Lightning Round: Two tributes and a shutout

Last night was special for a variety of reasons. Obviously the Tampa Bay Lightning played their first ever game against the new expansion franchise Seattle Kraken, but many fans will probably remember it for other reasons as the Lightning paid tribute to two very special people related to the organization.

Before the game the Lightning celebrated the long career of Rick Peckham, a former play-by-play broadcaster, who retired last year after working for 24 years with the Lightning. Just a week ago Peckham was also awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Lightning named the broadcast booths in the press box after Rick Peckham as another gesture. Peckham also received a Lightning jersey with No. 24 (for 24 years spent with the team) signed by the entire team from Steven Stamkos. From the Lightning’s owner Jeff Vinik Peckham received an engraved putter and an all-expenses-paid trip to California’s Pebble Beach.

The Lightning also paid tribute to Yanni Gourde, who played in 310 regular season games and 69 playoff games, winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with the team in 2020 and 2021. Before the game Gourde received a championship ring for the second Stanley Cup win.

You can hear from the following video that Gourde became a very special player for the Lightning fanbase during his stint with the team.

The Lightning’s head coach Jon Cooper also admitted that he got a little bit sentimental during Yanni Gourde’s tribute.

Speaking of the game, the Lightning earned a very confident win over the Kraken, shutting out their opponent for the second game in a row [Raw Charge]

More and more, the Lightning is solidifying how they need to play to be a team to watch in the postseason. Throughout the entire game, the Lightning dictated the pace for large stretches of time. It was apparent for the entirety of the first period. While they didn’t generate many shot attempts in the second, they effectively limited Seattle’s offensive pressure.

That victory was also the 200th regular-season win for Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Lightning Links

The Syracuse Crunch defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after a three-goal third period. Remi Elie, Otto Somppi, Gabriel Dumont and Daniel Walcott scored the goals for Syracuse.

Before the game the Crunch named Gabriel Dumont as their captain, Daniel Walcott and Fredrik Claesson will serve as alternate captains.

The Crunch released forward Tristin Langan from his PTO and he returned to the Orlando Solar Bears. The Solar Bears also claimed forward Conor Landrigan off waivers from the South Carolina Stingrays.

Hockey News

The first gameday after Thanksgiving was full of action. Here’s a full report:

The next Lightning’s opponent Minnesota Wild defeated the Winnipeg Jets 7-1. The WIld forward Kirill Kaprizov has 11 points over his last five games.

Alex Ovechkin scored hat-trick against the Florida Panthers and became the oldest player in the Washington Capitals history to do it.

Reportedly the Ottawa Senators are planning to put their goaltender Matt Murray on waivers. He didn’t play against the Anaheim Ducks last night.