The 2024–25 schedule was cancelled by the NHL in the midst of the free agency signings. As in previous years, the social media teams have enjoyed themselves somewhat throughout the reveal. This season, the Lightning adopted a Wes Anderson motif.
June 26, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA: Following their game against the Colorado Avalanche in game six of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena, the players of the Tampa Bay Lightning wait to give a salute to their supporters before heading off the ice. Credit Required: USA TODAY Sports/Geoff Burke
The official schedule, straight from the Tampa Bay Lightning, is as follows:
Starting on October 11th, the season will conclude on April 17th, also on the road in New York. The Bolts will enjoy a fun-filled six months of hockey as they attempt to qualify for the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.
It seems to be a reasonable timetable at first. With the league taking a well-earned vacation in February for the 4 Nations Face-Off, nothing too outrageous or out of the ordinary. A few more back-to-back games than most teams would like to play result from the league’s preference to dissolve rather than play fewer than 82 games in a season. It also provides a nice little break for the Bolts in February—at least for those who won’t be competing in the competition.
When it comes to back-to-backs, the Lightning begin the season with one when they play the Hurricanes in Carolina the next evening. This season, there will be eleven back-to-backs. Perhaps their biggest oddity is that they have two back-to-back back-to-back sets. On December 22 and 23, they have a home-and-home match with Florida right before Christmas. On the 28th and 29th, they will return to the ice to play the Rangers and the Canadians after receiving their presents and downing some eggnog protein shakes.
They begin a road trip later in the season on January 21 and 22, when they play Toronto and Montreal. They then have a few days off before concluding the trip on January 24 and 25 in Chicago and Detroit. Six of the 10 back-to-backs are played on the road, while three of them feature a home and away match. This year will be very busy for the equipment managers.
With 10 of the Bolts’ 15 games being played away from Amalie, January is the month with the most road games. Their vacation to California kicks off the month. They return for a home game before going on the road for three more games. The good news is that they don’t have any absurdly lengthy road trips; the biggest stretch is four games. They do have one home game in March surrounded by two three-game travels.
The first game of that stretch is scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City’s Delta Centre, and if all goes according to plan, I will be present to witness Mikhail Sergachev and his new colleagues on March 22.
After that trip, Sergachev will receive his video homage when The Utah Hockey Club visits Tampa for the first time on March 27. Naturally, October 28th, when Steven Stamkos and the Nashville Predators visit town, is the big return that has everyone marking off their calendars. On February 1st, Anthony Duclair will return, and on November 23rd, Matt Dumba will return, shortly followed by Calvin de Haan on November 25th.
The Lightning play 15 games in January, their busiest month, and only 8 games (6 at home) in February, their weakest month. The 4 Nations Face-Off, which is scheduled for February 12–20, gives the Bolts a few extra days off. For a little physical respite, the players who choose not to participate will have the dates 10–22 off.
The Lightning have 20 Saturday games, with half of them being played at home and the other half away. They play four of their ten Sunday games at home. They play four games on the road and one at home on Friday nights, so there isn’t a lot of action. Because the Bolts only play three times a season, Wednesday is the best night to organise an event if you have to miss too much hockey.
They now have nine games in the afternoon, including two road games against Detroit and Montreal in the afternoon. As per normal, a few of those times might vary depending on potential national television coverage.
When San Jose visits Amalie Arena on December 5, Macklin Celebrini, the top overall pick, will make his debut if he decides to turn pro. Connor Bedard, the rookie of the previous season, will be in the house on January 28. Meanwhile, on February 25, Connor McDavid, the other Connor, will be present. It seems unlikely that Alex Ovechkin will break the record in Tampa on any of his two visits on October 26 or November 27, but you never know. He has 41 goals to go to catch Wayne Gretzky. March 1st is the Lightning’s trip to Washington, and with Ovi, you never know when he might be ready.
Towards the end of the season, the Bolts play four of their final five games at home, all against teams in the Atlantic Division. Considering how close the division can be this year, those games could have a significant effect on the playoffs.
We’ll let you know when individual tickets go on sale, so stay tuned!
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