2019–20 Tampa Bay Lightning season
# 2019–20 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 2019–20 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 28th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on December 16, 1991. The Lightning entered the season as the defending Atlantic Division and Presidents' Trophy champions.

The season was suspended by the league officials on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations followed suit as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 26, the NHL regular season was officially declared over with the remaining games being cancelled. On July 10, following the extension of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement by the league and the Players' Association, it was announced that the Canadian cities of Toronto and Edmonton would be the locations the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs would be staged in. The conclusion of the playoffs would be held in Edmonton as the site of both conference finals and the Stanley Cup Finals.

The playoffs began on August 1 in a modified format involving 24 teams. The Lightning began in Toronto with the other Eastern Conference teams and were given a bye into the first round by virtue of having the second-highest point percentage in the Eastern Conference at the time of the pause. For seeding, they competed in a four-team single round-robin along with the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Philadelphia Flyers, in which they finished in second place. The Lightning then defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round in five games, and the Boston Bruins in the second round, also in five games. Shifting to Edmonton, they competed in their fourth Eastern Conference Finals in the past six seasons, defeating the New York Islanders in six games.

On September 28, 2020, the Lightning won their second Stanley Cup in franchise history, and the first in 16 years since 2004 after defeating the Dallas Stars in six games. Victor Hedman won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

On August 27, the playoffs were briefly suspended as the remaining teams decided not to play their next scheduled contests in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake.

## Off-season

### April

The Lightning's off season began on April 16, 2019, when they were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.

### May

The Lightning's first move of the off season happened on May 3, 2019, when the team signed Jan Rutta to a 1-year contract extension. Rutta appeared in 14 regular season games and 4 playoffs games for the Lightning after coming over in a trade from the Chicago Blackhawks.

On May 23, 2019, the Lightning and forward prospect Jonne Tammela mutually agreed to part ways via contract termination. On May 28, 2019, Tammela signed with Lukko of the Liiga hockey league in Finland.

### June

On June 14, 2019, the Lightning re-signed defenceman Cameron Gaunce to a 1-year contract extension. Last season Gaunce appeared in two regular season games with the Lightning.

On June 18, 2019, the Lightning re-signed defenceman Braydon Coburn to a two-year contract extension valued at $3.4 million. The contract will carry a $1.7 million cap hit. Coburn was coming off a three-year contract with the team. In 74 games last season Coburn produced 23 points, which set a personal best during his tenure with the club.

On June 19, 2019, the Lightning announced that they had re-signed defenceman Daniel Walcott to a 1-year contract extension. Walcott missed the majority of the previous season due to injury.

That same evening, the NHL conducted the 2019 NHL Awards in Las Vegas. Nikita Kucherov was awarded the Ted Lindsay Award and Hart Memorial Trophy. Kucherov was the second player in franchise history win the Ted Lindsay Award and Hart Memorial Trophy. Andrei Vasilevskiy was awarded the Vezina Trophy. Vasilevskiy was the first goaltender in franchise history to win the award. Additionally, the NHL announced the NHL All-Star teams and the NHL All-Rookie Team. Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy were named to the NHL first All-Star team and Victor Hedman was named to the NHL second All-Star team. Anthony Cirelli was named to the All-Rookie Team.

On June 20, 2019, the Lightning announced that Ryan Callahan had been diagnosed with a degenerative disk disease of the lower spine. Doctors gave Callahan the recommendation that it was medically in his best interest to no longer play hockey. The team further announced that it would be placing Callahan on Long Term Injured Reserve for the upcoming season, which is the final year of his contract. Callahan stated in an interview after the announcement that his back had been an issue for him for the last few seasons and that this past season was the worst it had been. Callahan will finish his career with 757 games played, recording 186 goals and 386 points.

On June 22, 2019, the Lightning traded forward J. T. Miller to the Vancouver Canucks on the second day of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The Lightning received goaltender Marek Mazanec, a 3rd-round pick in 2019, and a conditional 1st-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The condition of the pick is that if the Canucks miss the playoffs in the coming season the pick becomes a 1st-round pick in 2021.

### July

On July 5, 2019, the Lightning re-signed forward Carter Verhaeghe to a 1-year contract extension. Verhaeghe led the Syracuse Crunch and American Hockey League in scoring with 82 points (34 goals and 48 assists).

On the same day, the Lightning re-signed forward Cedric Paquette to a 2-year, contract extension. The cap hit on the contract is valued at $1.65 million. Paquette recorded 13 goals and 17 points last season for the Lightning.

