The Tampa Bay Lightning have released their preseason schedule for the 2017-2018 season, consisting of seven total games, including three to be played at home
The Tampa Bay Lightning have released their seven-game preseason schedule for the 2017-2018 season. Beginning on September 19, these games will be played against the Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Florida Panthers.
| Date | Venue | Opponent |
| Tuesday, September 19 | Amalie Arena | Carolina |
| Wednesday, September 20 | PNC Arena | Carolina |
| Friday, September 22 | Amalie Arena | Nashville |
| Sunday, September 24 | Amalie Arena | Florida |
| Tuesday, September 26 | BB&T Center | Florida |
| Thursday, September 28 | BB&T Center | Florida |
| Saturday September 30 | Bridgestone Arena | Nashville |
The preseason schedule kicks off with a back-to-back, home-and-home against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Lightning will host on the 19th, while the Hurricanes will host on the 20th.
Then, the Lightning will play their two remaining home games of the preseason on the 22nd and 24th of September, against the Predators and Panthers, respectively.
The final three Tampa Bay preseason games will be played away, first at the BB&T Center against the Panthers on the 26th and the 28th and then at Bridgestone Arena against the Predators on the 30th.
These match-ups should be very interesting to watch. The Predators, who are, of course, playing for Lord Stanley’s Cup right now, will be a more than worthy opponent. The Lightning have a lot to prove this season and preseason victories over either the Stanley Cup champion or runner-up would be a great start.
The Hurricanes are a team on the rise and shouldn’t be underestimated. They have a lot of young talent and it isn’t too wild to imagine them as a team competing for a wild card spot within the next few seasons. As the games against the Hurricanes will be the first two played, they should serve as a time to get things settled and dialed in for the Lightning.
A preseason Panthers-Lightning matchup will be interesting to watch purely because of the in-state rivalry between the two. When the two meet during the season, the games are always entertaining and it’s doubtful that these will be any different. A rivalry game is a rivalry game, even if it’s in the preseason.
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Ticket information and times have not been released for any of the preseason games yet. So far, all that’s been announced for sure are dates and opponents. However, with this news, the countdown to Tampa Bay Lightning hockey and the 2017-2018 season has officially begun.