The first competitive shifts of the 2026-27 season will soon take to the ice as the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Nashville Predators at Benchmark International Arena this evening at 5:00 PM EST. With only four preseason games prior to the season starting, the Bolts are kicking things off with a NHL-veteran heavy line-up tonight.
According to the Lightning’s daily group report, the goaltenders should be Andrei Vasilevskiy and Mads Sogaard. A quick glance at the line-up shows a defense and top-six that will likely mirror what we see on Opening night against the New York Rangers. Coach Jon Cooper isn’t messing around as he looks to establish some chemistry with his squad early on in training camp.
At the same time, some players presumed to be on the roster bubble are getting a look with the top players. Oleg Kulebiakin and Scott Sabourin probably aren’t going to make the roster unless things really go off the rails. Benjamin Rautiainen and Sam O’Reilly are a couple of rookies whose chances increased with the injuries to Yanni Gourde and Dominic James while Ethan Czata might earn a shot for a few games with the big club before being assigned to his junior team.
Seeing Ilya Mikheyev beg...