Mattias Ohlund News

"I don't want to risk anything," Hedman said yesterday after watching his teammates practise at the Bell Centre.

Rookie defenceman Victor Hedman says he feels OK after being rocked by a hit from Ottawa's Chris Neil, but to be safe, he will not be in the lineup for the Tampa Bay Lightning's next game against the Montreal Canadiens.

Jason Spezza scored a power-play goal 4:17 into overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.

Toronto forward Phil Kessel, left, battles for the puck against Tampa's Martin St Louis on Tuesday.

Phil Kessel, playing his first game in Leaf uniform, left the ice briefly during the first period of Tuesday night's Toronto-Tampa Bay game.

NEW JERSEY 2, TAMPA BAY 1: David Clarkson scored the lone shootout goal in the fourth round, and the Devils extended their season-opening road winning streak to seven games Saturday.

The Lightning are in a stretch in their schedule in which they play only four games in two weeks, and they're all at home.

Lightning goalie Mike Smith lost another shootout Saturday night, but it was hard to fault him for what happened in that portion of a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss to Buffalo.

Alex Edler learned a lot about the NHL from fellow Swede and ex-Canuck defenceman Mattias Ohlund, who signed with Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay Lightning's Mattias Ohlund , of Sweden, collides with Pittsburgh Penguins Chris Kunitz , right rear, in front of Lightning goalie Antero Nittymaki, of Finland, in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh Saturday, Oct.

The Lightning could not have played much worse Thursday night against the Senators.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been a doormat for most other teams in the NHL for too many years now.

Ryan Malone recorded his third career hat trick, and the Tampa Bay Lightning took a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes to snap a pair of losing streaks.

There was so much quiet optimism around the Tampa Bay Lightning camp during the preseason, mostly because of several key roster upgrades a ' particularly on defense.

After a series of major changes a summer ago, the Lightning entered last season's opening game with blind optimism, then proceeded to stumble to the fewest wins in the league and a 29th-place finish.

ATLANTA Evander Kane saw so much of Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman -- from playing against him in the World Junior tournament to seeing him at pre-draft events and then the NHL combine -- that he developed a friendship with his sometimes adversary.

A pair of Southeast Division members hoping to make strides in the 2009-10 campaign face off tonight at Atlanta's Philips Arena, where the Thrashers will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the season-opener for both clubs These two clubs finished near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings last season, with the Lightning's 66 points besting ...

The season is new. The doubts are old. You are still skeptical, aren't you? Your arms are still folded, and your eyebrows are still raised.

D Mattias Ohlund will be an alternate captain, a move that cost Jeff Halpern the A on his jersey, though the center did not seem to mind.

The Vancouver Canucks were counting on an extending playoff run last season, but were upset by the upstart Chicago Blackhawks in the second round.