On July 8, 2019, the Lightning signed forward Gemel Smith to a 1-year, 2-way contract. Last season Smith skated with the Dallas Stars and Boston Bruins, appearing in 17 NHL games in which he recorded 2 goals and 1 assist. In his professional career Smith has appearing in 80 NHL games, recording 11 goals and 20 points.

On July 9, 2019, the Lightning re-signed forward Danick Martel to a 1-year contract extension. Martel made the Lightning's roster last season, but primarily was healthy scratched. Martel skated in 9 games, recording 2 assists.

On July 16, 2019, the Lightning re-signed defenseman Ben Thomas to a 1-year contract extension. Thomas was drafted by the Lightning in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and has spent the previous seasons three seasons in the American Hockey League with the Syracuse Crunch.

On July 17, 2019, the Lightning re-signed defenseman Dominik Masin to a 1-year contract extension. Masin has spent the last three seasons playing for the Syracuse Crunch. Last season Masin skated in 69 games with the Crunch, recording 2 goals and 10 assists.

On July 29, 2019, the Lightning re-signed starting goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to a $76 million, 8-year contract extension. The annual cap hit is valued at $9.5 million. Vasilevskiy was coming off his first career Vezina Trophy win as the NHL's top goaltender. Vasilevskiy recorded a .925 save percentage, 2.40 goals-against average, and 6 shutouts during his Vezina campaign.

On July 30, 2019, the Lightning traded forward Ryan Callahan and the team's fifth-round 2020 draft pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Mike Condon and Ottawa's 2020 sixth-round pick. The move freed up approximately $3.4 million in cap space.

### August

On August 5, 2019, the Lightning signed free-agent defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk to a one-year, $1.75 million contract. Shattenkirk had played the previous two seasons for the New York Rangers before being bought out by the team. In the season prior to his buyout, Shattenkirk recorded 2 goals and 26 assists over 76 games.

On August 14, 2019, the Lightning traded forward Adam Erne to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL draft. Last season Erne skated in 65 games with the Lightning, recording 7 goals and 13 assists. Erne was originally acquired by the Lightning in the second-round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

On August 24, 2019, the Lightning signed free-agent forward Patrick Maroon to a one-year, $900,000 contract. Maroon spent the previous season with the St. Louis Blues where he helped them capture their first Stanley Cup championship. Maroon scored 10 goals, and 28 points over 74 games in the regular season. In the playoffs Maroon recorded 3 goals and 7 points in 26 games.

## Training camp

### September

On September 11, 2019, the Lightning announced their training camp roster for the coming season. The camp is to be divided among three rosters, which are named after Lightning radio and television broadcasters (Rick Peckham, Phil Esposito and Bobby ‘The Chief’ Taylor). Notably absent from the roster was Lightning forward Brayden Point, who was a restricted free agent.

On September 18, 2019, the Lightning made their first round of training camp roster cuts. The team trimmed their roster of six players to reduce the camp roster down to 56 players. Lightning prospects Gabriel Fortier, Maxim Cajkovic and Quinn Schmeimann were assigned to their junior teams. Eli Zummack, Louis Crevier and Cody Donaghey were released from their tryout agreements.

On September 20, 2019, the Lightning placed goaltenders Mike Condon and Louis Domingue on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the Syracuse for the upcoming season. Domingue served as the Lightning's backup last season and Condon was acquired in trade of forward Ryan Callahan. The team was rumored to have been trying to trade Domingue all summer, but no trade materialized. Both goaltenders cleared waivers the following day.

On September 21, 2019, the Lightning made their second round of training camp roster cuts to reduce their roster to 42-players. The forward group cut consisted of Peter Abbandonato, Jimmy Huntington, Boris Katchouk, Alexey Lipanov, Ryan Lohin, Kevin Lynch, Mikhail Shalagin, and Dennis Yan. On defense it was Luc Snuggerud, Oleg Sosunov, Matt Spencer, and Nolan Valleau. Clint Windsor was the sole goaltender cut among the group. This group of players will report to Syracuse for training camp. Additionally, Cory Conacher, Chris Mueller and Spencer Martin were placed on waivers with the purpose of assignment to Syracuse.

On September 22, 2019, the Lightning made their third round of training cam roster cuts. The team assigned forwards Alex Barre-Boulet, Ross Colton, Cory Conacher, Chris Mueller, Otto Somppi, and Mitchell Stephens to Syracuse. Defeseman Cal Foote and goaltender Spencer Martin were also assigned to Syracuse. Conacher, Mueller and Martin were assigned due to having cleared waivers. Forward Nolan Foote was assigned to his junior club (Kelowna Rockets). The team also placed Cameron Gaunce, Dominik Masin and Scott Wedgewood on waivers for assignment to Syracuse. All three players cleared waivers the following day.

