TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning announced the team's 2023 preseason schedule on Friday.
The Bolts will play a total of seven games, with three of them being at home at Amalie Arena.
Fans can prepare for the Lightning to open the preseason with a back-to-back set on the road – beginning with a matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sept. 26 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
They will then travel to Nashville to take on the Predators on Sept. 27.
The first home game will be two days later on Sept. 29 where they meet the Hurricanes once again.
Tampa Bay will cap off the preseason schedule with three consecutive games against the Florida Panthers. One of the games on Oct. 3 will be at a neutral site at the Amway Center in Orlando.
Check out the full 2023 Tampa Bay Lightning preseason schedule down below.
- Tuesday, Sept. 26 – Lightning at Hurricanes | 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, Sept. 27 – Lightning at Predators | 8 p.m.
- Friday, Sept. 29 – Lightning vs. Hurricanes | 7 p.m.
- Saturday, September 30 – Lightning vs. Predators | 5 p.m.
- Tuesday, October 3 – Lightning vs. Panthers (Amway Center) | 7 p.m.
- Thursday, October 5 – Lightning vs. Panthers | 7 p.m.
- Saturday, October 7 – Lightning at Panthers | 6 p.m.
While change is coming, the Lightning are surely built to be a contender again in 2024 with a healthy roster.
The members in that locker room realize "you can't win them all," but with the franchise in a stable place – head coach Jon Cooper believes the Bolts will be just fine moving forward.
"As long as Jeff Vinik is the owner and Julien BriseBois is the GM, I would be excited about this organization every single year," Cooper previously said.
10 Tampa Bay's Evan Closky contributed to this report.