Steven Stamkos is back. Stamkos set up the go-ahead goal in his return from a right knee injury and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-3 on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
It all begins for real tonight at Amalie Arena. The Tampa Bay Lightning open the 2017-18 season against the Florida Panthers, the first of four meetings between the two teams. For the Lightning, they seek a return to the playoffs after missing the post season by a single point last year. If they can avoid significant injuries to key players, always a big “if,” they have every reason to expect to be playing hockey well into the spring.
For some reason, it’s difficult to get excited about the World Baseball Classic. It occurs every two years during spring training when major league players are far from performing at their peak. The World Cup of Hockey, which begins Saturday, also takes place during training camp. It is there the similarities end. The very nature of athletic competition in a contact sport like hockey versus a non-contact sport like baseball almost guarantees a better product. This will not look like…
Between the Chicago Blackhawks‘ veteran poise and the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s young stars, the Stanley Cup Final will have no shortage of dynamic offensive talent playing on hockey’s biggest stage. The Blackhawks begin the final series in their quest for a third NHL championship in six seasons when they visit Amalie Arena on Wednesday to face the Lightning, who are going for the second Stanley Cup title in franchise history after streaking through the Eastern Conference bracket with a series…