Will the Tampa Bay Lightning have an electric season?

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For the past two seasons, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been close to getting a second Stanley Cup. In 2015, they got to the Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks, but fell in Game Six. In 2016, the team got to the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but lost in Game Seven. Getting close twice, the Lightning are bound to win the Stanley Cup soon, possibly even this season. This most recent offseason is a good look at how the Cup could make a visit to Florida soon.

Over the offseason, the Lightning have renewed contracts for star players such as Steven Stamkos, Ben Bishop, Nikita Kucherov, and several others. To add, Tampa Bay had 12 players and their head coach in the World Cup of Hockey. Team Canada, which Steven Stamkos played on, went on to win the World Cup.

The pre-season was also very interesting for Tampa Bay. They won three of their five preseason games. Most of the key players were playing in the World Cup, so The Lightning had to bring in a lot of minor league players from their AHL team, The Syracuse Crunch. It was a good chance for The Crunch players to make a good impression. Brayden Point was one who definitely one who stood out, making three goals during the preseason. Now, the twenty year old is on the same offensive line as Valtteri Filppula and Vladislav Namestnikov.

All of these factors definitely make Tampa Bay an impressive and dangerous team to all the other teams in the NHL. Palm Harbor University High School students are getting excited for the hockey season too.

PHU Freshman, Collin Easley, said, “I am really excited for the opening games, I hope they play well.”

PHU Senior, Tyler Marth, said, “I’m most excited to see Ondrej Palat play, because he is now in the same line as Stamkos and Drouin. With this line, he should be a more productive player.”

You can watch the Bolts on their way to victory this season on channels such as Fox Sports Sun and NBC. If you can’t get access to a T.V., you can download the NHL app or listen to 970 WFLA on the radio. Go Bolts!