The city of Tampa loves the Tampa Bay lightning. Check the Bolts blue lights illuminating palm trees at Curtis Hixon Park, or the myriad banners and flags around town. Typically, fans would be out in droves supporting their favorite team at Amalie Arena, which offers arguably the best game experience of any venue in the country. On August 11, the team played in an empty arena on their quest to win the Stanley Cup.
Game 1 of their playoff setup against the Columbus Blue Jackets went 7.5 periods. The Lightning took home the clutch win in not only the longest playoff game the team has ever played, but the longest game in franchise history.
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Congrats to the Tampa Bay Lightning!
It’s not the only franchise record they broke tonight. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 61 saves in the overtime win to eclipse Nikolai Khabibulin (60 in Game 6 of the 2003 CQF) for most saves in a Stanley Cup Playoff game in Lightning history.
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Here’s their series schedule against the Blue Jackets, in case you want to tune in:
Thursday, Aug. 13: Columbus at Tampa Bay, 3 p.m. ET – NBCSN
Saturday, Aug. 15: Tampa Bay at Columbus, 7:30 p.m. ET – NBCSN
Monday, Aug. 17: Tampa Bay at Columbus, 3 p.m. ET – NBCSN
*Wednesday, Aug. 19: Columbus at Tampa Bay – TBD
*Friday, Aug. 21: Tampa Bay at Columbus – TBD
*Saturday, Aug. 22: Columbus at Tampa Bay – TBD
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