Lightning's 2016-17 season to begin against Detroit on October 13

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced their 82-game regular season schedule for the 2016-17 season today. The Lightning’s season will open on October 13 as the Bolts take on their Atlantic Division rivals, the Detroit Red Wings, at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay will open with a four-game home stand, followed by a six-game road trip.

Tampa Bay will play each of its Atlantic Division opponents four times, two at home and two on the road, with the exception of the Boston Bruins (two home, three away) and the Red Wings (three home, two away). It will have rematches of the 2016 Eastern Conference Final against the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins on December 10 at Amalie Arena, as well as January 8 and March 3 at CONSOL Energy Center. 

The Lightning will again play each of their Metropolitan Division opponents within the Eastern Conference three times.   Tampa Bay will host the Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jacks twice, while visiting the Penguins, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers on two occasions.  The Lightning will once again play two games, one at home and one on the road, against each Western Conference team.

Single game tickets will be put on sale at a later date.

At Amalie Arena

The Lightning will play nine home games during the month of March, more than any other month.  With the exception of April (just six games total), Tampa Bay will play their least number of home games in October, with just four of nine contests being held at Amalie Arena. The Bolts will host their longest home stand of the season with five games from December 28 through January 5. They will also play four strings of four home contests in a row.

On the Road

The Lightning will host a pair of six-game road trips, the longest of the year, from October 22 through November 1, as well as January 16 through January 26.  They will also have one five-game stretch away from Amalie Arena from November 14 to November 21.  The Lightning will play six of their first 10 games away from Amalie Arena.  They will finish the season with three of their final four games on the road.

Back-to-Back

The Lightning will play 16 sets of back-to-back games in 2016-17, including three in which both games will be hosted at Amalie Arena. The Bolts will play a total of 11 times with both back-to-back games being played on the road and twice with the contests split with the first at home and the second on the road.  They will play three consecutive sets of back-to-back games from January 7 through January 17. 

Monthly Breakdown

Month              Home   Away    Total

October            4          5          9         

November         6          9          15

December         8          6          14

January             5          8          13

February           6          4          10

March               9          6          15

April                 3          3          6

Breakdown by Day

Day                  Home   Away    Total

Sunday             2          5          7

Monday            3          5          8

Tuesday            7          8          15

Wednesday       3          1          4

Thursday           14         7          21

Friday               2          6          8

Saturday           10         9          19

All-Star Break

The 2017 NHL All-Star Game will be held at Staples Center in Los Angeles.  The skills competition will be help on January 28 with the All-Star Game occurring on January 29.  It is the third time the annual event will be held in Los Angeles, with the first time being in 1981. 

Fast Facts

·         The Lightning will play more home games on Thursdays than any other day. 

·         Tampa Bay will play at home just twice on Friday nights and also on Sundays. 

·         Of the Bolts’ 41 road games, 17 (41.5 percent) will be played during road trips of five games or more.

·         During the first two months of the 2016-17 season, the Lightning will play 14 of 24 games on the road.

·         Tampa Bay will play 18 of their final 31 games at Amalie Arena.

·         The Lightning doesn’t play a Sunday home game until April 2.

·         The Bolts will play five matinee games with 1 p.m. starts, with all of them being played on the road.

2016-17 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING SCHEDULE

           *All Times Eastern

Article provided by the Tampa Bay Lightning Communications Dept.