# 2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 23rd season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on December 16, 1991.

## Off-season
### April

The off-season for the Tampa Bay Lightning began on April 22, 2014, when they were eliminated in a four-game sweep by the Montreal Canadiens. On May 6, 2014, the first off-season transaction involved the Lightning signing their highly touted goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to a three-year, entry-level contract. Coming into the 2014–15 season, Vasilevskiy is rated as team's top goaltending prospect. On May 21, 2014, the Lightning signed 2012 draft pick defensemen Dylan Blujus to a three-year, entry-level contract. Blujus had four goals and 30 points in 55 games with the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He also had four goals and 10 points in 22 playoff games, while helping the Battalion reach the OHL finals.

### May

On May 23, 2014, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Calder Memorial Trophy finalist Tyler Johnson to a three-year contract extension. Johnson had 24 goals, 26 assists and a plus-23 rating in 82 games. Johnson led all rookies in total playing time, and was used heavily on the penalty kill. Additionally, Johnson put up five shorthanded goals, which tied for the NHL lead. Johnson was also named to the NHL All-Rookie Team for the 2013–14 season.

### June

On June 9, 2014, the Lightning announced the re-signing of co-Calder Trophy finalist Ondrej Palat to a three-year, $10 million contract extension. Palat had 23 goals and a team-high 59 points during the 2013–14 season. Among all NHL rookies, he ranked second in points and third in goals. Like Johnson, Palat was also named to the NHL All-Rookie Team for the 2013–14 season.
On June 25, 2014, the Lightning signed Ryan Callahan to a six-year, $34.8 million contract. Callahan was acquired by the team in the previous season in the trade that sent Martin St. Louis to the New York Rangers, along with acquiring what would become a first round pick in both the 2014 and 2015 NHL Entry Drafts. Callahan had six goals and five assists in 20 regular season games with the Lightning. On the same day, the Lighting elected to use their final compliance buyout on forward Ryan Malone. Malone had dealt with injury problems during his stint with the Lightning, and saw his numbers dip to five goals and ten assists in 57 games. Additionally, Malone was involved in an arrest for DUI and cocaine possession. The team continued its busy day by re-signing forward J. T. Brown to a two-year, one-way contract. Brown appeared in 63 games with the Lightning last season, scoring four goals and 19 points while averaging 13:02 in ice time per game. Brown also appeared in all four Stanley Cup playoff games in 2014, notching two assists.
On June 27, 2014, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Mark Barberio to one-year, one-way contract. Barberio skated in 49 games, recording five goals and 10 points during the 2013–14 season. He was tied for fourth in the NHL among rookie defensemen with a plus-10 rating. Barberio has appeared in 51 total games for the Lightning, and has recorded a plus or even rating in 40 of his career games. On the same day, the Lighting acquired defensemen Jason Garrison from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for their second round draft pick (50th overall). In addition to Garrison, the Lightning received the rights to left winger Jeff Costello and the Canuck's seventh round pick in 2015. In 2013–14, Garrison had 33 points in 81 games, but saw his possession numbers fall under former Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella.
On June 29, 2014, the Lightning pulled off a series of trades to free up salary cap and acquire several draft picks. First, the Lightning traded Teddy Purcell to the Edmonton Oilers for center Sam Gagner. Purcell played five seasons for Tampa Bay after being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in March 2010. Purcell's breakout year was in 2011–12, when he had 24 goals and 41 assists, along with a great playoff run the previous season that saw the Lightning reach the Eastern Conference Final. However, in recent years, Purcell has been somewhat disappointing for the team in terms of production; over the past two seasons, he has had 23 goals combined. The Lightning then quickly flipped Sam Gagner and forward B. J. Crombeen to the Arizona Coyotes for a sixth round draft pick in 2015. The Lightning also had to retain one-third of Gagner's remaining salary ($1.6 million). Crombeen, a fourth-line grinder and fighter, had four goals and 14 assists in 99 games over two seasons in Tampa Bay. At midnight, on June 1, 2014, the Lightning traded forward Nate Thompson to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a fourth and sixth round pick in the 2015 Draft. As a depth player, Thompson had become a key contributor the past five seasons, including being one of team's top penalty killers. On the same day, the Lightning re-signed Syracuse Crunch captain Mike Angelidis to a one-year, two-way contract. Angelidis skated in 75 games with the Crunch, recording 12 goals and 33 points to go along with 161 penalty minutes. He ranked second on the Crunch in penalty minutes and fifth in points. Angelidis has played in 515 career American Hockey League (AHL) games with the Norfolk Admirals, Albany River Rats and Crunch, collecting 99 goals and 207 points to go with 1,079 penalty minutes. In 2012, he was a member of the Norfolk Admirals team that won the Calder Cup championship, skating in 18 games and recording a goal and six points.

