Crunch Time For Montreal And Tampa Bay : January 08, 2012

It is true that a team can spark a good run of form at any point, and that nobody can be ruled out of the playoff race until they are...

Cory Stillman Announces Retirement From The NHL : September 11, 2011

Cory Stillman, who played for the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes last season, announced his retirement today. The two time Stanley Cup winner played 16 seasons in the NHL with 6...

Tampa Bay Lighting Double Season Ticket Sales : August 07, 2011

Tod Leiweke, CEO of the Tampa Bay Lightning said that over 10,000 season tickets have been sold for the 2011-2012 season. The increase could be due to the fact that...

tampa bay lightning History

The National Hockey League (NHL) team the Tampa Bay Lighting is based out of Tampa, Florida. The team plays in the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division. In 2003-2004 the Lightning won the Stanley Cup championship. The team is often called the Bolts. Their home games are played in Tampa at St. Pete Times Forum.

In 1995-1996, during the Lightning's fourth season, the team made it into the playoffs for the first time. The Philadelphia Flyers defeated them in six games in the first round. After years of financial and management struggles, the Lightning won their division in 2002-2003 behind a core of young players, including Fredrik Modin, Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier as well as goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin and captain Dave Andreychuk. They defeated the Washington Capitals in six games in the first round but were defeated by the New Jersey Devils in five games in the Conference Semifinals.

In 2003-2004, the Lighting finished with 106 points and won their division. Tampa Bay defeated the Calgary Flames in seven games to win the Stanley Cup. In 2006-2007, the Lightning finished second in their division and lost to the New Jersey Devils in six games in the Conference Quarterfinals. The Lightnings' latest playoff appearance came during the 2010-2011 season where they lost in the Conference Finals in seven games to the Boston Bruins.