On September 23, 2019, the Lightning announced that it had re-signed center Brayden Point to a three-year contract extension with a cap hit valued at $6.75 million annually. Point set career highs last season, recording 41 goals, 92 points and 51 assists. The team also announced that Point would not be medically cleared to play until late October due a procedure he had in the off-season.

On September 30, 2019, the Lightning made its final training camp roster cuts. The Lightning assigned forwards Danick Martel and Alexander Volkov to the Syracuse Crunch. Defenseman Luke Schenn was placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Syracuse. The forwards named to the opening night roster were Anthony Cirelli, Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, Mathieu Joseph, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Patrick Maroon, Ondrej Palat, Cedric Paquette, Brayden Point, Gemel Smith, Steven Stamkos, and Carter Verhaeghe. The defensemen named were Erik Cernak, Braydon Coburn, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Jan Rutta, Mikhail Sergachev, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Luke Witkowski. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Curtis McElhinney were the starting and backup goaltenders named to the roster.

## Standings

### Divisional standings

Atlantic Division :

| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | p – Boston Bruins | 70 | 44 | 14 | 12 | 38 | 227 | 174 | +53 | 100 |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 70 | 43 | 21 | 6 | 35 | 245 | 195 | +50 | 92 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 36 | 25 | 9 | 28 | 238 | 227 | +11 | 81 |
| 4 | Florida Panthers | 69 | 35 | 26 | 8 | 30 | 231 | 228 | +3 | 78 |
| 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 71 | 31 | 31 | 9 | 19 | 212 | 221 | −9 | 71 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | 69 | 30 | 31 | 8 | 22 | 195 | 217 | −22 | 68 |
| 7 | Ottawa Senators | 71 | 25 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 191 | 243 | −52 | 62 |
| 8 | Detroit Red Wings | 71 | 17 | 49 | 5 | 13 | 145 | 267 | −122 | 39 |

### Eastern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | PCT | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 44 | 14 | 12 | 38 | 227 | 174 | +53 | .714 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 70 | 43 | 21 | 6 | 35 | 245 | 195 | +50 | .657 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 3 | Washington Capitals | 69 | 41 | 20 | 8 | 31 | 240 | 215 | +25 | .652 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 69 | 41 | 21 | 7 | 31 | 232 | 196 | +36 | .645 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 69 | 40 | 23 | 6 | 29 | 224 | 196 | +28 | .623 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 6 | Carolina Hurricanes | 68 | 38 | 25 | 5 | 27 | 222 | 193 | +29 | .596 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 7 | New York Islanders | 68 | 35 | 23 | 10 | 24 | 192 | 193 | −1 | .588 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 8 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 36 | 25 | 9 | 28 | 238 | 227 | +11 | .579 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 9 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 70 | 33 | 22 | 15 | 25 | 180 | 187 | −7 | .579 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 10 | Florida Panthers | 69 | 35 | 26 | 8 | 30 | 231 | 228 | +3 | .565 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 11 | New York Rangers | 70 | 37 | 28 | 5 | 31 | 234 | 222 | +12 | .564 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 12 | Montreal Canadiens | 71 | 31 | 31 | 9 | 19 | 212 | 221 | −9 | .500 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 13 | Buffalo Sabres | 69 | 30 | 31 | 8 | 22 | 195 | 217 | −22 | .493 | |
| 14 | New Jersey Devils | 69 | 28 | 29 | 12 | 22 | 189 | 230 | −41 | .493 | |
| 15 | Ottawa Senators | 71 | 25 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 191 | 243 | −52 | .437 | |
| 16 | Detroit Red Wings | 71 | 17 | 49 | 5 | 13 | 145 | 267 | −122 | .275 | |

## Schedule and results

### Preseason

2019 preseason game log: 2–3–2 (Home: 1–1–1; Road: 1–2–1)

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordRecap

1September 17Carolina Hurricanes0–3WedgewoodAmalie Arena12,0100–1–0

2September 18@ Carolina Hurricanes0–2MartinPNC Arena0–2–0

3September 20Nashville Predators3–1McElhinneyAmalie Arena13,4561–2–0

4September 21@ Nashville Predators4–5OTWedgewoodBridgestone Arena1–2–1

5September 24@ Florida Panthers3–6VasilevskiyBB&T Center8,7441–3–1

6September 26@ Florida Panthers4–2McElhinneyBB&T Center8,6112–3–1

7September 28Florida Panthers0–1SOVasilevskiyAmalie Arena14,7322–3–2 :

