The preseason is almost over and we are a little over a week away from the 2017-18 NHL regular season. Of course, just having any sort of hockey back is a good thing. However, it will be nice to see the "official" roster take to the ice and have the games actually mean something.
In the spirit of waiting anxiously for the season to begin, I figured it would be fun to take a look at the October schedule of the Tampa Bay Lightning and predict how they will do.
Tampa Bay begins their regular season on Friday, October 6th against the Florida Panthers at home. The following night they will take to the road to take on the Panthers again. Sweeping a home-and-home is always a tough task, especially when it is the first two games of the season. Still, I believe that the Lightning are good enough, and the Panthers are bad enough, for it to happen. The Bolts will head into their first full week of regular season with a 2-0-0 record.
The Lightning will then play three-straight games at AMALIE Arena against challenging opponents (Washington, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis). The opposition will give the Bolts a run for their money every night but if Tampa Bay wants to be considered a true contender, they need to defeat even the toughest opponents. The Lightning will gain two more victories in this homestand (the Capitals and the Blues) and lose to the defending champions to make their record 4-1-0.
Tampa Bay will then go out on their first extended road trip where they will play Detroit, New Jersey, and Columbus. The Red Wings and Devils games are on back to back nights but the Lighting will come out victorious in both. However, they will suffer an overtime loss to the Blue Jackets, making them 6-1-1.
To finish off that week, they will head back home to play the Penguins for the second time. Similar to their first matchup, Pittsburgh will walk away with another win, but this time it will be in overtime.
After two difficult games against Columbus and Pittsburgh, the Lightning will play the Hurricanes at the PNC Arena. Carolina is a different team this year and should contend for a playoff spot. The Bolts will be taken off guard and lose their first matchup to the Hurricanes, making them 6-2-2. Then the Lightning will play both the Red Wings and Ducks on home ice. I predict that they will once again run over Detroit and also defeat a wounded Ducks team.
Tampa Bay will finish the month of October with their third game against their rivals, the Florida Panthers. After being swept in the home-and-home, the Panthers will come out with a vengeance and secure a victory.
Starting off the year with an 8-3-2 record after the first month would be quite the statement made by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Of course, many different factors can come into play that could effect this team's production. How do you think the Lightning will do in the month of October?