Game One: Tampa Bay Lightning (0-0) at Carolina Hurricanes (0-0)
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Location: Lenovo Center
TV/Streaming/Radio: ESPN+, HULU, SNP, 102.5 FM
Odds: Tampa Bay Lightning +135
Congratulations Tampa Bay Lightning fans. You’ve made it through a long, trying summer capped off by two extremely stressful weeks thanks to Helene and Milton. Now, for at least a couple of hours you can focus on hockey. The Lightning get their 2024-25 season underway tonight as they battle the ‘Canes in Raleigh. It’s not just the Lightning fans that are relieved to be watching hockey instead of the weather as a large portion of Carolina fans are still recovering from the effects of Helene.
Tonight’s game kicks off a season of change for the Lightning. Much like every off-season since 2020, the team has seen key players leave via trades or free agency. This summer was no different as Steven Stamkos signed with Nashville and Mikhail Sergachev was traded to Utah. Now the Bolts will take to the ice tonight with five new players in the line-up as they look to find a way back into the playoffs.
The playoffs are not made on night one, but there are some things that the Lightning coaching staff would like to see that will make them feel better about their chances.
- How does Jake Guenztel mesh with the top line? The Bolts eased him into the pre-season with just 26:48 of 5v5 time in two games. While he’s been taking reps on the top line throughout training camp, there will still be a feeling-out period at game speed.
- Scoring for and against at 5v5. The Lightning’s biggest issue last season was the inability to keep the puck out of the net at 5v5. They allowed 190 5v5 goals last season, the four teams that allowed more goals all finished out of the playoffs.
- Will the Hedman/Moser pairing work out? JJ Moser is getting used to a new system and playing on his off-side at the same time. Hedman is playing with yet another new partner. While they have skills that, in theory, mesh well together, what works on paper won’t necessarily work on the ice.
- How much will Conor Geekie play tonight? It is looking like the 20-year-old will make his NHL debut tonight, but will Coach Cooper play him sparingly?
The off-season work is done. Now it’s time to see what kind of team Julien BriseBois put together. Carolina, who had their own line-up shak-up, will be a pretty good test.
Potential Lines
Tampa Bay Lightning Potential Lines
Forwards
Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Nick Paul
Mitchell Chaffee- Luke Glendening – Zemgus Girgensons
Conor Sheary – Conor Geekie – Cam Atkinson
Defense
Victor Hedman – JJ Moser
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg- Nick Perbix
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
Carolina Hurricanes Potential Lines
Forwards
Jack Roslovic – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook – Jordan Staal – William Carrier
Eric Robinson – Jack Drury – Jackson Blake
Defense
Jaccob Slavin – Brent Burns
Dmitry Orlov – Jalen Chatfield
Shayne Gostisbehere – Sean Walker
Goaltender
Frederik Andersen
Pyotr Kochetkov