Lightning score listed first;

  Win

  Loss

  Overtime/shootout loss :

### Regular season

2019–20 regular season game log :

October: 6–4–2, 14 points (Home: 2–1–1; Road: 4–3–1)

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap

1October 3Florida Panthers5–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0921–0–02

2October 5@ Florida Panthers3–4VasilevskiyBB&T Center17,4241–1–02

3October 6@ Carolina Hurricanes3–4OTMcElhinneyPNC Arena14,1251–1–13

4October 10@ Toronto Maple Leafs7–3VasilevskiyScotiabank Arena19,3872–1–15

5October 12@ Ottawa Senators2–4McElhinneyCanadian Tire Centre11,0232–2–15

6October 15@ Montreal Canadiens3–1VasilevskiyBell Centre20,4063–2–17

7October 17@ Boston Bruins4–3SOVasilevskiyTD Garden17,1934–2–19

8October 19Colorado Avalanche2–6VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0924–3–19

9October 23Pittsburgh Penguins3–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0925–3–111

10October 26Nashville Predators2–3OTMcElhinneyAmalie Arena19,0925–3–212

11October 29@ New York Rangers1–4VasilevskiyMadison Square Garden17,1965–4–212

12October 30@ New Jersey Devils7–6OTMcElhinneyPrudential Center13,1526–4–214 :

November: 6–5–1, 13 points (Home: 4–3–0; Road: 2–2–1)

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap

13November 1@ New York Islanders2–5VasilevskiyNassau Coliseum12,0436–5–214

14November 8@ Buffalo Sabres3–2VasilevskiyEricsson Globe†13,2307–5–216

15November 9Buffalo Sabres5–3McElhinneyEricsson Globe†13,3398–5–218

16November 14New York Rangers9–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0929–5–220

17November 16Winnipeg Jets3–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0929–6–220

18November 19@ St. Louis Blues1–3VasilevskiyEnterprise Center18,0969–7–220

19November 21@ Chicago Blackhawks4–2McElhinneyUnited Center21,33610–7–222

20November 23Anaheim Ducks6–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09211–7–224

21November 25Buffalo Sabres5–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09212–7–226

22November 27St. Louis Blues3–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09212–8–226

23November 29@ Washington Capitals3–4OTVasilevskiyCapital One Arena18,57312–8–327

24November 30Carolina Hurricanes2–3McElhinneyAmalie Arena19,09212–9–327

† Games played in Stockholm, Sweden :

December: 9–4–1, 19 points (Home: 6–3–1; Road: 3–1–0)

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap

25December 3@ Nashville Predators3–2OTVasilevskiyBridgestone Arena17,16313–9–329

26December 5Minnesota Wild4–5VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09213–10–329

27December 7San Jose Sharks7–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09214–10–331

28December 9New York Islanders1–5McElhinneyAmalie Arena19,09214–11–331

29December 10@ Florida Panthers2–1VasilevskiyBB&T Center10,68515–11–333

30December 12Boston Bruins3–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09216–11–335

31December 14Washington Capitals2–5VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09216–12–335

32December 17Ottawa Senators4–3OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09217–12–337

33December 19Dallas Stars3–4OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09217–12–438

34December 21@ Washington Capitals1–3McElhinneyCapital One Arena18,57317–13–438

35December 23Florida Panthers6–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09218–13–440

36December 28Montreal Canadiens5–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09219–13–442

37December 29Detroit Red Wings2–1McElhinneyAmalie Arena19,09220–13–444

38December 31@ Buffalo Sabres6–4VasilevskiyKeyBank Center18,46521–13–446 :

January: 10–2–1, 21 points (Home: 3–0–0; Road: 7–2–1)

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap

39January 2@ Montreal Canadiens2–1VasilevskiyBell Centre20,90422–13–448

40January 4@ Ottawa Senators5–3McElhinneyCanadian Tire Centre13,91423–13–450

41January 5@ Carolina Hurricanes3–1VasilevskiyPNC Arena18,01524–13–452

42January 7Vancouver Canucks9–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09225–13–454

43January 9Arizona Coyotes4–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09226–13–456

44January 11@ Philadelphia Flyers1–0VasilevskiyWells Fargo Center19,86627–13–458

45January 12@ New Jersey Devils1–3McElhinneyPrudential Center14,20327–14–458

46January 14Los Angeles Kings4–3SOVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09228–14–460

