The Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes will open the season Friday night in Raleigh, N.C., with aspirations of again being among the elite teams in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
Still, there are significant differences for both clubs after roster shifts since the end of last season, in which the teams made the playoffs.
“You don’t know how it’s all going to shake out,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It has been a long time since we played a meaningful game.”
And the Tampa Bay squad has plenty on its mind as its awaits the season opener. Lightning coach Jon Cooper said his team was focused during practice this week on concerns about Hurricane Milton, which struck Florida’s Gulf Coast Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm and did substantial damage in the region.
In preparation, the Lightning camped out in Raleigh, fleeing from Florida and practicing in North Carolina since Tuesday.
As a result, opponents have become friends.
“You have to thank the Carolina Hurricanes for everything they did to help us,” Cooper said. “You have to love that about our league, that everybody is in it together, even though we’re going to beat each other up in a couple of days.”
Cooper said one of the best practices of the preseason took place this week, despite the distractions.
Tampa Bay could have center Jake Guentzel in the lineup, even though he hasn’t been a full participant in all practices this week due to an undisclosed injury. After finishing last season with the Hurricanes, who acquired him at the trade deadline in March, he was traded again following the season to the Canes for a third-round 2025 draft pick.
“He is all right,” Cooper said.
Carolina will have a new look at some positions on the blue line, with defenseman Sean Walker among the newcomers. Walker will be paired with Shayne Gostisbehere, who’s embarking on his second tour with the Hurricanes.
A season ago, the second-best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference belonged to the Hurricanes, who were 52-23-7 (111 points) and were eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the New York Rangers.
Tampa Bay was in the playoffs with a 45-29-8 mark (98 points), exiting with a first-round setback to the Florida Panthers.
For the Lightning, there’s a change in leadership with defenseman Victor Hedman becoming the captain. Longtime captain Steven Stamkos joined the Nashville Predators as a free agent.
The Hurricanes lost left winger Brendan Lemieux to an injury in the preseason finale.
“He got banged up in his last game of the preseason a little bit,” Brind’Amour said after practice Wednesday. “He’s going to be out for a little while.”
Jackson Blake is on board with a roster spot, and it’s expected the rookie forward out of North Dakota will take a role on the fourth line.
“He’s definitely a dynamic player and he plays with a little grit too, so that’s good,” Brind’Amour said. “He had a great preseason.”
The goalies for the opener likely will be Andrei Vasilevskiy for Tampa Bay and Frederik Andersen for Carolina.
The teams were scheduled to meet in a rematch Saturday night in Tampa, but the Lightning announced Thursday the game would be postponed until a later date as hurricane recovery continues.
–Field Level Media
