The Tampa Bay Lightning finished off 2025 with wins in five of their last seven games. December also marked a few individual milestones. Defenseman Darren Raddysh recorded his 100th NHL point. Another blueliner, J.J. Moser, got an eight-year contract extension. Maxim Groshev, who has been called up from the Syracuse Crunch a few times this season, finally made his NHL debut and collected his first NHL point. Anthony Cirelli was added to the 2026 Team Canada Olympic roster. Nikita Kucherov was named the NHL 1st Star of the week. And Jon Cooper coached his 1000th NHL game.
While the neighbors from Sunrise, the Florida Panthers, were getting ready for the 2026 NHL Winter Classic, the Bolts had to hit the road. It’s not the perfect part of the job, but after enjoying three days off with their families during Christmas, the Lightning flew to California.
On Dec. 31, the Bolts celebrated Jon Cooper’s 1000-game milestone with a 4-3 overtime win. The starting goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy, recorded an assist on the Darren Raddysh game-winning goal. Without much rest and the New Year’s fireworks, the Lightning handled the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 1, the first day of 2026. Nikita Kucherov collected three points and a goal, Brayden Point scored two goals, and Jake Guentzel, Anthony Cirelli, and Darren Raddysh recorded two points each.
The team didn’t lose any focus and completed the road trip with a 7-3 win against the San Jose Sharks. Nikita Kucherov celebrated his 20th goal of the season and a five-point game. It’s his 11th 20-goal season, passing Martin St. Louis for third-most in franchise history. Kucherov extended his point streak to six games and moved up to fourth place among the NHL skaters this season. He is also No. 4 in the race for the most assists this season with 39. In 37 games this season, the three-time Art Ross Trophy winner has 59 points (20 goals) and a plus/minus of +18. Raddysh scored his first NHL hat-trick in San Jose, which was immediately nicknamed Rad-trick by the team’s media.
The good news didn’t stop there. An NHL rookie, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, extended his contract with the Lightning for one year, worth $875K. Also, Jake Guentzel received a phone call from the USA Olympic Team general manager, Bill Guerin. The Bolts forward will represent his national team at the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy.
After a challenging start to the season, the Lightning are now leading the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference with 53 points, including a seven-game winning streak.