picked up two assists.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov had a pair of nifty assists in his return from a lengthy injury during Tampa Bay's three-goal third period in the Lightning's 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ondrej Palat had two goals and an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning trounced the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-2 on Tuesday night to break a three-game losing streak.
Brayden Point added a goal and two assists for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who scored three power-play goals.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Mika Zibanejad scored the lone goal in a shootout, Barclay Goodrow scored twice, and the New York Rangers stopped Tampa Bay's seven-game home winning streak by beating the Lightning 4-3 on Friday night.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Duclair scored twice, Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and four assists, and the Florida Panthers romped to a 9-3 rout of the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Ondrej Palat scored 36 seconds into overtime after Tampa Bay teammate Corey Perry tied it late in the third period, and the Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 on Tuesday night in the first NHL game following an extended holiday break.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Ondrej Palat scored 36 seconds into overtime after Tampa Bay teammate Corey Perry tied it late in the third period, and the Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 on Tuesday night in the first NHL game following an extended holiday break.