October 28, 2026
October 28, 2026
The Tampa Bay Lightning were still the defending Stanley Cup Champions because the 2004-05 NHL lockout wiped out the entire season. All 30 NHL teams were affected by the lockout, and the Lightning had to reset their thinking and treat the 2003-2004 season as the previous season. The core of talent was still there for Tampa Bay as the Lightning Cup defense got underway, and the team remained a legitimate threat to every other club in the Eastern Conference.
In the 2005-2006 NHL season, the Tampa Bay Lightning went 43-33-6 (overtime losses) with 92 points, finishing 20 points behind the Carolina Hurricanes in the Southeast Division. The Lightning went 25-14-2 on home ice at the St. Pete Times Forum, while going only 18-19-4 on the road. In head-to-head play, the Lightning went 5-3 against the Atlanta Thrashers, 5-2-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-0 against the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2 against the Washington Capitals, and 2-2 against the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. The full season numbers are available on Hockey-Reference.
Center Vincent Lecavalier, an alternate captain, had 35 goals and 40 assists for 75 points, with 13 power play goals, 19 power play assists, and 7 game-winning goals on 309 shots. Right winger Martin St. Louis had 31 goals and 30 assists for 61 points, with 9 power play goals, 11 power play assists, 7 game-winning goals, and 3 short-handed goals on 221 shots. Left winger Fredrik Modin had 31 goals and 23 assists for 54 points, with 12 power play goals and 4 game-winning goals on 221 shots. Left winger Ruslan Fedotenko had 26 goals and 15 assists for 41 points, with 6 game-winning goals on 164 shots.
Left winger Vinny Prospal had 25 goals and 55 assists for 80 points, with 10 power play goals, 17 power play assists, and 3 game-winning goals on 236 shots. Center Brad Richards, another alternate captain, had 23 goals and 68 assists for 91 points, with 7 power play goals, 39 power play assists, and 4 short-handed goals on 282 shots. Defenseman Dan Boyle had 15 goals and 38 assists for 53 points, with 6 power play goals, 19 power play assists, and 4 game-winning goals on 153 shots. Center Ryan Craig had 15 goals and 13 assists, with 6 power play goals on 81 shots. Defenseman Pavel Kubina had 5 goals and 33 assists, with 22 power play assists and 3 game-winning goals on 155 shots.
Tampa Bay had two goaltenders the team could rely on throughout the regular season. John Grahame went 29-22-1, allowing 161 goals on 1,450 shots in 3,152 minutes, recording 1,289 saves, an .889 save percentage, a 3.06 goals against average, and 5 shutouts. Sean Burke went 14-10-4, allowing 80 goals on 764 shots in 1,713 minutes, recording 684 saves, an .895 save percentage, a 2.80 goals against average, and 2 shutouts.
During the regular season, the Lightning went on a 9-1 stretch that began with a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders on November 17 and ended with a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators on December 10. In games that went to overtime or a shootout, the Lightning fared very well, going 12-6.
One signature regular season victory for the Lightning was a 5-3 win over their division rivals, the Carolina Hurricanes, on February 9. Just 0:23 into the game, Carolina struck first with a goal by defenseman Aaron Ward, but at 4:00 of the 1st period, Tampa Bay responded with a power play goal by defenseman Anton Babchuk. At 10:45, right winger Evgeny Artyukhin scored for the Lightning, and at 14:23, Fredrik Modin added a short-handed goal.
At 4:08 of the 2nd period, left winger Erik Cole scored for Carolina, and at 6:43, Vinny Prospal answered with a power play goal for Tampa Bay. At 10:12 of the 3rd period, Modin scored again, and with time winding down at 19:29, Ruslan Fedotenko sealed the win with an empty net goal.
The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs didn’t go the way the Tampa Bay Lightning had intended, as they quickly fell to the Ottawa Senators 4 games to 1 in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Lightning Cup defense would be short-lived in the postseason.
In Game 2 on April 23 at Ottawa’s Corel Centre, the Lightning beat the Senators 4-3. At 4:51 of the 1st period, center Bryan Smolinski scored for Ottawa, and Tampa Bay responded with a goal by Martin St. Louis at 14:36. Brad Richards scored at 7:39 of the 2nd period, and at 17:12, Ottawa countered with a power play goal by right winger Martin Havlat. Ottawa then took a brief 3-2 lead when left winger Peter Schaefer scored at 3:21 of the 3rd period. The Lightning came back as Dan Boyle tied the game at 5:24, and St. Louis brought the curtain down on the show with the game-winning goal at 6:19.
The Tampa Bay Lightning returned to the playoffs the following year. However, the team experienced a short drought of playoff appearances for three years after the 2006-2007 campaign. Even though the Lightning Cup defense ended early, the flashy style of play of the early to mid-2000s Lightning, led by future Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Martin St. Louis, certainly left an impression on die-hard hockey fans.
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