### July

After freeing up cap space (approximately $13 million), the Lightning looked to the start of free agency. On July 1, the Lightning inked defensemen Anton Stralman to a $22.5 million, five-year contract. Stralman had one goal and 13 assists last season with the New York Rangers, and had five assists in 25 playoff games. A few hours later, the Lightning signed forward Brian Boyle to a three-year contract. Both Stralman and Boyle helped the Rangers capture the Eastern Conference Championship, and reach the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Later in day, the Lightning signed goaltender Evgeni Nabokov to a one-year contract. Nabokov will serve as backup to starting goalie Ben Bishop, after team elected not to qualify an offer to goalie Anders Lindback, who signed with the Dallas Stars. In 2013–14 with the New York Islanders, Nabokov posted a .905 save percentage as their starting goaltender.
On July 4, the Lightning announced the re-signing of defensemen Andrej Sustr to a one-year, one-way contract. Sustr appeared in 43 games with the Lightning last season, posting one goal and eight points to go along with 16 penalty minutes. Sustr made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut against the Montreal Canadiens in 2014, skating in three games. In addition, he played in 12 games with the Syracuse Crunch, recording a goal and three assists. In total, Sustr has appeared in 45 NHL games, all with the Lightning over the past two seasons, recording one goal and eight points.
On July 8, the Lightning signed free agent defensemen Matt Corrente to a one-year, two-way contract. He has appeared in 34 career NHL games, all with the New Jersey Devils, over parts of two seasons, posting six assists and 68 penalty minutes. He also appeared in two playoff games during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. This signing provides some depth and experience for the Crunch in the coming season, which will have several first-year players on defense. On the same day, the Lightning re-signed forward Cody Kunyk to a one-year, two-way contract. Kunyk signed by the Lightning last season as an undrafted free agent. He made his NHL debut, logging 10:12 of ice time, on April 13 against the Washington Capitals. Kunyk skated in over four seasons for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he had 60 goals and 133 points.
On July 10, the Lightning signed free agent forward Jerome Samson to a one-year, two-way contract. Samson played in 68 games for the St. John's IceCaps last season. He had 27 goals with 56 points. Samson has played in 424 AHL games with 160 goals and 336 points. Samson has also played in 46 career NHL games, all with the Carolina Hurricanes, over parts of three seasons. Samson will likely serve as veteran forward depth for Tampa's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. On the same day, the Lightning re-signed forward Brett Connolly to a one-year, two-way contract. Connolly has played in 11 games for the Lightning last season, and had one goal. He has played in 84 career NHL games, all with the Lightning over three seasons. During that time, he has earned six goals and 17 points. Connolly has played in 137 AHL games, earning 52 goals and 120 points. He appeared in 66 games with the Crunch last season, totaling 21 goals and 57 points.
On July 11, 2014, the Lightning signed Brenden Morrow to a one-year contract. Morrow recorded 13 goals and 25 points in 71 games with the St. Louis Blues last season. Over his career, he has skated in 921 career NHL games with the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Blues. He has 262 goals and 567 points with a plus-108 rating. The Lightning also announced the signing of Philippe Paradis to a one-year, two-way contract. Paradis played in 56 games for the Crunch last season. He had six goals and 15 points. He has played 166 career AHL games with 13 goals and 43 points. Later in the day, the Lightning announced the re-signing of forward Richard Panik to a one-year, two-way contract. Panik played in 50 games with the Lightning last season and had three goals with 13 points. Additionally, he skated in 13 games with Syracuse and had three goals and 11 points.

### August

On August 2, the Lightning re-signed starting goaltender Ben Bishop to a two-year contract extension. Bishop had a breakout season with the Lightning last year, posting a 37–14–7 record in 63 games. He had a .924 save percentage and a 2.23 goals against average (GAA). He set the Tampa Bay single season records for victories, save percentage and GAA, and was nominated for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. Bishop has played in 108 career NHL games with the Lightning, Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues. He has a career record of 55–31–11 with eight shutouts, and a .920 save percentage and a 2.40 GAA.