47January 16@ Minnesota Wild2–3McElhinneyXcel Energy Center17,30528–15–460

48January 17@ Winnipeg Jets7–1VasilevskiyBell MTS Place15,32529–15–462

All-Star Break (January 23–26)

49January 27@ Dallas Stars2–3OTVasilevskiyAmerican Airlines Center18,34529–15–563

50January 29@ Los Angeles Kings4–2VasilevskiyStaples Center18,23030–15–565

51January 31@ Anaheim Ducks4–3VasilevskiyHonda Center16,03231–15–567 :

February: 10–4–0, 20 points (Home: 6–2–0; Road: 4–2–0)

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap

52February 1@ San Jose Sharks3–0McElhinneySAP Center17,56232–15–569

53February 4Vegas Golden Knights4–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09233–15–571

54February 6Pittsburgh Penguins4–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09234–15–573

55February 8New York Islanders3–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09235–15–575

56February 10@ Columbus Blue Jackets2–1OTMcElhinneyNationwide Arena17,13136–15–577

57February 11@ Pittsburgh Penguins2–1OTVasilevskiyPPG Paints Arena18,44537–15–579

58February 13Edmonton Oilers3–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09238–15–581

59February 15Philadelphia Flyers5–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09239–15–583

60February 17@ Colorado Avalanche4–3OTMcElhinneyPepsi Center18,10740–15–585

61February 20@ Vegas Golden Knights3–5VasilevskiyT-Mobile Arena18,37640–16–585

62February 22@ Arizona Coyotes3–7VasilevskiyGila River Arena14,82540–17–585

63February 25Toronto Maple Leafs3–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09240–18–585

64February 27Chicago Blackhawks2–5McElhinneyAmalie Arena19,09240–19–585

65February 29Calgary Flames4–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09241–19–587 :

March: 2–2–1, 5 points (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 1–1–1)

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap

66March 3Boston Bruins1–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09241–20–587

67March 5Montreal Canadiens4–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09242–20–589

68March 7@ Boston Bruins5–3VasilevskiyTD Garden17,85043–20–591

69March 8@ Detroit Red Wings4–5OTMcElhinneyLittle Caesars Arena18,84143–20–692

70March 10@ Toronto Maple Leafs1–2VasilevskiyScotiabank Arena19,12443–21–692 :

Cancelled games

GameDateOpponentLocation

71March 12Philadelphia FlyersAmalie Arena

72March 14Detroit Red WingsAmalie Arena

73March 15New Jersey DevilsAmalie Arena

74March 18@ Vancouver CanucksRogers Arena

75March 20@ Edmonton OilersRogers Place

76March 21@ Calgary FlamesScotiabank Saddledome

77March 25Toronto Maple LeafsAmalie Arena

78March 27Columbus Blue JacketsAmalie Arena

79March 28New York RangersAmalie Arena

80March 31Ottawa SenatorsAmalie Arena

81April 2@ Columbus Blue JacketsNationwide Arena

82April 4@ Detroit Red WingsLittle Caesars Arena :

Lightning score listed first;

  Win (2 points)

  Loss (0 points)

  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

Seeding Round-robin – Tampa Bay finishes 2nd

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap

1August 3Washington Capitals3–2SOVasilevskiy1–0–02

2August 5@ Boston Bruins3–2Vasilevskiy2–0–04

3August 8Philadelphia Flyers1–4Vasilevskiy2–1–04

† Games played at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada :

Lightning score listed first;

  Win (2 points)

  Loss (0 points)

  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

2020 Stanley Cup playoffs :

Eastern Conference First Round vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (7) - Tampa Bay wins series 4–1

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionSeriesRecap

1August 11Columbus Blue Jackets3–25OTVasilevskiy1–0

2August 13Columbus Blue Jackets1–3Vasilevskiy1–1

3August 15@ Columbus Blue Jackets3–2Vasilevskiy2–1

4August 17@ Columbus Blue Jackets2–1Vasilevskiy3–1

5August 19Columbus Blue Jackets5–4OTVasilevskiy4–1

† Games played at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada :

Eastern Conference Second Round vs. Boston Bruins (4) - Tampa Bay wins series 4–1

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionSeriesRecap

1August 23Boston Bruins2–3Vasilevskiy0–1

2August 25Boston Bruins4–3OTVasilevskiy1–1

3August 26@ Boston Bruins7–1Vasilevskiy2–1

4August 29@ Boston Bruins3–1Vasilevskiy3–1

5August 31Boston Bruins3–22OTVasilevskiy4–1

† Games played at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada :

