tbl-Game Day! The Lightning Take On The Predators To Kick Off Their Preseason Campaign

Summary

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. a look at the #Bolts lines and D pairings from their first morning skate of the preseason: Mikheyev – Point – Kucherov Hagel – Cirelli – Guentzel Geekie – O’Reilly – Rautiainen Kulebiakin – Czata – Sabourin Moser – Carlson Hedman – Crozier McDonagh – Cernak — Gabby Shirley (@Gabby_Shirley_) September 20, 2026 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 begin his Lightning career on the top line is intriguing. He has the wheels to play with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov while giving them a little help in the defensive game. Could he find a role similar to Ondrej Palat as a two-way forward that can chip in enough offense to justify his spot on the line? Connor Geekie starts on the wing as he looks to lock in a permanent spot on the roster. LIke O’Reilly and Rautiainen, his chance to earn a spot became slightly easier with a couple of forwards out of service early in the season. Expect a little rotation on the defensive side, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Bolts try and keep J.J. Moser on his natural side after his strong season last year. Expect all three combinations to get similar ice time at 5v5 with John Carlson and Victor Hedman getting some extra time on the power play. Reports from the morning skate have Carlson, Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, and Jake Guentzel working as a power play unit. The other unit was comprised of Hedman, Geekie, Rautiainen, O’Reilly, and Anthony Cirelli. There should be a pretty good pace to tonight’s game. One thing to remember is that NHL veterans are only allowed to play in two of the pre-season games, so expect the folks playing tonight to get the next one off and some of the Crunch players in camp to get some game time action. The cuts have already begun as the Lightning trimmed their camp roster by three players by releasing Jaxen Adam, Elliot Arnett, and Nathan Mayes from their try-out contracts. Their camp number sits at 64 with eleven days to go in camp. Here is the broadcast info: https://x.com/TBLightning/status/2101661500423217264?s=20 We play preseason hockey today‼️ pic.twitter.com/R0btme0lIV — Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 20, 2026