Tampa Bay Lightning

McKenna’s weekly NHL Mailbag will be open via Twitter Wednesday through Friday for the remainder of the 2018 NHL season and Stanley Cup Playoffs. To have an NHL related question featured in Hooked On Hockey Magazine tweet to @KMcKenna_tLT5 by using the hashtag #McKennasDigest.  The Calgary Flames have a new head coach, and three finalists have been named for the 2018 Vezina …

Seven months and three days ago the Tampa Bay Lightning were flying high, having captured the Eastern Conference crown and a berth into the 2015 Stanley Cup finals. Fast forward to now. The Bolts currently sit three points out of a playoff spot after losing three of their past five games inside the friendly confines of Amalie Arena. That includes …

The reigning Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning’s follow up campaign hasn’t exactly gone according to plan this season. Tampa has been battling the injury bug all year, with names like Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Cedric Paquette, Ryan Callahan, and Nikita Kucherov all having spent time on the injury list (some still are). When the Lightning are healthy, they are …

What a difference a year can make. Last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning shocked many in the hockey world by making it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals before falling short against the more experienced Chicago Blackhawks. Coming into the new season, hockey analysts everywhere had them predicted as being Atlantic Division champions and it wasn’t supposed to …

For the Tampa Bay Lightning, the 2015 offseason was much shorter than it’s been in previous years. The Bolts exceeded expectations by winning the Eastern Conference, yet fell a tad short in their quest to capture the greatest trophy in all of sports-Lord Stanley’s Cup. In 2015-16′ they hope to finish what they began last postseason. If that occurs, they’ll …

We’re baaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccccckkkk!!!!!! It’s hockey season again, folks! And boy, am I excited. But enough about me. We’re here to talk about one thing. And that’s the Tampa Bay Lightning. Say what you will about the success of last season (of which there was a great amount), but the end of it was heartbreaking. Losing to the freaking Chicago Blackhawks was the …

Sure, last season ended in crushing disappointment for the Tampa Bay Lightning. But winning wouldn’t be any fun if losing didn’t sting a little. And it’s not every year fans get to see their team make a run all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Like a certain former Bolt who we will discuss later, I think we will …

Pain. Despair. Heartbreak. Those are just a few of the emotions the Tampa Bay Lightning players, coaches and even fans felt on Monday night. Really, who can blame them? For over 100 games these guys had sacrificed their bodies all in the hopes of achieving their lifelong dream of raising Lord Stanley’s Cup. They came two wins away, but that …

“Celebrate good times, come on!” That’s one of the many songs likely running through the heads of Tampa Bay Lightning fans following Sunday night’s 5-3 win over the “big, bad” Boston Bruins. How bad? Put it this way, the Bruins had extended dominance over the Lightning. It had gotten to the point where some Lightning fans had forgotten what a …

What a difference one year can make. This time last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning were exactly where they are now, occupying a playoff spot. Home games at the Tampa Bay Times Forum (now renamed Amalie Arena) presented a playoff atmosphere, with fans showing their pride in many different ways. There was the small, yet vocal contingent which occupied section …

For the Tampa Bay Lightning, February presents an important test. Playing against Western Conference teams, many of whom are considered to be bigger and tougher, the Eastern Conference leading Lightning can make a statement by earning points in a good chunk of these games. So far, so good. It may be a relatively small sample size, but the Lightning have …

Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper seemed to choose his words very carefully when talking Saturday about defenseman Jason Garrison’s “lower-body” injury. From what I can surmise, it sounds like Garrison, one of four Tampa Bay defensemen who averages more than 20 minutes of ice time per game, could be out for an extended period of time. Here’s what he …

With the ignominious way that Evgeni Nabokov’s time in Tampa Bay ended, it’s nice to see that things appear to be ending on a high note for the 39-year-old goaltender. On Monday, the Bolts sent Nabokov back to the San Jose Sharks, where he was drafted in 1994, in a trade for future considerations.  He will have a press conference …

Tampa Bay Lightning fans have had so little to complain about this season that a major point of contention among them has come from an unlikely source: The Adventures of Evgeni Nabokov. I saw it on Twitter and Facebook fan groups. I even addressed it here. In reality, particularly the one where the Lightning sent Nabokov packing (and likely to his …

There’s a party going on out here A celebration to last throughout the years So bring your good times and your laughter too We’re going to celebrate your party with you. -Kool & The Gang   Birthdays always call for some type of celebration.  There’s usually a little cake, ice cream and fun to be had by all. In that …