Raw Charge
Summary
Lightning News The Lightning and Knights met in Las Vegas last night in a fast-paced and action-packed game with lots of ugly turnovers from both sides in the first two periods. Andrei Vasilevskiy was a calming presence in an otherwise chaotic game as he stopped 32 of 34 Vegas shots and Nikita Kucherov recorded three points to tie Steven Stamkos for the franchise points record at 1,137. Kucherov needs one more to set the all-time mark which likely won’t be broken for a very, very long time. [ Raw Charge ] The Lightning finished the game with three straight consecutive unassisted goals and four unassisted goals in the game. According to my research that’s the first time the Tampa Bay Lightning have done either of those feats. Three consecutive unassisted goals hasn’t happened since Colorado scored three to open a game against Boston on December 8, 2016 . Four unassisted goals for one team in the same game hasn’t happened since a game between Chicago and Boston on March 13, 1927 ! I can’t confirm those stats in any way but everything I’ve researched seems to confirm these claims. What a strange game last night. Ryan Craig knows the Tampa Bay Lightning very well, having played 184 games in 5 seasons with Tampa Bay, and last night he coached against them as the Head Coach of the Vegas Golden Knights. Craig began his NHL career with the Lightning in 2005-06 after the Lightning drafted him in 2002. Craig was actually teammates with Victor Hedman in Hedman’s rookie campaign in 2009-10. Now Craig can say he coached against Hedman, too. [ NHL ] It’s no secret to Lightning fans that coach Jon Cooper is a big fan of the 11 forwards/7 defensemen line-up as Cooper uses it frequently. Eduardo Encina details how using that line-up helps with the Lightning’s long game by splitting heavy defensive minutes and giving young forwards time with top forwards rather than stuck in a grinding bottom six role. The 11F/7D line-up has been working so far this year as the Lightning defensively are averaging only 23 shots allowed per game heading into last night’s game in Las Vegas. [ Orlando Sentinel ] Prospect News Reader and frequent commenter @DoninStPete ask for an update on Lightning prospects a few days ago and I thought that was a great idea, so here you go: The Syracuse Crunch ended a three-game losing streak with back-to-back wins over the weekend against Rochester and Hamilton. Lucas Mercuri had a big weekend with 2 goals and 2 assists and Sam O’Reilly scored his first goal with Syracuse on Saturday with a power-play goal. The Crunch currently sit in 7th (out of 8 teams) in the North Division with a 3-3 record and have been outscored 21-14 in those six games. [ Crunch ] Elsewhere in the #GoBolts organization tonight, congrats to Lightning prospect Sam O'Reilly, who scored his first professional goal to tie the game as the @SyracuseCrunch earned a comeback victory of their own. pic.twitter.com/8rcNkYa6J6 — Benjamin Pierce (@BenjaminJReport) October 18, 2026 Ethan Czata is off to a great start with the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League. The 19-year-old 2nd round draft pick by the Lightning in 2025 has recorded a point in every game so far totaling 3 goals, 8 assists, 18 PIM and +11 in 9 games. 🍎 Ethan Czata (#22 in white) picks up assist #8 of the OHL season. That’s now points in all 9 games he’s played this season. ⚡️ #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/1jAOaRwYQi — Future Bolts (@FutureBolts_) October 19, 2026 A 2025 4th round pick, Aiden Foster has had an interesting start to his season in the WHL. He began the season suspended from a hit in the playoffs in April and raced out to a great start with 5 goals in four games, two short-handed. However, he’s been suspended again for a check-from-behind on October 11th with Prince George against Swift Current. Foster has since been traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings and is likely to play his first game with the Wheat Kings on Friday against Seattle after serving his second suspension. The gritty 6’4″ forward has 27 fights in his WHL career and has over 100 PIMs in every season in the WHL. [ Our Sports Central ] AIDEN FOSTER SHORTY. HELLO!👋 @PGCougars | #WHLOpeningWeek pic.twitter.com/0QV8AnzoIG — Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) September 28, 2026 Benjamin Rautianen got a long look in the preseason this year before being loaned back to Tappara in the the Finnish Liiga. Rautianen hasn’t gotten off to his record setting pace last year in the Liiga with only 2 goals and 2 assist in eight games, but has been tearing up The Champions Hockey League with 3 goals and 5 assists in only four games in that tournament. Tappara is currently 11th in The Liiga standings out of 17 teams. Tappara lost yesterday in a shootout and Rautianen was held scoreless despite having 11 shots on goal. 🚨 Benjamin Rautiainen scores on the penalty shot for his 2nd goal of the Champions Hockey League! #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/rG58DPkWPU — Future Bolts (@FutureBolts_) October 8, 2026 Jack Pridham has begun his career in the NCAA with the University of Denver which is ranked #4 in the country. Pridham has been a goal-scorer in every league he’s been in but has recorded only two assists in four games so far. He did score two goals against the U.S. U-18 National Team in an exhibition game and is getting a lot of ice time with Denver who returns to action this Homecoming Weekend against Boston College. That's Jack Pridham's first in CRIMSON AND GOLDDDD #GoPios pic.twitter.com/qpYbrOXfRS — Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) October 11, 2026 And last but not least today is Oleg Kulebyakin who was taken 52nd overall in the 2nd round this April. The 18-year-old Russian playmaker has 2 goals and 5 assists in 8 games with Halifax this season. Kulebyakin talks about his time with the Lightning in training camp and how much he enjoyed being around Nikita Kucherov in this interview yesterday. A big off season for @HFXMooseheads Oleg Kulebyakin, drafted in the 2nd round by the @TBLightning Oleg tells us about that experience in camp and sharing the ice with the player who he modeled his game after in Nikita Kucherov. pic.twitter.com/1MqkqGqvG1 — Mavs Gillis (@eastlinkmavs) October 20, 2026 League News Connor Hellebuyck’s holdout in Winnipeg will seemingly end this Friday as his suspension by the Jets will end on October 23rd. The Jets may continue to keep him away from the team post-suspension, as it’ll be hard for the players in the room to accept him back and also just as difficult to trade him. Elliotte Friedman believes if Hellebuyck is traded, it will be to one of four teams: Buffalo, New York Rangers, Utah or Carolina. Buffalo has been pushing hard for Hellebuyck for a long time. Could Hellebuyck be a Buffalo Sabre by Friday? [ Sabre Noise ] The hockey world is no stranger to freak accidents and tragedies. Another major scare happened when 19-year-old forward Ben Kindel of the Pittsburgh Penguins suffered a “medical episode” shortly after the team’s plane took off from Salt Lake City on Monday night and had to quickly land. Kindel was rushed then to the hospital in an ambulance. Fortunately Kindel is reported to be in stable condition but there haven’t been any updates since the news broke. [ Pensburgh ] I didn’t realize it when I previewed the upcoming week in the Atlantic Division, but Brady Tkachuk’s return to Ottawa is tonight! I’m sure the fans in Kanata, Ontario will give him a very warm welcome when in his first game back wearing a Florida Panthers jersey. [ NHL ]