Tampa Bay Lightning: Breaking News, Rumors & Highlights

Lightning Face Early-Season Test Against NHL’s Best on West Coast Trip

The Tampa Bay Lightning are preparing for their first three-game West Coast trip of the season, beginning with a nationally televised matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights on October 20.

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The Morning Bark

The Quiz of the Day

Lightning rally from 2 down to beat Canucks

Jake Guentzel scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period as the Tampa Bay Lightning kept their home slate clean with a 4-2 comeback win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday afternoon.

Victor Hedman News / Field Level Media / October 15

Hedman's overtime winner gives Lightning 4th straight home win

Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman drove through the slot and scored at 2:07 of overtime as the Lightning beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3 on Thursday night. The captain seemed to lose the puck as he split the defense, but the defenseman lunged and swiped at it, sending in the game-winner with his first goal this season.

Washington Capitals News / Yardbarker Quizzes

The 'Most goals in NHL history' quiz

How many of the 22 players in NHL history with at least 600 career goals can you name in five minutes?

The 'Conn Smythe Trophy winners' quiz

The '2026-27 NHL captains' quiz

The ''EA NHL,'' covers since 2000' quiz

Dennis Hildeby News / Professor Press Box / October 15

Maple Leafs Fans Might Want to See How Dennis Hildeby Is Doing

Something about Dennis Hildeby makes you want to keep an eye on him. Maybe it's the size. Maybe it's the tall Swedish goaltender's calm presence. Or maybe it's that feeling you get when a young player leaves Toronto, and you still want to see him succeed.

NHL News / Yardbarker

The biggest draft bust for every NHL team

People love a good mid-round draft pick that pans out, and in the NHL you used to see those fairly often, but that’s obviously partially luck. If the Red Wings thought Nicklas Lidstrom was going to become a top-five defenseman in history, they wouldn’t have waited until the 53rd pick to take him.

NHL News / Yardbarker / October 14

Alexis Lafreniere may be having breakout at perfect time for Rangers

When the New York Rangers won the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery and landed forward Alexis Lafreniere, the expectation, as it is with any No. 1 overall pick, was that he would become a franchise cornerstone and star-level player.

Alex Tuch scores twice as Capitals bounce back to defeat Canadiens

Alex DeBrincat signing comes as a surprise amid Red Wings chaos

Red Wings interim GM says there's 'zero interest' in trading Simon Edvinsson

Location continues to be the sticking point for a Dylan Larkin trade

The NHL's early-season breakout players in 2026-27

Dominic James News / Pro Hockey Rumors / October 14

Lightning Recall Dominic James

The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forward Dominic James. This move comes five days after James was assigned to the Syracuse Crunch, following his recovery from a hand injury sustained in the preseason.

NHL News / Tampa Bay Lightning On SI / October 14

Tampa Bay Lightning Fall to New York Rangers Yet Again

With a rare early season rematch, the Tampa Bay Lightning once again fell to the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden. The Bolts lost the first matchup by a score of 5-1 and fell to the Rangers 4-1 this time.

Mads Sogaard News / Pro Hockey Rumors / October 13

Lightning Recall Mads Sogaard

The Tampa Bay Lightning are not expected to have netminder Dennis Hildeby on the bench tonight as he deals with an undisclosed ailment. To fill in as backup, the Lightning announced they recalled goalie Mads Søgaard from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.

John Carlson News / Tampa Bay Lightning On SI / October 13

John Carlson Quietly Making His Presence Felt For the Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to avenge their only loss of the season when they face the New York Rangers, but we should look at a piece of their team that has been a great addition: defenseman John Carlson.

Tampa Bay Lightning News / Tampa Bay Lightning On SI / October 13

Tampa Bay Lightning With an Early Chance to Show Progress

The Tampa Bay Lightning have an early opportunity to show how much they have improved since opening night. After suffering a disappointing 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers to begin the season, Tampa Bay has responded with four consecutive wins and enters this rematch with plenty of momentum.

NHL News / Yardbarker

The defining figure for every NHL franchise

People will talk about the “Mount Rushmore” for a franchise, which is to say the four people, usually four players, that most define the franchise. Not always the four-best players, but the four that evoke the essence of the franchise.

Tampa Bay Lightning News / The Hockey Writers / October 12

Syracuse Crunch Weekly Prospect Report: Dominic James, Jakob Pelletier, and Mads Sogaard

The Syracuse Crunch are four games into the season, and they aren’t off to an ideal start, as they’re starting the campaign 1-3-0. They’re coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the Belleville Senators on Oct.

Brandon Hagel News / Field Level Media / October 10

Brandon Hagel (hat trick), Lightning down Islanders for 4th straight win

Tampa Bay's Brandon Hagel ripped a tiebreaking goal with 1:44 remaining and competed his fourth career hat trick with an empty-netter as the Lightning claimed their fourth straight victory, beating the host New York Islanders 5-3 on Saturday night.

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Jansen Harkins News / Pro Hockey Rumors / October 6

Lightning Place Jansen Harkins On Waivers

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Tampa Bay Lightning have placed Jansen Harkins on waivers. Regardless of the waiver outcome, the transaction will allow the Lightning to activate Dominic James from injured reserve on Thursday.

NHL News / Inside The Rink / October 7

Red Wings and Lightning Mock Trade Could Save Both Seasons

The title may be a little misleading here, but I do believe that the trade I’m proposing could save both the Red Wings’ and Lightning’s seasons, just in different contexts.

Emil Lilleberg News / Daily Faceoff / October 5

Lightning’s Emil Lilleberg to miss time following injury from fight

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without one of their defensemen for the next little while, as head coach Jon Cooper told reporters that Emil Lilleberg will be out for Monday night’s game and possibly about a week longer after suffering an injury during a fight.

Tampa Bay Lightning News / Daily Faceoff / October 3

How much pressure are the Lightning under?

The Tampa Bay Lightning are off to a rough start in 2026-27, after falling 5-1 to the New York Rangers to open their season on Thursday night. While the team still has lofty resumes, the average age is creeping higher as management looks to stretch the team’s contention window as long as possible.

NHL News / Daily Faceoff / October 2

Jon Cooper rips Lightning for poor performance: 'It was almost like the game was an inconvenience to play'

Jon Cooper did not hold back with his thoughts on the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s performance in their season opener.

Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin scores first career goal

The 10 worst value contracts in the NHL for 2026-27

The '2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning' quiz

NHL News / Yardbarker / October 1

Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin scores first career goal

New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin is the 18th different goaltender to score a goal,

Jack Hughes confused by awkward joke about extensive injury history

Devils score season-opening win over Flyers on Hughes' OT goal

Kraken, Flyers pull off player-for-player trade early in season

Ducks sign Tristan Luneau to six-year extension

Oilers' Zach Hyman out for two weeks with undisclosed injury

Nikita Kucherov News / NHL Rumors / September 30

Should There Be Concern That Nikita Kucherov Doesn’t Have a Contract Extension?

TSN: Reigning Hart Trophy recipient Nikita Kucherov is entering the final year of his contract and is without a contract. Pierre LeBurn wonders how much of gong show that would be if he was in a Canadian market.

Nikita Kucherov News / NHL Trade Talk / September 28

Is Tampa Bay Nearing an Ultimatum Scenario With Nikita Kucherov?

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Nikita Kucherov still don’t have a contract extension done, and Elliotte Friedman thinks the clock may matter more than it seems.