It required a 13-game wait, but the Tampa Bay Lightning finally open their Atlantic Division schedule when the Detroit Red Wings visit Benchmark International Arena on Tuesday.
Tonight’s 7 p.m. matchup marks the beginning of what’s set to be another fight all the way to the regular season finale within one of hockey’s premier divisions.
“The bottom line with the Atlantic is everybody's super talented, and if you let up, they'll get you, and teams get you in different ways in our division,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We’re gonna get our first crack at it tomorrow.”
The Atlantic was the league’s top division a season ago. Half of the NHL's top 10 regular season teams were from the Atlantic, and four of those teams finished with at least 100 standings points.
In the early days of the 2026-27 season, it’s the only division in which every team owns a winning record. Detroit currently sits at the bottom of the Atlantic despite holding a 7-5-3 record and a .567 point percentage that ranks 18th in the entire NHL.
“That's why we have high standards here, and that's why we're hard on ourselves,” Lightning forward Brandon Hagel said.
“Obviously our record's pretty good, and I'll take that nine times out of 10. But you want to get your game to perfection, especially coming into games like these when every point is so crucial.”
Five of the Eastern Conference’s eight playoff teams in 2026 came from the Atlantic Division, and that power has continued already in 2026-27.
Tampa Bay will need to bring its best game on Tuesday, and the team knows it. Hagel put it simply—good players make good teams, and the division boasts both.
“It’s just a lot of good hockey players and a lot of good teams, and that’s just the way it is,” he said. “And we’re right in the mix of it, so there’s no better place to be.”
The Lightning already have 13 games under their belt this season, but the next one brings another measuring stick as they face a divisional opponent for the first time.
Those in-division games will be steady moving forward as Tampa Bay aims to build on its 8-3-2 start to the year.
“Once again it’s a close division,” Lightning captain Victor Hedman said. “We’ve got to take advantage of those games and come up with good results and put ourselves in a good spot. It’s been awhile and we haven’t seen one yet, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Tampa Bay finished 16-9-1 against Atlantic Division opponents last season, their best divisional record since a 15-8-3 run in 2021-22. Their 16 wins within division play co-led the Atlantic.
Fans also got to see a Stanley Cup Playoffs divisional matchup when the Lightning faced the Montreal Canadiens, and there were emotional and physical matchups against the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers.
Such rivalries are due for renewal across the Atlantic Division, and it all begins Tuesday for Tampa Bay.
“A big chunk of your year is going to come against these teams,” Cooper said. “So we're definitely gonna have to have our game in order.”
