The Bolts Start Slow
Week Two Recap || 2025-26 NHL Season || Tampa Bay Lightning
Bolts Breakdown
The Lightning played 4 games this past week and received mostly disappointing results. To pour salt in the wounds, the Bolts also met with the injury bug along the way. It was a dark week for Lightning hockey, but brighter days are coming.
Let’s break it down.
Game 3 — (TB Lightning at Boston Bruins):
Last Monday, the Bolts traveled to Boston to meet their division rivals in an afternoon matchup. Despite seeing blips of strong hockey play (last week), they were 0-2 on the season and found themselves in a deep hole. Their play was subpar in every way, and they knew it.
Things needed to change for this third game. Thankfully, the Bolts surged early to take a commanding two-goal lead heading into the first intermission.
Cirelli scored both goals, each goal assisted by his new linemates, Jake Guentzel & Gage Goncalves. I’ve compared Goncalves’s vision & work ethic to Kucherov’s before (read it here); here’s what I mean when I draw that comparison:
Goncalves sees the ice so well. He knew Guentzel was trailing him, so he delivered a crisp, right-on-the-tape, across-the-ice pass, splitting the defense and opening the play for Cirelli to tap the puck into the empty net. We’ve seen Kucherov accomplish similar feats countless times; clearly, Goncalves has been learning from the master!
After the intermission, up 2-0, Yanni Gourde scored his second goal of the year following two incredible plays by JJ Moser & Pontus Holmberg. Moser stepped up to hold the zone, chipping the puck towards the net; Holmberg received the puck, made one deke towards his backhand, then spun around to deliver a pass across the crease for an awaiting Yanni Gourde. Gourde buried the puck into the back of the net as the distant thunder in the stands erupted in delight.
It was a truly beautiful goal, one we hope to see more often as fans. The Bolts were rolling and in complete control of play, but lots of time remained. Ultimately, three goals proved not enough. Pontus Holmberg scored his first goal in a Lightning sweater a few minutes later to bring the Bolts to 4, ensuring there’d be no comeback for the Bruins.
The Lightning defended the late push by Boston with grit and determination. As a fan, though, it certainly felt like the game was slipping away. We were up by three goals at one point, yet the Bruins battled back and were within one goal. Goaltender Jonas Johansson made several incredible saves to keep the Bolts ahead. Leading by one, the Bolts were put to the test.
The Bruins had one-timer opportunities & breakaway opportunities; the lead was not safe. With the goalie pulled, the Bruins even blocked Brandon Hagel’s empty net attempt to stay alive in the game.
Finally, after what felt like ages, the horn sounded: the Lightning win! 4-3 final.
Time On Ice:
JJ Moser led the Bolts with 24:23 TOI (first time this season a defensemen other than Hedman has led the team).
Victor Hedman (24:10 TOI) and Ryan McDonagh (22:57 TOI) were right behind him.
Shots On Net:
Yanni Gourde & Brayden Point led the team in shots on net with 5 & 4 respectively.
Hits:
Erik Cernak & JJ Moser each laid 3 hits.
Emil Lilleberg, Yanni Gourde, Curtis Douglas, Conor Geekie, and Anthony Cirelli all laid 2 of their own.
Blocked Shots:
Erik Cernak blocked 4 shots, Brandon Hagel blocked 3, and Victor Hedman blocked 2 shots to lead the team.
Bolts Breakdown’s Three Stars:
1st - TBL F Anthony Cirelli (2G, 2 Hits, 20:43 TOI)
2nd - TBL G Jonas Johansson (30 Saves, .909 SV%)
3rd - TBL F Pontus Holmberg (First Lightning Goal, 1A)
Game 4 — (TB Lightning at Washington Capitals):
Ripe off the first victory of the season, the Bolts traveled to the nation’s capital to face Washington. It was a game that felt like defense was the priority for the Bolts.
Jake Guentzel scored as the first period’s only goal, but the Capitals scored early in the second to tie the game. Similarly, Brayden Point’s 3rd period goal was counteracted by Washington’s tying goal three minutes later.
It was a physical, chippy game with plenty of forechecking, backchecking, and blocked shots. The game needed overtime to settle the draw.
WSH forward Dylan Strome beat Brayden Point in the opening faceoff, and the Lightning never touched the puck again. The Capitals held possession for 1:19 before burying a cross-crease pass that never should’ve gotten through.
I credit Vasilevskiy in stealing a point in the standings here. He played phenomenally, keeping us alive several times, when ultimately, we should’ve lost in regulation.
Time On Ice:
JJ Moser led the Bolts with 25:26 TOI (second game in a row).
Ryan McDonagh (24:41 TOI) and Victor Hedman (24:04 TOI) were second and third.
Shots On Net:
Brandon Hagel led the team in shots on net with 4.
No other Lightning player had more than 2.
Hits:
Erik Cernak, Conor Geekie, & Curtis Douglas each had 2 hits to lead the Bolts.