## Training camp

On September 16, the Lightning announced their initial training camp roster, which contained 64 players. Goalie Leland Irving had signed a PTO to participate in the camp as a goalie invitee. However, Irving elected to sign with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) instead of participating in camp. The Lightning invited goalie Peter Mannino in Irving's place. The training camp roster also contained 24 players who participated in the rookie tournament in Tennessee. Some of the notable prospects from that tournament were Jonathan Drouin, Kristers Gudlevskis, Slater Koekkoek and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The training camp roster this year also contains the free agents acquired over the summer, as well as the returning cast from last years strong regular season performance.
On September 18, during practice, forward Jonathan Drouin fell during practice sustaining an "upper body injury." The team did not consider the injury to be serious, and he was expected to undergo further evaluation the following Monday. Despite the injury, Drouin was expected to make the opening night roster with the team.
On September 21, the Lightning released right winger Cameron Maclise from his training camp invite. Two days later, the Lightning released Michael Aviani and Kodie Curran from their training invites. In addition, the Lightning reassigned four 2014 draft picks to their respective junior hockey clubs (Digiacinto, Point, Masin and Thomas). Two days later, the Lightning announced that forward Jonathan Drouin is expected to miss three-to-four weeks with a thumb fracture. Drouin will continue to skate on his own until he is cleared to resume practicing with the team again.
On September 27, the Lightning held their Fan Fest event. During the event, the team unveiled their new third jersey for the upcoming season. This design retained the "Bolts" word mark logo, but brought back black as the primary color. Around the same time, the Lightning reduced their training camp roster by six players. The group of players consisted of AHL veteran players, which included Syracuse Crunch captain Mike Angelidis. All six players would have to clear waivers before being assigned to the Crunch. Later in the day, 27 players were reassigned to Syracuse or to their junior hockey club. As well, Peter Mannino was released from his training camp tryout. Some of the notable players in the group demoted were Kristers Gudlevskis, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Slater Koekkoek. A few notable prospects remained on the roster, including Vladislav Namestnikov, Cedric Paquette, Jonathan Drouin and defenseman Luke Witkowski.

## Standings

Atlantic Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 50 | 22 | 10 | 43 | 221 | 189 | +32 | 110 |
| 2 | x – Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 50 | 24 | 8 | 47 | 262 | 211 | +51 | 108 |
| 3 | x – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 43 | 25 | 14 | 39 | 235 | 221 | +14 | 100 |
| 4 | x – Ottawa Senators | 82 | 43 | 26 | 13 | 37 | 238 | 215 | +23 | 99 |
| 5 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 41 | 27 | 14 | 37 | 213 | 211 | +2 | 96 |
| 6 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 38 | 29 | 15 | 30 | 206 | 223 | −17 | 91 |
| 7 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 30 | 44 | 8 | 25 | 211 | 262 | −51 | 68 |
| 8 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 23 | 51 | 8 | 15 | 161 | 274 | −113 | 54 |

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

2014 Preseason game log: 5–1–0 (home: 3–0–0; road: 2–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordRecap
1September 23Nashville Predators4–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena10,4421–0–0
2September 25@ Nashville Predators0–1GudlevskisBridgestone Arena13,1071–1–0
3September 26Dallas Stars6–3BishopAmalie Arena13,6352–1–0
4September 30@ Dallas Stars5–1BishopAmerican Airlines Center14,2123–1–0
5October 2@ Florida Panthers3–0NabokovBB&T Center2,8594–1–0
6October 4Florida Panthers4–1BishopAmalie Arena15,4115–1–0 :
2014 Preseason Schedule :
Lightning score listed first;
  Win
  Loss
  Overtime/shootout loss :

