TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning won their hurricane-delayed home opener over the Vancouver Canucks, but the impact of two recent major hurricanes overshadowed it.
Debris, malfunctioning stoplights and power outages remain around the Tampa Bay area a week after Hurricane Milton devastated parts of Florida. Milton came on the heels of Hurricane Helene, which also hit the region hard.
“This is different,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We’ve kind of been in this position before a few years ago but not quite like this. There’s disarray everywhere. There’s many people still in hotels, including myself. It’s been really tough to see how people are negatively affected.”
But there are signs of encouragement.
There was a standing ovation late in the second period, and it wasn’t for any of the Tampa Bay players. It was for a group of power company workers from Vancouver who are assisting in recovery efforts.
“How about the ovation that the Vancouver linemen got when they showed them on the big screen?” Cooper asked. “I’m normally not looking up there a ton, but that was a pretty moving moment for me. And it just shows you there’s a lot of good out there. When people come out and help each other it does make you feel good.”
A food drive and other activities took place outside Amalie Arena before the Lightning’s 4-1 win Tuesday night over the Canucks.
Discount tickets were available, and there was a pregame video on the scoreboard about the storms and the role of first responders.
The Lightning Foundation pledged an additional $1 million toward relief to its $2 million original commitment and recovery efforts.
“With everything going on, it’s kind of nice to have everyone come in here and let a little stress go,” Lightning forward Nick Paul said.
Tampa Bay’s scheduled home opener last Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes was postponed. The Lightning spent most of last week in Raleigh, North Carolina, before beating the Hurricanes 4-1 on Friday night.