Lightning aim to keep momentum going after Olympic break

Hit play. The NHL is back.

The Tampa Bay Lightning will resume the 2025-26 season at home on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. matchup against Atlantic Division opponent Toronto, just three days removed from the men’s hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Fans attending Benchmark International Arena on Wednesday will hope to see the Lightning return to the style of play they boasted entering the break. Tampa Bay is 19-1-1 over its past 21 games and remains among the league leaders on offense and defense.

Their next test arrives on Wednesday after a few days of practice.

“I think the challenge, honestly, to me it's execution. I think that's always when you've had two weeks off, even in practice it's really hard to mimic game-like situations. There's always an extra level or more of a pace when it comes down to game time,” assistant coach Rob Zettler said. “We always talk about puck management, whether that's coming out of our end or making decisions at the blue line going into their end.

“And I think if we manage the puck properly, meaning if we don't have anything then get it in, make it hard on them, forecheck them, all of it, then we'll be in a good spot,” he continued. “If we try and get a little fancy, especially coming off two weeks off, then we're going to be in trouble against a team that can kind of quick-strike and go the other way. That's both Toronto and Carolina. So to me, it's all about puck management. That'll be the talk going into tomorrow.”

After playing against each other over the past two weeks in the jerseys of their home countries, Lightning teammates were eager to rejoin forces at practice on Tuesday.

“It’s always a fun challenge,” Lightning defenseman JJ Moser said of playing for Team Switzerland against his usual teammates. “Usually you're cheering for them, and then now you're trying to take away all the things that make them good.”

The defenseman, who ranks second in the NHL for plus-minus at plus-39, believes the team’s positive traits remain strong on the other side of the Olympic break.

"I don't think this team lets itself be out of the groove,” he said. “We’re doing things, we've built a culture that is built on consistency, and that's not going to change whether we had a break or not.”

Lightning expect reinforcements Wednesday

One way to help the team keep stacking standings points? Getting back to full health.

Tampa Bay is getting healthier—Zettler on Tuesday said the team expects to have the services of forward Brayden Point as well as defensemen Emil Lilleberg, Charle-Edouard D’Astous and captain Victor Hedman for Wednesday’s game.

Lilleberg has missed 23 games with a lower-body injury, while Point has missed 11 games with an injury of his own. A return for D’Astous on Wednesday would stop a five-game absence due to a lower-body injury, while captain Victor Hedman didn’t play in Team Sweden’s quarterfinal game at the Olympics after an injury during warmups.

“It’s good,” Hedman said of his health on Tuesday. “It’s frustrating and still a little bit of a disbelief it happened before one of the most important games in my career, but it is what it is and now the focus is on this group here. It feels great to be back, and finally starting to feel like myself again. So it's good.”

Point spoke after Sunday’s practice, also saying he feels ready to go. The forward scored four goals and eight points over the five games prior to his injury, suffered on Jan. 12 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

He looks forward to resuming play and reinforced his belief in the team.

“I think it's just about the mentality that we're gonna have to have coming out of it,” he said of the break, “and remembering why we were successful and how we're just playing good team hockey.”

Olympians Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point and Erik Cernak did not skate on Tuesday with planned rest days, but all three are expected to be available on Wednesday.

Tampa Bay returns with Wednesday’s game against Toronto before a trip to Carolina on Thursday. February ends with a game on Saturday before the sprint that is March—a calendar that includes 16 games in 31 days.

After the Olympic break, the Lightning feel ready.

“We put ourselves in a great spot with the way we played and the kind of consistency we've had. It’s been a lot of fun to be a part of and watch from the sides. So we’ve just got to keep doing what we did before the break. We played a lot of good hockey and have a lot of resiliency on this team,” Hedman said.

“The good thing about the break is to get some bodies back, and guys are getting closer to playing again. So that's the exciting part, that we had a couple of weeks here to kind of regroup, and guys who weren't playing at the end are getting closer to playing now. It's a good atmosphere in here, and it should be."