What’s going on with the Tampa Bay Lightning?
The team’s 11-game winning streak is the longest by any NHL team this season. By defeating the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center on Friday, the Lightning could set a franchise record of a 12th consecutive win.
Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay’s coach for the past 14 seasons who in December reached his 1,000th NHL game calling the shots from their bench, hasn’t seen his crew lose a game since last month. Coming up short 2–1 at home against the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 18, 2025, is the last blemish on the Lightning’s record.
The winning streak keeps Tampa Bay in first place in both the NHL Eastern Conference as well as the Atlantic Division. St. Louis visited Tampa’s Benchmark International Arena last month and fell to the Lightning. The 4–1 Tampa Bay victory was the second among the current 11-game winning streak.
The struggling Blues, currently resting in 13th place in the Western Conference, aren’t expected to provide the toughest of challenges this season for Tampa Bay. St. Louis has three skaters who have double-digit goals (all with 11) so far this season. Individually, just three Blues players have 20 or more points.
Tampa Bay last skated on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. On the road, Tampa Bay took home a 2–1 overtime win. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy rang up 26 saves en route to a personal eight-game undefeated streak. At this point in the season, Vasilevskiy has a goals against average of 2.28—fourth best among all NHL goalies.
Tampa Bay’s lone goal in regulation on Tuesday came from J.J. Moser, assisted by Yanni Gourde and Zemgus Girgensons.
The consistency Tampa Bay continues to demonstrate on both sides of the blue line is the expectation at all levels of management. The unique relationship shared between the Lightning and their top minor league affiliate in the American Hockey League located in Syracuse, N.Y., over the last 14 years defines how best a true partnership works. All the success since 2012 that is experienced by players in Tampa Bay, including back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021, can be traced back to the teachings and coaching supplied when calling Central New York their hockey home.
Lightning’s Julien BriseBois, the team’s general manager, began his term with Tampa Bay in 2010. As an assistant general manager at the time in the organization, BriseBois’s duties included overseeing the AHL affiliate. Twice under BriseBois’s guidance, the Syracuse Crunch reached the AHL Calder Cup Final. After 65 games during Syracuse’s 2012–2013 season, Cooper’s only stay with the Crunch, it was BriseBois who made the call to elevate his AHL coach to the NHL Lightning.
In Syracuse’s 75-year-old, 7,000-seat Upstate Medical University Arena, many of the current Lightning skaters and netminders have waited for their call to duty in Tampa Bay. Nikita Kucherov, who scored the overtime winning goal opposite the Penguins on Tuesday, posted 24 points in 17 games for the Crunch in 2013 before being summoned to Tampa Bay. Since his brief appearance in the AHL, Kucherov has spent the last 13 seasons skating for the Lightning. His 67 points this season has him ranked fourth among NHL points leaders.
The Crunch–Lightning partnership can be traced to two individuals in Central New York. Howard Dolgon, owner and president of the Crunch, has been leading the franchise since purchasing it in 1994. Dolgan’s top lieutenant since 1995 is Jim Sarosy. As the Crunch’s chief operating officer, Sarosy serves as Syracuse’s hockey liaison with Tampa Bay.
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, the second overall pick in the NHL’s 2009 Entry Draft, is one of the few mainstays in the organization that has bypassed time spent in Syracuse. Having spent his entire 17-season career with Tampa Bay, Hedman has 1,149 games played and has amassed 806 points.
At 29–13–3, the 61 points tallied this season by the Lightning has them among the powerhouses of the NHL. With the Western Conference-leading Colorado Avalanche already collecting 74 points, the Lightning’s offense offers them as a strong candidate to reach the Stanley Cup Final against their potential challengers from the Centennial State.
Going into Friday’s game, St. Louis is 3–3 in January. Scratched from tonight’s rosters for St. Louis is Robby Fabbri, and from Tampa Bay’s lineup, Simon Lundmark and Jack Finley. Puck drops at 8 p.m. ET.
