Another preseason game down and another loss in the books. Good thing these don’t really count. The Tampa Bay Lightning went down to South Florida and dropped a 3-2 decision to the Florida Panthers on a late Brandon Montour power play goal. Nick Paul and Vlad Namestnikov scored for the Lightning who are now 0-4 on the preseason with just four total goals scored.
It’s not great, but it’s not the end of the world. Last night was the first game where most of their starters played together and they had a decent game. Andrei Vasilevskiy made his first appearance in the preseason and stopped 38 of 41 shots. Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Ross Colton, and Cal Foote all recorded points and Foote even got into a little scuffle. Cole Koepke played 11:21 of ice time and while he didn’t record a shot, he did pick up three hits.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon in the final preseason tune-up for both sides.
Lightning / NHL News
Lightning’s Mikhail Sergachev exits exhibition game against Panthers [Tampa Bay Times]
The one thing you don’t want to see happen is for the big time players to get hurt. Sergachev played less than six minutes before leaving with an undisclosed injury. Coach Cooper was cagey on the status of Sergy, deflecting any answers until he sees how the young defenseman feels today.
Lightning blue line undergoing reconstruction with a daunting blue print [Lightning Insider]
If Sergachev’s injury is more than just a minor inconvenience, the remaking of the blue line could be an even bigger project than we were expecting.
How many points will Nikita Kucherov score this season [Raw Charge]
As many as needs.
How fast, young defensemen are changing the NHL [ESPN]
Lightning fans are familiar with a couple of names on this list having watched firsthand as Adam Fox and Cale Makar skated up and down the ice in the playoffs. Sergachev does get a brief mention.
Hockey Nova Scotia is formally suspending transfer of participant assessment fees to Hockey Canada for the upcoming season. This comes on the heels of Hockey Quebec announcing the same decision. With sponsors pulling out and provincial federations holding back their money it won’t take long for Hockey Canada to make the changes they needed to make months ago.
Members of our board of directors have been closely monitoring the actions of Hockey Canada in recent months and have expressed concerns to the national governing body during this period of time.
In their latest step, the board met today for an emergency meeting. pic.twitter.com/wCT5zBH3br
— Hockey Nova Scotia (@HockeyNS) October 6, 2022
Good luck to the Tampa Bay Rays as they begin their quest for World Series glory in Cleveland. For all of the playoff action, follow our friends over at www.draysbay.com .