Eastern Conference Finals vs. New York Islanders (6) - Tampa Bay wins series 4–2

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionSeriesRecap

1September 7New York Islanders8–2Vasilevskiy1–0

2September 9New York Islanders2–1Vasilevskiy2–0

3September 11@ New York Islanders3–5Vasilevskiy2–1

4September 13@ New York Islanders4–1Vasilevskiy3–1

5September 15New York Islanders1–22OTVasilevskiy3–2

6September 17@ New York Islanders2–1OTVasilevskiy4–2

† Games played at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada :

Stanley Cup Finals vs. Dallas Stars (W3) - Tampa Bay wins series 4–2

GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionSeriesRecap

1September 19Dallas Stars1–4Vasilevskiy0–1

2September 21Dallas Stars3–2Vasilevskiy1–1

3September 23@ Dallas Stars5–2Vasilevskiy2–1

4September 25@ Dallas Stars5–4OTVasilevskiy3–1

5September 26Dallas Stars2–32OTVasilevskiy3–2

6September 28@ Dallas Stars2–0Vasilevskiy4–2

† Games played at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada :

Lightning score listed first;

  Win

  Loss :

## Player stats

Final

### Skaters

Regular season :

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nikita Kucherov | 68 | 33 | 52 | 85 | 26 | 38 |
| Steven Stamkos | 57 | 29 | 37 | 66 | 14 | 22 |
| Brayden Point | 66 | 25 | 39 | 64 | 28 | 11 |
| Victor Hedman | 66 | 11 | 44 | 55 | 27 | 31 |
| Alex Killorn | 68 | 26 | 23 | 49 | 19 | 20 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 68 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 28 | 30 |
| Ondrej Palat | 69 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 25 | 22 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 70 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 15 | 58 |
| Kevin Shattenkirk | 70 | 8 | 26 | 34 | 22 | 38 |
| Tyler Johnson | 65 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 9 | 16 |
| Yanni Gourde | 70 | 10 | 20 | 30 | −5 | 49 |
| Patrick Maroon | 64 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 4 | 71 |
| Cedric Paquette | 60 | 7 | 11 | 18 | −1 | 40 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 52 | 9 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 8 |
| Erik Cernak | 67 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 59 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 50 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 19 |
| Mathieu Joseph | 37 | 4 | 3 | 7 | −2 | 16 |
| Jan Rutta | 33 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 14 |
| Mitchell Stephens | 38 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −9 | 10 |
| Braydon Coburn | 40 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
| Cameron Gaunce | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| Luke Schenn | 25 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −8 | 23 |
| Luke Witkowski | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 13 |
| Zach $Bogosian^†$ | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| Barclay $Goodrow^†$ | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
| Gemel Smith | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Alexander Volkov | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −6 | 6 |
| Blake $Coleman^†$ | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| Cory Conacher | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 4 |

Playoffs :

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nikita Kucherov | 25 | 7 | 27 | 34 | 15 | 22 |
| Brayden Point | 23 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 12 | 10 |
| Victor Hedman | 25 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 13 | 24 |
| Ondrej Palat | 25 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 14 | 10 |
| Yanni Gourde | 25 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 12 | 19 |
| Blake Coleman | 25 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 31 |
| Kevin Shattenkirk | 25 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 6 |
| Alex Killorn | 24 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −6 | 27 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 25 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 26 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 25 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −5 | 2 |
| Tyler Johnson | 25 | 4 | 3 | 7 | −6 | 11 |
| Patrick Maroon | 25 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 32 |
| Barclay Goodrow | 25 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 16 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 10 |
| Erik Cernak | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 12 |
| Zach Bogosian | 20 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| Cedric Paquette | 24 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −4 | 16 |
| Luke Schenn | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
| Mitchell Stephens | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 2 |
| Steven Stamkos | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jan Rutta | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Braydon Coburn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Alexander Volkov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :

| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 52 | 52 | 3122 | 35 | 14 | 3 | 133 | 2.56 | 1605 | .917 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Curtis McElhinney | 18 | 18 | 1081 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 48 | 2.89 | 551 | .906 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Playoffs :

| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 25 | 25 | 1709 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 54 | 1.90 | 740 | .927 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |

$^†Denotes$ player spent time with another team before joining Tampa Bay. Stats reflect time with Tampa Bay only. $^‡Traded$ from Tampa Bay mid-season. Bold/italics denotes franchise record

