Tampa Bay Lightning News

The Lightning entered Thursday on a 4-0-2 streak and with points in 10 of 11 games.

Had the nine-game stretch in which Alex Tanguay had just two assists been buried in the middle of a long season, the fuss likely would have been minimal.

As the 2009-10 season began for the Tampa Bay Lightning, the road was not kind to the Bolts.

Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a save against Corey Perry #10 of the Anaheim Ducks on November 16, 2009 at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

At one point or another, Mike Babcock has heard pretty much every name tossed out there.

In trying to break out of its shootout slump, the Lightning tried a little bit of everything.

The last thing Lightning D Kurtis Foster heard from teammate Paul Ranger was positive.

Coach Rick Tocchet said he didn't know what to expect from David Hale after the defenseman was acquired in July from the Coyotes in the Radim Vrbata deal.

Commissioner Gary Bettman said he planned to "chat" with Lightning co-owner Oren Koules during Monday's game with the Coyotes, but he offered little new concerning how or when the organization's ownership saga will end.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman met with city officials on Monday to discuss the process of keeping the Phoenix Coyotes in Glendale.

Though left wing Ryan Malone has traditionally been a slow starter, he has exploded in this season's first month, becoming an unsung hero for the Lightning.

Lightning at Coy otes When/where: 9; Jobing.com Arena, Glendale, Ariz. Radio: 620-AM Key stats: RW Radim Vrbata, acquired from the Lightning over the summer, is tied for second on the Coyotes in goals and has nine points.

The celebration began at the 1:40 mark of overtime. It appeared that Lightning defenseman Andrej Meszaros had just won the game on a shot from the point.

Nitti on Niitty: Gangster Frank is on goalie Antero's mask. [DANIEL WALLACE Times] Keeping suspect company Lightning G Antero Niittymaki has shunned the artistic interpretations of dragons and bikini-clad women generally found on the side of goaltenders' masks for one of the usual suspects: former Chicago gangster Frank Nitti .

The league will study whether it should ban hits to the head. But Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said a better idea is eliminating the instigator rule, which penalizes players who intentionally start fights.

Sometimes, the arrival comes so quickly, it is easy to forget how far a player has come.

Key stats: Lightning goalie Antero Niittymaki, who starts tonight, is 1-0 with a 1.93 goals-against average in two starts against the Kings.

It was a wild night at the St. Pete Times Forum Thursday night as the Tampa Bay rallied from a pair of two goal deficits and defeated the Minnesota Wild in a shoot out, 4-3. The victory was the first shoot out win of the season for Tampa Bay, which had failed to score on 14 shoot out attempts before Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos went ...

Ryan Malone tied it with 14.7 seconds left in regulation, and Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos scored in the shootout to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 4-3 comeback win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.

The Minnesota Wild have begun to put a slow start to the season behind them. A visit to Tampa Bay might help them extend their recent winning ways.