Blocked Shots:
Victor Hedman blocked 4 shots, leading the Lightning.
Erik Cernak blocked 3 shots.
Bolts Breakdown’s Three Stars:
1st - WSH F Tom Wilson (1G, 2A, 3 hits)
2nd - WSH D Jakob Chychrun (1 GWG)
3rd - TBL G Andrei Vasilevskiy (25 saves, .893 SV%)
Highlights:
Jake Guentzel Goal (1-0 TB):
Brayden Point Goal (2-1 TB):
Washington’s Overtime Winner (3-2 WSH):
Photos:
Game 5 — (TB Lightning at Detroit Red Wings):
The Lightning had three days off before hitting the road again — this time to visit Detroit. While the Lightning ultimately dropped this game in overtime — again — it was the best game the Lightning played all season. They played a smart, defensive game, focused on simple hockey.
It ultimately took a late push and a game-tying, from-the-point shot from JJ Moser to tie the game, rescuing another point for the Bolts in the standings. All in all, though, the Bolts played a strong game.
The result — another overtime loss for the Bolts — baffles me. The Lightning have no lost 7 of the last 8 overtime games.
Thankfully, this match was different from the Washington game prior; the Lightning actually held possession momentarily, and generated good scoring chances. In fact, the best chance for the Bolts came seconds before they ultimately lost the game. Victor Hedman was standing in front of the goal, looking at the vacated half of the net, but he missed the pass which ricocheted around the boards and led to a breakaway opportunity for Detroit. They buried their chance; game over, 2-1 Detroit.
Time On Ice:
Victor Hedman led the Bolts with 26:12 TOI (his highest total of the season).
Jake Guentzel (24:56 TOI) & Ryan McDonagh (22:16 TOI) were second and third on the team.
Shots On Net:
Jake Guentzel led the team in shots on net with 5.
Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, Jack Finley, Mitchell Chaffee & Oliver Bjorkstrand all managed 3 shots on net, too.
Hits:
Conor Geekie, & Emil Lilleberg led the Bolts with 3 hits each.
Blocked Shots:
Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak, Gage Goncalves, & Conor Geekie blocked 2 shots each to lead the Bolts.
Bolts Breakdown’s Three Stars:
1st - DET G John Gibson (31 saves, .969 SV%)
2nd - TBL G Andrei Vasilevskiy (29 Saves, .935 SV%)
3rd - TBL F Jake Guentzel (24:56 TOI, 5 shots)
Highlights:
JJ Moser Game-Tying Goal:
Game 6 — (Lightning at Blue Jackets):
The final game of the week, and the final game of the four-game roadtrip, the Lightning traveled to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Blue Jackets. Coming off back-to-back overtime losses, the pressure was on for the Bolts.
As Lightning fans, we’re used to seeing the Bolts respond well. It’s rare to experience letdown after letdown after letdown. So, it was very surprising to see the Bolts fall flat on their face to end the roadtrip. The game in Columbus featured a porous Lightning defensive group and a shot-adverse forward group; together, the combo managed to blow a 2-1 second period lead, and failed to spark the ignition to tie the game late.
The game ended in regulation with the Blue Jackets on top, 3-2.
One of the lone bright spots in this game was backup goaltender Jonas Johansson. Though the defense left him out to dry, he stood tall and gave the Bolts a chance to earn some points. Kuddos to JJ!
Time On Ice:
Victor Hedman led the Bolts with 24:23 TOI.
Brandon Hagel & Anthony Cirelli were tied for second on the team with 23:06 TOI.
Shots On Net:
Jake Guentzel shot the puck 7 times on net.
Anthony Cirelli hit the net 4 times.
Together, their 11 shots accounted nearly half of the Bolts team-wide total.
Hits:
Jack Finley led the Bolts with 3 hits.
Emil Lilleberg & Darren Raddysh had 2 hits each.
Blocked Shots:
Victor Hedman blocked 3 shots each to lead the Bolts.
Emil Lilleberg blocked 2 shots of his own.
Bolts Breakdown’s Three Stars:
1st - TBL G Jonas Johansson (28 saves, .903 SV% — the only reason the Bolts were competitive)
2nd - CBJ F Kirill Marchenko (1 GWG, 5 shots)
3rd - TBL F Jake Guentzel (1A, 7 shots)
Highlights:
McDonagh’s 82nd Career Goal:
Anthony Cirelli’s 127th Career Goal:
Standings:
Last week, the Lightning were 0-2 and needed to win six of the next eight games to stay on playoff pace -- or just get to 12 points somehow.
Click here to understand playoff pace.
Well, the Bolts collected 4 points this week, and they have 4 games remaining in the first 10-game segment. So, doing the math, if the Bolts want to stay on pace for the playoffs, they’ll need to win these next four games.
If the Lightning fail to succeed in that goal, they can always make up ground in future segments. Again, the goal is to get to 96 points through 80 games — 12 points every 10 games — we can have 8 points through the first 10 if we get 16 points in the next 10.