## Suspensions/fines

| Player | Explanation | Length | Salary | Date issued |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Cedric Paquette | Fined for high-sticking Frank Vatrano during the preseason game against the Florida Panthers on September 26, 2019, at the BB&T Center. | — | $2,500 | September 27, 2019 |
| Erik Cernak | Suspended for elbowing Rasmus Dahlin during the regular season game against the Buffalo Sabres on November 25, 2019, at Amalie Arena. | 2 games | $7,500 | November 26, 2019 |
| Alex Killorn | Suspended for boarding Brock Nelson during the Eastern Conference final playoff game against the New York Islanders on September 9, 2020, at Rogers Place. | 1 game | — | September 10, 2020 |

## Awards and honours

### Awards

Regular season :

| Player | Award | Awarded |
| - | - | - |
| Victor Hedman | NHL First Star of the Week | December 30, 2019 |
| Victor Hedman | NHL All-Star Game selection | December 30, 2019 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | NHL First Star of the Week | January 13, 2020 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | NHL All-Star Game selection | January 13, 2020 |
| Steven Stamkos | NHL 2010s All-Decade Second Team | January 24, 2020 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | NHL Third Star of January | February 1, 2020 |
| Steven Stamkos | NHL Second Star of the Week | February 3, 2020 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | NHL Third Star of the Week | February 10, 2020 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | NHL Second Star of the Week | February 17, 2020 |
| Victor Hedman | Second Team All Star | September 21, 2020 |
| Nikita Kucherov | Second Team All Star | September 21, 2020 |

Hockey Hall of Fame :

| Individual | Award | Year awarded | Years with franchise | References |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Rick Peckham | Foster Hewitt Memorial Award | 2020 | 1995–2020 | |

### Milestones

Regular season :

| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| - | - | - |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 1st career NHL game | October 3, 2019 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 5, 2019 |
| Victor Hedman | 700th career NHL game | October 10, 2019 |
| Brayden Point | 200th career NHL point | October 10, 2019 |
| Alexander Volkov | 1st career NHL game | October 30, 2019 |
| Yanni Gourde | 200th career NHL game | November 14, 2020 |
| Steven Stamkos | 400th career NHL goal | November 16, 2019 |
| Ondrej Palat | 100th career NHL goal | November 23, 2019 |
| Ondrej Palat | 200th career NHL assist 300th career NHL point | November 25, 2019 |
| Brayden Point | 100th career NHL goal | November 29, 2019 |
| Victor Hedman | 100th career NHL goal | December 5, 2019 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 1st career NHL goal | December 7, 2019 |
| Mitchell Stephens | 1st career NHL game | December 9, 2019 |
| Mathieu Joseph | 100th career NHL game | December 14, 2019 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 200th career NHL goal | December 22, 2019 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 300th career NHL assist 500th career NHL point | December 23, 2019 |
| Tyler Johnson | 500th career NHL game | December 28, 2019 |
| Mitchell Stephens | 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | December 28, 2019 |
| Steven Stamkos | 800th career NHL point | December 28, 2019 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 200th career NHL game | January 7, 2020 |
| Mitchell Stephens | 1st career NHL assist | January 7, 2020 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 1st career NHL Hat-trick | January 7, 2020 |
| Steven Stamkos | 400th career NHL assist | January 9, 2020 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 20th career NHL shutout | January 11, 2020 |
| Erik Cernak | 100th career NHL game | January 12, 2020 |
| Alexander Volkov | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | January 14, 2020 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1st career NHL Hat-trick | January 17, 2020 |
| Alex Killorn | 300th career NHL point | January 17, 2020 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 500th career NHL game | February 6, 2020 |
| Patrick Maroon | 500th career NHL game | February 10, 2020 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 100th career NHL point | February 10, 2020 |
| Steven Stamkos | 800th career NHL game | February 17, 2020 |
| Kevin Shattenkirk | 300th career NHL assist | March 5, 2020 |

Playoffs :

| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| - | - | - |
| Zach Bogosian | 1st career playoff game | August 3, 2020 |
| Mitchell Stephens | 1st career playoff game 1st career playoff point 1st career playoff goal | August 3, 2020 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 1st career playoff game 1st career playoff point 1st career playoff assist | August 15, 2020 |
| Zach Bogosian | 1st career playoff point 1st career playoff assist | August 15, 2020 |
| Victor Hedman | 100th career playoff game | September 11, 2020 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 1st career playoff point 1st career playoff assist | September 13, 2020 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 1st career playoff shutout | September 28, 2020 |

