Everything you need to know ahead of the Lightning's matchup against the New York Rangers on Thursday:
When: Thursday, October 1 - 7 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
TV coverage: The Spot - Tampa Bay 66 (check local listings); Pregame show begins at 6 p.m. ET
Radio coverage: 102.5 MHz-FM, Lightning Radio 24/7
Stream: TampaBayLightning.com/StreamNow
Lines from Wednesday's practice (subject to change)
Forwards
Ilya Mikheyev -Brayden Point- Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel - Jansen Harkins - Jake Guentzel
Gage Goncalves - Anthony Cirelli - Conor Geekie
Jeff Viel- Zemgus Girgensons - Pontus Holmberg
Defensemen
JJ Moser - John Carlson
Victor Hedman - Charle-Eduord D'Astous
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg - Max Crozier
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Dennis Hildeby
Thursday's Matchup
The Lightning open the 2026-27 season on Thursday with a 7 p.m. road matchup against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden...The Lightning went 1-2-0 against the Rangers a season ago and were led in scoring by Nikita Kucherov (0-3—3 in 3 GP) and Darren Raddysh (0-3—3 in 3 GP)...The Bolts are 54-52-12 all-time against the Rangers, including 26-30-4 on the road...Martin St. Louis is the franchise’s all-time scoring leader versus New York with 20-26—46 in 46 games, while Kucherov leads active players with 10-30—40 in 33 games...Three different Lightning goalies faced the Rangers in 2025-26...Jonas Johansson went 1-0-0 with a .900 save percentage, while Brandon Halverson was 0-1-0 with an .810 save percentage and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished 0-1-0 with a .615 save percentage...Vasilevskiy owns a 7-9-2 career record against New York along with a .908 save percentage, while Dennis Hildeby is still awaiting his first action versus the Rangers.
Tampa Bay Sports Item of the Game
October 1st of the Month Sale
Visit TampaBaySports.com today for the October 1st of the Month Sale, with 50% or more off select Lightning products. Shop online today only while supplies last.
The Road Ahead
Saturday, October 3 vs. Washington Capitals
Monday, October 5 vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Thursday, October 8 vs. Minnesota Wild
