Saturday’s highly-anticipated contest between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes at Amalie Arena has been postponed, due to the impact of Hurricane Milton.
The NHL announced they are postponing the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2024-25 home opener, with a makeup date to be determined later. Tampa Bay kicks off their season in Carolina tonight at the Lenovo Center.
Tragically, more than 20 people were killed by the effects of Hurricane Milton, with experts estimating over $30 billion worth of damages.
The hurricane ripped off the roof of Tropicana Field, the home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays. The NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers left home and traveled earlier than scheduled to New Orleans on Tuesday ahead of Sunday’s Week 4 road game against the Saints.
Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning were set to begin a three-game homestand against Carolina on Saturday, with contests against the Vancouver Canucks (Oct. 15) and Vegas Golden Knights (Oct. 17) to follow.
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So it remains to be seen if those contests will go on as scheduled, or if the league will have to postpone the next two Lightning home games. They begin a three-game road trip against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 19.
Tampa Bay Lightning Kick Off A New Era
2024-25 will mark the first season without Steven Stamkos in a Tampa Bay Lightning uniform in 17 years. The former captain, who led the Bolts to two Stanley Cup championships, departed to sign with the Nashville Predators in free agency.
With Stamkos leaving, the Lightning used that cash to sign former Pittsburgh Penguins star winger Jake Guentzel to a giant seven-year deal worth $63 million. A two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Guentzel is a seven-time 20-goal and four-time 30-goal scorer.
Tampa has been eliminated in the opening round of the postseason in back-to-back years. We’ll see if the roster shake-up will lead to better results this season.
