Bolts look to extend winning streak

TAMPA – The first 10 games of the season for the Lightning have been anything but a breeze.

“We were throwing risk in our game when we didn’t need to,” said head coach Jon Cooper. 

“(We were) trying to manufacture offense out of nothing and, obviously, it burned us.”

Burnt by six losses from their first seven games of the 2025-26 season, the Bolts looked nothing like the team fans had come to expect. 

“It’s not an effort thing,” Cooper said.

“The boys are always giving their all. We weren’t playing the smartest hockey.”

Now, the Bolts have seemingly smartened up and strung together three straight wins to give themselves a bit of a confidence boost after the slow start to the season. 

What they’re saying:

“We were trying to find our groove there and the ups and downs of a season change fast,” said defenseman Ryan McDonagh. 

“We talk about the process a lot, and you just have to trust the process,” said defenseman Victor Hedman.

“I overheard Mac (McDonagh) say it, but three games is just a sample size of a season. We can’t get too high and can’t get too low. You just have to be consistent with what you do on the ice.”

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Regardless of the small sample size, nobody in the Bolts’ locker room is going to complain about starting to stack wins together. 

Those wins, however, have done little to give the Bolts any breathing room this season. 

“It put us in a .500 hockey team, so there’s no breathing room in this league,” Hedman said.

By the numbers:

Despite the three wins in a row, the Bolts still sit sixth in the Atlantic Division with 10 points through 10 games played.

“There’s always a new test, a new challenge, a new game,” Hedman said. 

While there may always be a new game, the Bolts are hoping they’re starting to find theirs. 

“We’ve liked a lot about our game the last few, but it’s about being consistent and bringing that effort and that execution each and every night,” McDonagh said. 

What’s next:

The Lighting host Dallas on Thursday night at Benchmark International Arena before beginning a four-game road trip starting in Utah on Sunday. 

The Source: The information in this story was gathered during a Lightning morning skate and subsequent open locker room media availabilities by FOX 13 Sports Reporter Sean Barie. 

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