Founded in 1992, the Tampa Bay Lightning are definitely not located in an area most people would associate with ice hockey. Playing their games in the St Pete Times Forum, the Lightning are named after an area that is composed of a number of cities. The Tampa Bay area describes the cities and town that surround the body of water by the same name.
Since their founding, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been to the playoffs five times, making it all the way to a Stanley Cup win in 2004. They have two Division championships and one Conference Championship to their credit.
Supporting and cheering on their favorite team, the Tampa Bay Lightning Girls, the Bolt Brigade, and ThunderBug the mascot can be found at home games and throughout the community at various events. The Lightning Girls are known for their fantastic dance routines performed in the stands while the Bolt Brigade does its own performances, waving flags and showing off their talents in the hopes of getting the crowd pumped up for their favorite team.
ThunderBug is an anthropomorphic lightning bug weighing in at about 284 pounds. Aside from his performances at games, and the silly antics he entertains fans with, ThunderBug is also active in the community making appearances throughout the year and participating in the team’s charitable efforts.
The home of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the 19,758 seat St Pete Times Forum. Previously known as the Ice Palace, the arena was constructed to replace the smaller and older Expo Hall. When the Lightning are not playing home games, the arena is used to host various other events. The local arena football team calls the Times Forum home, and events from rodeos to concerts have been hosted there.
In the community, the Tampa Bay Lightning are active in helping those less fortunate. They host various events such as the Rink of Dreams and youth hockey camps, and advocate educational excellence as well as an active lifestyle in the youth of the area. They are also active in helping raise awareness and funds in the fight against cancer. The Lightning Foundation collects donations, raises money, and donates players’ time to various causes around the area. They even have items for sale that help to raise the funds they need to help.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have become an important part of the Tampa Bay community. On the ice they provide great entertainment for fans of all ages. Off the ice they provide help and understanding to members of the community who need it. In all, central Florida is lucky to have such a team in their midst and the Lightning have earned the respect and gratitude of their fans and neighbors.
2009-10 Tampa Bay Lightning
After finishing 2nd to the last in the Division last season, Season Ticket Holders are expecting much more from their beloved Lightning. The team took the interim tag off of coach Tocchet, signing him to a multiyear contract.
The 2009 NHL Entry Draft provided the franchise the opportunity to select Victor Hedman of the Swedish Elite League with the 2nd overall pick. Through trades, the Lightning had a second 1st round pick, the 29th overall selection which they used to sign Carter Ashton.
In free agency, the team also made a number of signings, most notably Mattias Ohlund, goalie Antero Niittymaki and left winger Alex Tanguay. They also claimed Nate Thompson off of waivers.
The team is currently in 8th place in the NHL Eastern Conference with a 26-21-11 record.
Previous Seasons
The fans who lined up for Tampa Bay Lightning tickets last season got a Stanley Cup performance for their efforts. Can the Lightning strike twice and bring The Cup back again? The Lightning face some obstacles. Golaie Nikolai Khabibulin no longer mans the net at the St. Pete Times Forum and that means the Lightning will need big time output from John Grahame and Sean Burke. Still, Tampa Bay can still throw Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards at the opposition and the essence of the Stanley Cup squad is still together. In a year of huge changes, that consistency can pay off big time for the fans who line up their Tampa Bay Lightning tickets early.
Who would have believed that ice hockey, a sport widely seen in the north, could find a home in sunny Florida? That's precisely what happened when the NHL, looking to widen its national appeal, awarded a franchise to the city of Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay Lightning thrilled Tampa with a home victory against the Chicago Blackhawks in their first game, then finished the season at 23-54-7, not great but respectable for an expansion team.
The Lightning increased their win total to 30 in their second year, but suffered along with the rest of the NHL as 1994-95 brought a strike to the league and the Lightning ended up in 6th place. Heading into 1995-96, the Lightning were hoping for good things to happen and they did. Tampa Bay put up their best numbers ever, grabbing a playoff spot with a record of 38-32-12. As with most expansion clubs, the first trip to the playoffs ended unsuccessfully as the Philadelphia Flyers prevailed in a six games series.
The Tampa Bay Lightning returned to the NHL playoffs in 2003 and brought home a Stanley Cup in 2004. That 2003-04 championship season began with a seven game winning streak. The Lightning put Martin St. Louis on the ice and St. Louis responded by leading the NHL with 56 assist and 35 goals on the year, and winning the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP. The Lightning's resurgence and 46-21-8-6 record gave head coach John Tortorella the NHL Coach of the Year Award. Tortorella led the Lightning into the first round where they sent the New York Islanders packing after five games. Amazingly, the upstart Lightning finished the second round with a clean sweep of the fables Montreal Canadiens and headed for their first NHL Eastern Conference Finals.
The Eastern Conference Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers was a pitched battle. The Flyers took Games 1 and 4 while the Lightning claimed victories in Games 2 and 3. A home victory in Game 5 gave Tampa Bay a chance to close out the series but Philadelphia roared back in overtime to win Game 6. Tampa Bay jumped out to an early Game 7 lead and held on to earn a berth in their first Stanley Cup Finals where they made franchise history by bringing home the Stanley Cup after an exciting seven game series against the Calgary Flames.
Tampa Bay Lightning tickets brought Florida hockey fans the ultimate prize in hockey, a Stanley Cup. With the core of their team still intact, the Lightning are in good position to do it again in 2005-06. With the rest of the league in upheaval, keeping your guys together for another season means a lot, and the Lightning have an edge on the rest of the NHL. If they can get consistent play form goal, the Lightning may have the ticket to another Stanley Cup.
Tampa Bay has an extremely good chance to win the Southern Division. However, they are struggling financially after shelling out the big bucks in contracts to their star forwards (Lecavalier, Richards, St. Louis), losing talented goalie Nikolai Khabibulin in the process. The catch is that their success depends on their goaltending this season, if history comes into play - goaltenders Marc Denis and Johan Holmqvist had problems with consistency previously. It will be interesting for fans to see whether the stars live up to their salaries on the ice.