Here’s a picture of the current Atlantic Division Standings:
Our beloved Tampa Bay Lightning hold the rear of the division — last place through 6 games played.
The Week Ahead:
This week will serve as a reset for the Lightning. They return to game action on Thursday night after having four full days to recover and practice. Hopefully, the break will give the Lightning a chance to fix whatever illness is plaguing them. Another back-to-back set follows Thursday’s game as the Ducks & Golden Knights visit the Bolts at Benchmark over the weekend.
Thursday: Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning (7pm).
Saturday: Anaheim Ducks at Tampa Bay Lightning (5pm).
Sunday: Golden Knights at Tampa Bay Lightning (5pm).
Milestones:
This Past Week:
Yanni Gourde scored in Monday’s afternoon contest against the Bruins for his 203rd career point in a Lightning sweater — this puts him in the top 20 point producers in Lightning history.
Pontus Holmberg reached the 50 point mark in his NHL career. He scored 50 points in 162 career games played (scored two points in Monday’s afternoon game against Boston).
This Upcoming Week:
Victor Hedman currently sits at 799 career points. When he records his next point, he will become the 19th defensemen in NHL history to reach the 800 points mark. Erik Karlsson (PIT) & Brent Burns (COL) are the only active defensemen with 800 NHL points.
Nikita Kucherov is currently at 997 career NHL points. When he accomplishes the 1,000 point feat, he’ll become the 101st player in NHL history to do so.
Brandon Hagel is 2 points away from 300 career points.
Yanni Gourde is 1 point away from 350.
Anthony Cirelli is 4 points away from 300 career points — he currently sits 13th in scoring in franchise history. The 300-point mark will tie him at 12th with Lightning legend Brian Bradley.
Erik Cernak will play in his 450th career game on Sunday, Lord willing.
Team Statistics:
The Lightning are currently the 10th best power play and the 5th best penalty kill.
The Lightning are last place in faceoff percentage in the league.
The Lightning are 30th for shots/game.
The Lightning are 29th in shots against/game — meaning, they’re allowing the 4th most shots per game.
The Lightning are 22nd in goals for/game.
The Lightning are 23rd in goals against/game.
The Season Leaders:
Goals:
Anthony Cirelli (3)
Point, Kucherov, McDonagh, & Gourde (2)
Assists:
Jake Guentzel & Victor Hedman (5)
Brayden Point (3)
Points:
Jake Guentzel (6)
Victor Hedman & Brayden Point (5)
Shots:
Jake Guentzel (21)
Brandon Hagel (15)
Brayden Point (11)
Plus/Minus:
Pontus Holmberg (+3)
Oliver Bjorkstrand (+2)
Max Crozier (+2)
Injury Updates:
Nikita Kucherov has missed the previous two games with illness. The expectation is that he’ll be ready to go for Thursday’s game.
Max Crozier was injured in the first period of Tuesday night’s matchup against the Capitals. He was placed on IR, which means he won’t be eligible for a return till after this week.
Zemgus Girgensons & Nick Paul were both seen skating on the ice in practice this week. Head Coach Jon Cooper had no new updates regarding their condition. Girgensons remains “week-to-week”, and Paul continues to aim for “November” as his return to game action.
Roster Changes/Line Combos:
The injuries have caused some shifting in the Lightning’s line rushes. Here’s what the Bolts have been putting on the ice (without Kucherov & Crozier):
Guentzel - Point - Goncalves
Hagel - Cirelli - Geekie
Bjorkstrand - Gourde - Holmberg
Chaffee - Finley - Douglas
Hedman - Moser
McDonagh - Cernak
Lilliberg - Raddysh
The Lightning recalled two players from the Syracuse Crunch as a precaution (defensemen Steven Santini & forward Scout Sabourin). Both players have already been reassigned to the AHL.
Bullet Point Breakdown:
The Bolts went 1-1-2 on the week, moving to 1-3-2 on the season. They beat the Bruins 4-3, lost to the Capitals 3-2 OT, lost to the Red Wings 2-1 OT, and lost to the Blue Jackets 3-2.
The Lightning are currently in last place in the Atlantic Division.
The Lightning play on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday this week.
Nikita Kucherov has been sick, but should be okay.
Max Crozier was injured last week and will not play in any games this week.
Weeklong Summary:
The Lightning struggled this week…we lost 3 of the 4 games we played, and looked relatively weak in the lone victory we had. Generally speaking, our defense failed to clear the zone while also failing to remove players from the slot, and our forwards were hesitant in shooting the puck and lazy in their forechecking.
To me, it all boils down to effort. This group of Lightning players seem too confident or too fatigued…either way, the effort they give slips which subsequently allows the games to slip. I’m confident they’ll figure it out; this upcoming week will be much better.
During the week, Nikita Kucherov missed two games due to illness, and defensemen Max Crozier was injured and placed on IR. Crozier will miss all of this week and then be reevaluated.
Recent Trivia:
Very informative yet again!
Love the layout of the weekly wrap articles, very well done!