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The second day of summer saw the NHL release its full schedule for all 30 NHL teams, which is kind of nice seeing that it gives fans the opportunity to schedule trips way ahead of time, but kind of sucks because it leaves much of July and August for nothing but the dog days of summer and almost zero hockey to talk about.
It does leave you salivating and anticipating and curious about the season ahead.
The Lightning kicks off the season with a three four game homestand at Times Palace before venturing to Western Canada (and Minnesota) on a five game road jaunt.
Unlike the 2013-14 season, the Bolts Atlantic Division schedule is not packed at the front of the season schedule in the same way that last season's schedule was. In rivalry-building attempts, the league has scheduled Tampa to face Montreal and Boston for the first time only after the new-year, meaning all matchups will likely be critical between the three top teams from this past season... if they're playing as well at this point as they were in the past, that is.
[ EDITORS NOTE: Due to a scheduling conflict tied to the April 7th game between the Lightning and Canadiens at the Tampa Bay Times Forum,the game was moved to October 13th (announced on June 30th)]
Martin St. Louis faces his former team for the first time on November 17 at Madison Square Garden. He'll make his first trip back to Tampa as a member of the New York Rangers on November 26th, which I'm pretty sure is a date many fans will circle on their calendar.
The Bolts also have 12 13 back-to-back games this season, which is the same number from this past season. 1 will be played on the road while a single two back-to-back sets will be played at home.
In a minor cross-sport note, no dates with Lightning and Tampa Bay Buccaneers home at the same time. The only day they'll both be playing is November 9th (Lightning @ Detroit Red Wings, Bucs hosting Atlanta Falcons).
The full schedule is below. What I've noted above is just tidbits. This is certainly worth more of a discussion.
OCTOBER 2014
|
THU OCT 9, 2014 |
PANTHERS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT OCT 11, 2014 |
SENATORS |
LIGHTNING |
7:00 PM |
SN1 |
|||
|
MON OCT 13, 2014 |
CANADIENS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
SN1 |
|||
|
TUE OCT 14, 2014 |
DEVILS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT OCT 18, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
CANUCKS |
10:00 PM |
CBC |
|||
|
MON OCT 20, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
OILERS |
9:30 PM |
||||
|
TUE OCT 21, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
FLAMES |
9:00 PM |
||||
|
FRI OCT 24, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
JETS |
8:00 PM |
||||
|
SAT OCT 25, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
WILD |
8:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE OCT 28, 2014 |
COYOTES |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
THU OCT 30, 2014 |
FLYERS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
NOVEMBER 2014 |
|||||||
|
DATE |
VISITOR |
HOME |
TIME (ET) |
||||
|
SAT NOV 1, 2014 |
CAPITALS |
LIGHTNING |
7:00 PM |
FX-CA |
|||
|
THU NOV 6, 2014 |
FLAMES |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT NOV 8, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
BLUE JACKETS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
SUN NOV 9, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
RED WINGS |
6:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE NOV 11, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
BLACKHAWKS |
8:30 PM |
||||
|
THU NOV 13, 2014 |
SHARKS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT NOV 15, 2014 |
ISLANDERS |
LIGHTNING |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
MON NOV 17, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
RANGERS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE NOV 18, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
ISLANDERS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
THU NOV 20, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
MAPLE LEAFS |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT NOV 22, 2014 |
WILD |
LIGHTNING |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
WED NOV 26, 2014 |
RANGERS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT NOV 29, 2014 |
SENATORS |
LIGHTNING |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
DECEMBER 2014 |
|||||||
|
DATE |
VISITOR |
HOME |
TIME (ET) |
||||
|
MON DEC 1, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
RANGERS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE DEC 2, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
SABRES |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
THU DEC 4, 2014 |
SABRES |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT DEC 6, 2014 |
BLUE JACKETS |
LIGHTNING |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE DEC 9, 2014 |
CAPITALS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
THU DEC 11, 2014 |
HURRICANES |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT DEC 13, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
CAPITALS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
MON DEC 15, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
PENGUINS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE DEC 16, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
FLYERS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
FRI DEC 19, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
DEVILS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
SAT DEC 20, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
ISLANDERS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE DEC 23, 2014 |
PENGUINS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT DEC 27, 2014 |
HURRICANES |
LIGHTNING |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
MON DEC 29, 2014 |
MAPLE LEAFS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
WED DEC 31, 2014 |
LIGHTNING |
SABRES |
6:00 PM |
||||
|
JANUARY 2015 |
|||||||
|
DATE |
VISITOR |
HOME |
TIME (ET) |
||||
|
FRI JAN 2, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
PENGUINS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
SUN JAN 4, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
SENATORS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE JAN 6, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
CANADIENS |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
FRI JAN 9, 2015 |
SABRES |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
MON JAN 12, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
FLYERS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE JAN 13, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
BRUINS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
THU JAN 15, 2015 |
OILERS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT JAN 17, 2015 |
AVALANCHE |
LIGHTNING |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE JAN 20, 2015 |
CANUCKS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
TUE JAN 27, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
HURRICANES |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
THU JAN 29, 2015 |
RED WINGS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT JAN 31, 2015 |
BLUE JACKETS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
FEBRUARY 2015 |
|||||||
|
DATE |
VISITOR |
HOME |
TIME (ET) |
||||
|
TUE FEB 3, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
BLUES |
8:00 PM |
||||
|
THU FEB 5, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
STARS |
8:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT FEB 7, 2015 |
KINGS |
LIGHTNING |
5:00 PM |
||||
|
SUN FEB 8, 2015 |
DUCKS |
LIGHTNING |
5:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE FEB 10, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
PREDATORS |
8:00 PM |
||||
|
THU FEB 12, 2015 |
BLUES |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SUN FEB 15, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
SHARKS |
8:00 PM |
||||
|
MON FEB 16, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
KINGS |
10:30 PM |
||||
|
WED FEB 18, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
DUCKS |
10:00 PM |
||||
|
SAT FEB 21, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
COYOTES |
8:00 PM |
||||
|
SUN FEB 22, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
AVALANCHE |
6:00 PM |
||||
|
FRI FEB 27, 2015 |
BLACKHAWKS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
DATE |
VISITOR |
HOME |
TIME (ET) |
||||
|
SUN MAR 1, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
PANTHERS |
5:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE MAR 3, 2015 |
SABRES |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
THU MAR 5, 2015 |
MAPLE LEAFS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT MAR 7, 2015 |
STARS |
LIGHTNING |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE MAR 10, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
CANADIENS |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
THU MAR 12, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
BRUINS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
SAT MAR 14, 2015 |
JETS |
LIGHTNING |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
MON MAR 16, 2015 |
CANADIENS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
FRI MAR 20, 2015 |
RED WINGS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SUN MAR 22, 2015 |
BRUINS |
LIGHTNING |
5:00 PM |
||||
|
TUE MAR 24, 2015 |
PANTHERS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
THU MAR 26, 2015 |
PREDATORS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT MAR 28, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
RED WINGS |
2:00 PM |
||||
|
MON MAR 30, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
CANADIENS |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
TUE MAR 31, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
MAPLE LEAFS |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
APRIL 2015 |
|||||||
|
DATE |
VISITOR |
HOME |
TIME (ET) |
||||
|
THU APR 2, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
SENATORS |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT APR 4, 2015 |
LIGHTNING |
PANTHERS |
7:00 PM |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
THU APR 9, 2015 |
DEVILS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||
|
SAT APR 11, 2015 |
BRUINS |
LIGHTNING |
7:30 PM |
||||