## Transactions

The Lightning have been involved in the following transactions during the 2019–20 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| - | - | - |
| June 22, 2019 (2019-06-22) | To Vancouver CanucksJ. T. Miller | To Tampa Bay LightningMarek Mazanec 3rd-round pick in 2019 Conditional 1st-round pick in 2020 |
| July 30, 2019 (2019-07-30) | To Ottawa SenatorsRyan Callahan 5th-round pick in 2020 | To Tampa Bay LightningMike Condon 6th-round pick in 2020 |
| August 14, 2019 (2019-08-14) | To Detroit Red WingsAdam Erne | To Tampa Bay Lightning4th-round pick in 2020 |
| November 2, 2019 (2019-11-02) | To New Jersey DevilsLouis Domingue | To Tampa Bay LightningConditional 7th-round pick in 2021 |
| November 24, 2019 (2019-11-24) | To Buffalo SabresMatt Spencer | To Tampa Bay LightningDevante Stephens |
| December 30, 2019 (2019-12-30) | To Anaheim DucksChris Mueller | To Tampa Bay LightningPatrick Sieloff |
| February 16, 2020 (2020-02-16) | To New Jersey DevilsNolan Foote Conditional 1st-round pick in 2020 | To Tampa Bay LightningBlake Coleman |
| February 20, 2020 (2020-02-20) | To Florida PanthersDanick Martel | To Tampa Bay LightningAnthony Greco |
| February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24) | To San Jose SharksAnthony Greco 1st-round pick in 2020 | To Tampa Bay LightningBarclay Goodrow 3rd-round pick in 2020 |

### Free agents

| Date | Player | Team | Contract term |
| - | - | - | - |
| July 1, 2019 | Luke Schenn | from Vancouver Canucks | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 | Curtis McElhinney | from Carolina Hurricanes | 2-year |
| July 1, 2019 | Luke Witkowski | from Detroit Red Wings | 2-year |
| July 1, 2019 | Scott Wedgewood | from Buffalo Sabres | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 | Spencer Martin | from Colorado Avalanche | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 | Chris Mueller | from Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 | Anton Stralman | to Florida Panthers | 3-year |
| July 1, 2019 | Gabriel Dumont | to Minnesota Wild | 2-year |
| July 1, 2019 | Andy Andreoff | to Philadelphia Flyers | 2-year |
| July 8, 2019 | Gemel Smith | from Boston Bruins | 1-year |
| August 5, 2019 | Kevin Shattenkirk | from New York Rangers | 1-year |
| August 24, 2019 | Patrick Maroon | from St. Louis Blues | 1-year |
| February 23, 2020 | Zach Bogosian | from Buffalo Sabres | 1-year |
| July 17, 2020 | Sean Day | from Hartford Wolf Pack | 1-year |

### Waivers

| Date | Player | Team | Ref |
| - | - | - | - |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Contract term |
| - | - | - |
| June 25, 2019 (2019-06-25) | Nolan Foote | 3-year |
| July 5, 2019 (2019-07-05) | Carter Verhaeghe | 1-year |
| July 5, 2019 (2019-07-05) | Cedric Paquette | 2-year |
| July 9, 2019 (2019-07-09) | Danick Martel | 1-year |
| July 16, 2019 (2019-07-16) | Ben Thomas | 1-year |
| July 17, 2019 (2019-07-17) | Dominik Masin | 1-year |
| July 29, 2019 (2019-07-29) | Andrei Vasilevskiy | 8-year |
| September 23, 2019 (2019-09-23) | Brayden Point | 3-year |
| April 17, 2020 (2020-04-17) | Daniel Walcott | 1-year |
| September 9, 2020 (2020-09-09) | Alex Green | 2-year |

## Draft picks

Below are the Tampa Bay Lightning's selections at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 21 and 22, 2019, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.

| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 27 | Nolan Foote | LW | United States | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |
| 3 | $71^1$ | Hugo Alnefelt | G | Sweden | HV71 J20 (J20 SuperElit) |
| 3 | 89 | Maxim Cajkovic | RW | Slovakia | Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 120 | Maxwell Crozier | D | Canada | Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) |
| 6 | 182 | Quinn Schmiemann | D | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 7 | $189^2$ | Mikhail Shalagin | LW | Russia | JHC Spartak (MHL) |
| 7 | 213 | McKade Webster | LW | United States | Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) |

Notes:

* The Vancouver Canucks' third-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 22, 2019, that sent J. T. Miller to Vancouver in exchange for Marek Mazanec, a conditional first-round pick 2020 and this pick.
* The Chicago Blackhawks' seventh-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on January 11, 2019, that sent Slater Koekkoek and a fifth-round pick in 2019 to Chicago in exchange for Jan Rutta and this pick.
