With the 2021 season in the books, the Tampa Bay Lightning are looking towards the 2021-2022 season. The expansion draft is coming up on Wednesday night, July 21, followed by the NHL Entry Draft on July 23 and 24. Finally, there is free agency which starts on July 28.
In preparation for the start of the new season, the NHL announced preseason schedules for all 32 teams. The NHL is also expected to announce full 82 game schedules for every team on Thursday, July 22.
For the Lightning, the 2021-22 season will be interesting to say the least. Tampa Bay is coming off their second consecutive Stanley Cup Championship, but will look different, as some key pieces are going to end up elsewhere. The end goal remains the same, though: to make the playoffs, with a shot at winning three in a row.
The preseason will give us our first glance at the new-look Bolts. These games will feature a lot of prospects, hoping to crack the lineup for the first time. They’ll face stiff competition, as their opponents have deep prospect pools as well.
Now that we’ve established this, let’s dive into what the 2021-22 preseason schedule looks like. Dates are included, as is the location. Times are subject to change.
September 28: Lightning @ Carolina Hurricanes
The Bolts will kick off the preseason slate with a rematch of their 2021 second-round playoff series. Tampa Bay won in five games.
It will take place at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. The start time is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST.
While the Canes will lose a couple of players via free agency and to Seattle, they have a boatload of young talent. Martin Necas highlights the forward core and played well versus Tampa Bay in 2021. He could be joined by top prospects Seth Jarvis and Ryan Suzuki, as both are exempt from being selected by Seattle. Alex Nedeljkovic returns in goal, looking to build upon an impressive rookie season. Those young guys join key contributors like Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Brett Pesce, all still relatively young.
September 30: Nashville Predators @ Lightning
Next up, the Lightning return home for a game against a young Predators team that made a late run to the playoffs last season. The last time the two teams met was a 7-2 victory by the Preds on March 13, 2021.
This game will start at 7:00 PM EST.
As is the case with nearly every team, Nashville will lose a few players but have the prospects to fill those losses. Eeli Tolvanen and Mathieu Olivier both showed signs of promise last year and will only get better with more NHL playing time. Juuse Saros gets sole control of the net after Pekka Rinne announced his retirement after the season ended. Nashville also has veterans Mattias Ekholm, Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg returning.
October 1: Hurricanes @ Lightning
On a back-to-back and with three games in three nights, it’s likely the star players won’t play much for either team. This is the second time these teams will play one another in the preseason, so it’s possible to see some physicality between the two.
The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM EST.
October 2: Lightning @ Predators
Playing their third game in three nights, the Lightning will probably be tired. Keeping that in mind, this isn’t a game we’d draw many conclusions from. It will instead be a good time for young prospects to prove themselves, especially playing what might be an NHL-heavy lineup for the Preds.
The game is scheduled for 8:00 PM EST.
October 5: Lightning vs. Florida Panthers
In the first of three games against their cross-state rival, the Lightning will look to assert themselves physically. This is a rematch of their heated and, at times, nasty first-round series, won by the Bolts in six games.
The game will take place at the Amway Center in Orlando (where the Orlando Magic play), as part of the Lightning’s extension with their ECHL affiliate. It’s scheduled to start at 7:00 PM EST.
Coming off of a great season that resulted in a playoff appearance, the Florida Panthers return key contributors in Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe up front. Aaron Ekblad should be fully healed from a gruesome leg injury too, a great sign as he’ll be expected to help MacKenzie Weegar on the blue line. Sergei Bobrovsky will remain the starter but Spencer Knight is capable of stepping in at a moment’s notice.
October 7: Panthers @ Lightning
With one game already under their belt, this could get physical fast. These teams don’t like one another, as evidenced by the three games played prior to their first-round series.
The game will take place in Tampa and will start around 7:00 PM EST.
October 9: Lightning @ Panthers
Finally, these teams will play in Sunrise to close the preseason schedule. By this point, most cuts will have been made. As a result, there are going to be a lot of NHL regulars for both teams.
The game will take place at the BB&T Center in Sunrise and is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM EST.
So, there you have it: the 2021-22 Lightning preseason schedule. Which matchup intrigues you the most?