Matt Carle News

Anchorage's Nate Thompson and Matt Carle helped the United States collect the bronze medal Sunday at the World Hockey Championships.

Since the end of the regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been giving fans a chance to vote on their favorite players and moments of the 2012-13 Lightning season.

MAY 14: Tomas Kopecky of Slovakia and Matt Carle of USA battle for the puck during a match between Slovakia and USA - Martin Rose How's it going on the other side of the pond, for Lightning players and in the tournament as a whole? The Preliminary round of the IIHF World Championship ended Wednesday and quarterfinals begin Thursday in Stockholm, ... (more)

March 16, 2013; Tampa FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Radko Gudas against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period at Tampa Times Forum.

Matt Carle , Jeff Perty , and Ben Bishop of USA and Janis Sprukts of Latvia, May 5, 2013 in Helsinki, Finland - Martin Rose The IIHF's World Hockey Championships have been going on for one week now and, as always, there have been a few surprises.

Apr 24, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop prepares for a shot by the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Although the Tampa Bay Lightning struggled mightily this season, Nate Thompson and Matt Carle will have a chance to showcase their leadership skills.

Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishiop are two of five Lightning players & prospects in this year's IIHF Men's tournament.

Tomas Fleischmann scored the game-winning goal with 6:07 left to lift the Florida Panthers past the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 in the season finale for both teams.

From the beaches of Naples for training camp, Tampa Bay rode the wave of a 6-1 start, only to see the season crest early and come crashing down on Saturday as the Lightning finished the season sitting in 28th place.

Tomas Fleischmann scored the game-winning goal with 6:07 left to lift the Florida Panthers past the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 in the season finale for both teams.

While the Lightning will not be participating in the NHL postseason, a handful of players will have some postseason hockey to play.

Tuukka Rask turned aside 30 shots for his fifth shutout of the season and third in April as Boston completed a three-game sweep of visiting Tampa Bay in the season series with a 2-0 win on Thursday.

Naturally, Matt Carle and Nate Thompson would prefer to be unavailable to Team USA for the World Championships because they had some Stanley Cup playoff work ahead of them.

At first glance, Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Radko Gudas looked as though his season would be cut short when his right let wrapped and bent awkwardly under the weight of Joe Colborne during the first period of Wednesday's game against Toronto.

The playoff race for the Lightning ended long ago, but the scoring race is heating up.

The collapse of the Tampa Bay Lightning this season prompt some high priorities for the offseason.