Hockey is officially back at Benchmark International Arena, as the Tampa Bay Lightning opened the 2026 NHL preseason with a 2-1 win against the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
The Lightning got off to a strong start with a pair of first period goals and never relented the lead.
"I'm not going to be able to poke holes in too many guys' games tonight,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said postgame. “Everybody, you ask them to do the job, they passed the test."
With a shorter training camp and fewer preseason games, Tampa Bay’s roster featured much of the expected opening night lineup. Offseason addition Ilya Mikheyev skated alongside Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov and wasted no time in making a strong first impression.
The winger-—signed to a four-year contract on July 1—opened the scoring just 93 seconds into the game by deflecting a point shot from fellow 2026 free agent signee John Carlson.
“When you score, the team scores in the first few shifts, it’s good for confidence as a team and helps you feel confidence right away," Mikheyev said.
Carlson skated alongside JJ Moser on the team’s top pairing. The newest addition to the blue line led Tampa Bay in ice time, playing 21:56.
Nashville tied the score in the game’s seventh minute when Brady Martin made a move at the blue line and then buried his shot at the bottom of the faceoff circle.
While NHL veterans kickstarted Sunday’s effort for Tampa Bay, fans got to see some of the organization’s younger forwards, too—Sam O’Reilly centered a line with Benjamin Rautiainen and Conor Geekie, and it was that trio who regained the Lightning lead late in the first period.
Following an extended shift of offensive zone time, O’Reilly pressured a Nashville player into a risky pass. The puck landed on the tape of an open Geekie in the high slot, where the 22-year-old Bolt fired his shot through the glove of Nashville goalie Juuse Saros for the 2-1 advantage with just under five minutes left.
“I just saw the puck go up there, tracked back hard, tried to go stick on puck, and I got a stick on it,” O’Reilly said of the play. “Then thankfully Geeks was right there and made no mistake.”
Tampa Bay also got to see a pair of recent second-round draft picks in forwards Ethan Czata and Oleg Kulebiakin on Sunday. As a whole, Cooper said the youngsters showed well.
O’Reilly was busy on Sunday, joining Mikheyev as Tampa Bay’s busiest penalty kill pairing while winning six of his eight faceoffs.
“It was great because when they had the faceoffs on the right side, he won them,” Cooper said of O’Reilly. “Some of these kids, you're going to get to watch play some of these games. You’ve got to put them in these situations and see what they can do and see where they can excel, and I thought he was excellent all the way around.”
Tampa Bay went a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill, and the O’Reilly and Mikheyev combo also created some offensive looks while shorthanded.
Mikheyev led all Lightning forwards in shorthanded time on ice at 3:57, and O’Reilly tied for second with 3:35.
“I thought everybody tried really hard. They tried to do what we asked them,” Cooper said of the win. “I didn't think we gave up a whole ton, and we got to roll lines, and then we got to play. And then there were special teams involved. You don't want to ever take penalties in the regular season, but I don't mind taking a few in the preseason because you get a look at your PK and your power play. I thought everything worked out well, and then everybody got away from the game healthy, so it was a win all the way around."
Andrei Vasilevskiy wasn’t very busy in his preseason debut but played the entire game. He finished with 12 saves on 13 shots faced.
The Lightning will aim for a similar result on Tuesday when the same teams go head-to-head in preseason game two, set for 8 p.m. ET in Nashville.
Benjamin’s Three Stars:
- Ilya Mikheyev, TBL (Goal)
- Conor Geekie, TBL (Game-winning goal)
- Sam O’Reilly, TBL (Assist, 75% faceoff percentage)
