We have arrived.
The Tampa Bay Lightning wrapped up the 2025-26 NHL regular season on Wednesday with a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers, opening the door for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Lightning finished the regular season with a 50-26-6 record. Their 50 wins are the most posted by a Lightning team since the 2021-22 season and mark the fifth 50-win season in franchise history.
“You don't win the Stanley Cup in the regular season, but to have a chance to win the Stanley Cup, you have to get through it…I just think we grew as a group, and I thought they did a hell of a job,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of the regular season postgame.
"50 wins, to me that’s a big number. And for them to pull through and get that, especially in the division and conference we’re in, which was elite—I don’t know if I’ve seen a conference as competitive as this was from top to bottom—I’m proud of them. But now it’s…the second season, and this takes a whole new wave of commitment and determination and everything that goes in it.”
That second season is the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which are up next. No official game times have been announced, but the expectation is for Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens to take place as soon as this weekend in Tampa.
But first, the Lightning had to wrap up game 82 of the regular season. The team rested numerous players on Wednesday but still fought back after an early deficit.
The Rangers were quick to the scoring action with a Tye Kartye tally—the forward made it 1-0 for the visitors just past the fourth minute of the game with his shot from the right faceoff circle.
Kartye then doubled the advantage 1:29 into the second period by burying the puck from the left faceoff circle after a bounce off the end boards. He assisted on the 3-0 goal for Gabe Perreault before the fifth minute of the middle frame.
Oliver Borkstrand then got Tampa Bay involved in the offense.
Just past the midway point of the game, Lightning forward Mitchell Chaffee dished a pass to Scott Sabourin at the right wall, where the latter sent a shot to the net. The rebound kicked to Bjorkstrand, who outwaited Rangers goalie Dylan Garand to pot his 12th goal of the year on the backhand and make it 3-1 with 8:14 left in the second.
A Mika Zibanejad power-play goal restored the Rangers’ three-goal advantage just over a minute later, this score coming on a shot at the 12:46 mark when he redirected a pass at the bottom of the right circle.
Tampa Bay again slashed into their disadvantage in the third period, this time a spinning backhand shot that ended with Corey Perry’s 17th goal of the year to make it 4-2 less than a minute into the third period.
“I was just trying to get it on net,” Perry said. "I was gonna shoot, but then the guy got in the lane and Bjorky made a good play going to the net."
Goalie Brandon Halverson made his second career NHL start in the Lightning net and finished with 17 saves. Emil Lilleberg joined Zemgus Girgensons, Chaffee and Sabourin with assists for Tampa Bay.
Defenseman Max Crozier made his return from a 26-game absence on Wednesday, while Darren Raddysh and Brandon Hagel both returned from short stints out of the lineup.
“We didn't really know what the lineup was going to be, how it was going to work, but the guys that came in, they worked hard, they gave us a little energy, and that's what you're gonna need,” Perry said. "You never know what's gonna happen in the playoffs, and you never know who's gonna play. So it's nice that they got some minutes and did a good job.”
The regular season ended in a loss, but the Lightning won’t be sour about what lies in wait—another chance to push for the Stanley Cup.
"That was one of our goals was to make it, and we're here,” defenseman Darren Raddysh said. "Now we're back to zero. You know you need 16 wins. So, happy the regular season is over, and just get ready for the postseason."
Benjamin’s Three Stars:
- Tye Kartye, NYR (2 goals, assist)
- Mika Zibanejad, TBL (Goal, assist)
- Corey Perry, TBL (Goal)
