51 Facts About Tampa Bay Lightning

1.

Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida.

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2.

Tampa Bay Lightning have won three Stanley Cup championships: 2004,2020, and 2021.

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3.

Tampa Bay Lightning played their first preseason game in September 1992 against the Minnesota North Stars, and then turned heads later that preseason when Manon Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game, which made her the first woman to play in any of the major professional North American sports leagues.

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4.

Tampa Bay Lightning played for the Lightning against the St Louis Blues, and stopped seven of nine shots.

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5.

Rumors abounded as early as the team's second season that the Tampa Bay Lightning were on the brink of bankruptcy and that the team was part of a money laundering scheme for the yakuza.

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6.

Tampa Bay Lightning cleared most of the debt from the Kokusai Green era.

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7.

Tampa Bay Lightning then gave Demers complete control of hockey operations as both coach and general manager.

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8.

The Tampa Bay Lightning drafted Vincent Lecavalier first overall in 1998, a player who would be a cornerstone of the team for years to come.

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9.

Tampa Bay Lightning had not attended a game in some time because "this team broke my heart".

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10.

Still the Tampa Bay Lightning showed some signs of life, earning more than 60 points for the first time since 1997.

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11.

Brad Richards, who had 26 points in the post-season, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs; the Tampa Bay Lightning had won all 31 contests in which he had scored a goal since the opening of the season.

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12.

Only three years after their last of four consecutive seasons of 50 or more losses, and in only their 12th year of existence, the Tampa Bay Lightning became the southernmost team ever to win the Stanley Cup.

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13.

Tampa Bay Lightning were busy during the final weeks before the NHL's trade deadline, acquiring wingers Kyle Wanvig, Stephen Baby and defenseman Shane O'Brien.

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14.

Tampa Bay Lightning were active during the trade deadline, similar to the previous season.

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15.

However, after the trade deadline, the Tampa Bay Lightning fared no better than they had throughout the entire season.

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16.

Tampa Bay Lightning were the worst team on the road in the NHL, winning only 11 games.

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17.

Head coach John Tortorella was fired by the Tampa Bay Lightning following their worst season since Tortorella was hired.

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18.

The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired top round picks Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums from the Bruins.

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19.

Later that day, the Tampa Bay Lightning signed star winger Martin St Louis to a four-year, $22.

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20.

Tampa Bay played the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals.

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21.

The series went the full seven games, though the Tampa Bay Lightning were eliminated by a single goal, as the game was lost.

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22.

Tampa Bay Lightning won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for the second time in his career.

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23.

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced Jon Cooper would become the eighth head coach in franchise history.

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24.

However, Tampa Bay was eliminated in the first round, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in a four-game sweep.

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25.

On June 25,2014, the Tampa Bay Lightning agreed to terms with Ryan Callahan, signing him to a six-year, $34.

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26.

Tampa Bay eliminated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games in the first round of the playoffs before facing Montreal in the second round.

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27.

The Tampa Bay Lightning won the first three games of the series and had a chance to sweep the Canadiens; however, Montreal responded with wins in Games 4 and 5 to extend the series to a sixth game.

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28.

Tampa Bay won the sixth game of the series to eliminate the Canadiens and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2011, facing the New York Rangers.

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29.

The series then shifted to Tampa, where the Lightning had a come-from-behind overtime victory in Game 3 but lost Game 4 to even the series at two games apiece.

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30.

The Tampa Bay Lightning picked up their play at the beginning of 2016 and set the franchise record to nine consecutive wins on March 5,2016, when Alex Killorn scored with 42.

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31.

On March 26,2016, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced cornerstone defenseman Anton Stralman had suffered a fractured leg in their game against the New York Islanders at home.

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32.

The Tampa Bay Lightning ended up finishing second in the Atlantic Division and would face the third-seeded Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs.

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33.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were set to play against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals.

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34.

The Tampa Bay Lightning showcased their young talent with rookie Brayden Point and promising AHL call-ups Yanni Gourde and Jake Dotchin.

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35.

The Tampa Bay Lightning bounced back with this talent in the last third of the season, but it was not enough as they missed the playoffs by one point.

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36.

The Tampa Bay Lightning signed defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to a one-year contract, after his contract with the New York Rangers was bought out.

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37.

The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed centers Cedric Paquette and Brayden Point to two and three-year contracts, respectively.

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38.

Tampa Bay had only played 70 games when the NHL suspended the season on March 12,2020, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

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39.

Tampa Bay Lightning scored a goal on what was his only shot on goal of the series, as he did not take to the ice again following the end of the first period.

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40.

The 2020 Lightning held a parade of boats on the Hillsborough River rather than a traditional victory parade through the streets of the city, mainly to comply with COVID-19 regulations, but subsequent championship teams in Tampa have held similar parades even with those restrictions lifted.

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41.

The Tampa Bay Lightning would acquire defenseman Fredrik Claesson in another trade with the San Jose Sharks.

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42.

On February 26,2022, the Tampa Bay Lightning played their first outdoor game in franchise history against the host Nashville Predators in the 2022 NHL Stadium Series at Nissan Stadium.

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43.

Tampa Bay Lightning has continued to serve as a studio analyst during the games on Fox Sports Sun for both home and away games.

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44.

Tampa Bay Lightning won three Stanley Cups with the Canadiens from 1977 to 1979.

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45.

Original Tampa Bay Lightning jerseys featured simple stripes on the sleeves and tail, and contrasting shoulders—black shoulders over a white jersey, and white shoulders over the black—with the alternate logo.

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46.

The Tampa Bay Lightning began to integrate the new logo onto center ice, and even distributed free T-shirts with the simplified logo on February 4,2011, while still using the old Tampa Bay Lightning logo and uniforms.

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47.

On February 7,2019, the Tampa Bay Lightning unveiled a new black uniform, lacking any blue and white elements and featuring sublimated black and grey patterns on the sleeves, socks and back numbers.

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48.

Tampa Bay Lightning started singing the US national anthem for the team in 2013, and the Canadian in 2020.

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49.

Tampa Bay Lightning is accompanied by organist Krystof Srebrakowski, and is announced by PA announcer Paul Porter.

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50.

Tampa Bay Lightning mascot is a lightning bug named ThunderBug, who performs at games and makes appearances in the community.

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51.

The Tampa Bay Lightning Girls were a group of dancers who performed in the stands.

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