The Tampa Bay Lightning are once again heading back to the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs!
The Lightning, also in action on Saturday, had some extra momentum going into their matchup against the Boston Bruins. Prior to their game, they learned that the Detroit Red Wings had been defeated 4-1 by the Texas Rangers, which solidified that it would be mathematically impossible for Detroit to overtake Tampa Bay in the standings, thus clinching the Lightning a spot in the playoffs for the ninth-straight season.
The Lightning are now tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the longest active playoff clinching streak in the NHL
Tampa Bay leads the Atlantic Division with a 47-22-6 record. Their Saturday night win over the Bruins made them the fifth NHL team to reach 100 points this season.
“We didn’t get the outcomes we wanted early on,” said Lightning head coach, Jon Cooper. “It’s a great group in a sense there’s a lot of role definition, everyone knows what they’re doing, everyone knows what we need to do to succeed,” he said. “The battle in this team, we’ve scored a bunch of goals, we’ve played great defensively, if we’ve had to fight we’ve fought. I’ve been proud to coach these guys,” he said.
Though they have clinched a playoff spot, they still have a lot of work left to do as the division is still up for grabs. And that starts with a crucial road game on Monday against the Buffalo Sabres in New York. Cooper said he wants the team to keep their habits heading into the final six games.
“You have to make sure your game is in tune for when they really count,” said Cooper. He reiterated that out of the six opponents they face to end the season, five of them could be teams they face in the first round of playoffs, making this a crucial final stretch before the playoffs begin and it’s about not letting off the gas in the weeks to come.