### Regular season

2014–15 Game Log :
October: 7–3–1, 15 Points (home: 4–1–1; road: 3–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 9Florida Panthers3–2OTBishopAmalie Arena19,2041–0–02
2October 11Ottawa Senators2–3SOBishopAmalie Arena19,2041–0–13
3October 13Montreal Canadiens7–1BishopAmalie Arena17,6222–0–15
4October 14New Jersey Devils1–2NabokovAmalie Arena18,0642–1–15
5October 18@ Vancouver Canucks4–2BishopRogers Arena18,6473–1–17
6October 20@ Edmonton Oilers2–3BishopRexall Place16,8393–2–17
7October 21@ Calgary Flames2–1OTNabokovScotiabank Saddledome19,2894–2–19
8October 24@ Winnipeg Jets4–2BishopMTS Centre15,0165–2–111
9October 25@ Minnesota Wild2–7NabokovXcel Energy Center18,8845–3–111
10October 28Arizona Coyotes7–3BishopAmalie Arena17,5116–3–113
11October 30Philadelphia Flyers4–3BishopAmalie Arena18,6427–3–115 :
November: 9–3–1, 19 Points (home: 6–1–0; road: 3–2–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
12November 1Washington Capitals4–3BishopAmalie Arena19,1198–3–117
13November 6Calgary Flames5–2BishopAmalie Arena18,2769–3–119
14November 8@ Columbus Blue Jackets7–4NabokovNationwide Arena14,98210–3–121
15November 9@ Detroit Red Wings4–3SOBishopJoe Louis Arena20,02711–3–123
16November 11@ Chicago Blackhawks2–3SOBishopUnited Center21,34511–3–224
17November 13San Jose Sharks1–2BishopAmalie Arena19,00411–4–224
18November 15New York Islanders5–2BishopAmalie Arena19,20412–4–226
19November 17@ New York Rangers5–1BishopMadison Square Garden18,00613–4–228
20November 18@ New York Islanders2–5NabokovNassau Coliseum12,90813–5–228
21November 20@ Toronto Maple Leafs2–5BishopAir Canada Centre19,08913–6–228
22November 22Minnesota Wild2–1BishopAmalie Arena19,20414–6–230
23November 26New York Rangers4–3BishopAmalie Arena19,20415–6–232
24November 29Ottawa Senators4–1BishopAmalie Arena19,20416–6–234 :
December: 8–5–2, 18 Points (home: 5–2–0; road: 3–3–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
25December 1@ New York Rangers6–3BishopMadison Square Garden18,00617–6–236
26December 2@ Buffalo Sabres1–2SONabokovFirst Niagara Center17,77217–6–337
27December 4Buffalo Sabres5–0BishopAmalie Arena17,76718–6–339
28December 6Columbus Blue Jackets1–3BishopAmalie Arena17,46718–7–339
29December 9Washington Capitals3–5BishopAmalie Arena17,10918–8–339
30December 11Carolina Hurricanes2–1NabokovAmalie Arena18,10419–8–341
31December 13@ Washington Capitals2–4BishopVerizon Center18,50619–9–341
32December 15@ Pittsburgh Penguins2–4NabokovConsol Energy Center18,48719–10–341
33December 16@ Philadelphia Flyers3–1VasilevskiyWells Fargo Center19,57620–10–343
34December 19@ New Jersey Devils2–3SONabokovPrudential Center14,91620–10–444
35December 20@ New York Islanders1–3VasilevskiyNassau Coliseum16,17020–11–444
36December 23Pittsburgh Penguins4–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,20421–11–446
37December 27Carolina Hurricanes2–1BishopAmalie Arena19,20422–11–448
38December 29Toronto Maple Leafs3–2BishopAmalie Arena19,20423–11–450
39December 31@ Buffalo Sabres5–1VasilevskiyFirst Niagara Center19,07024–11–452 :
January: 8–4–0, 16 Points (home: 6–0–0; road: 2–4–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
40January 2@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–6BishopConsol Energy Center18,65524–12–452
41January 4@ Ottawa Senators4–2BishopCanadian Tire Centre16,94925–12–454
42January 6@ Montreal Canadiens4–2BishopBell Centre21,28626–12–456
43January 9Buffalo Sabres2–1BishopAmalie Arena19,20427–12–458
44January 12@ Philadelphia Flyers3–7NabokovWells Fargo Center19,59827–13–458
45January 13@ Boston Bruins3–4BishopTD Garden17,56527–14–458
46January 15Edmonton Oilers3–2BishopAmalie Arena18,60928–14–460
47January 17Colorado Avalanche3–2SOBishopAmalie Arena19,20429–14–462
48January 20Vancouver Canucks4–1BishopAmalie Arena18,51730–14–464
All-Star Break (January 22–26)
49January 27@ Carolina Hurricanes2–4BishopPNC Arena12,50830–15–464
50January 29Detroit Red Wings5–1BishopAmalie Arena19,20431–15–466
51January 31Columbus Blue Jackets3–1BishopAmalie Arena18,47732–15–468 :
February: 6–4–2, 14 Points (home: 2–2–0; road: 4–2–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
52February 3@ St. Louis Blues1–2OTBishopScottrade Center17,22332–15–569
53February 5@ Dallas Stars5–3VasilevskiyAmerican Airlines Center16,01033–15–571
54February 7Los Angeles Kings2–4BishopAmalie Arena19,20433–16–571
55February 8Anaheim Ducks5–3BishopAmalie Arena19,20434–16–573
56February 10@ Nashville Predators2–3OTVasilevskiyBridgestone Arena16,36234–16–674
57February 12St. Louis Blues3–6BishopAmalie Arena18,92634–17–674
58February 15@ San Jose Sharks5–2BishopSAP Center at San Jose17,56235–17–676
59February 16@ Los Angeles Kings2–3VasilevskiyStaples Center18,23035–17–676
60February 18@ Anaheim Ducks4–1BishopHonda Center17,28436–17–678
61February 21@ Arizona Coyotes4–2BishopGila River Arena12,99737–17–680
62February 22@ Colorado Avalanche4–5VasilevskiyPepsi Center17,38537–18–680
63February 27Chicago Blackhawks4–0BishopAmalie Arena19,20438–18–682 :
March: 9–5–1, 19 Points (home: 7–2–0; road: 2–3–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
64March 1@ Florida Panthers3–4BishopBB&T Center10,33638–20–682
65March 3Buffalo Sabres3–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena18,92239–20–684
66March 5Toronto Maple Leafs4–2BishopAmalie Arena19,20440–20–686
67March 7Dallas Stars5–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,20441–20–688
68March 10@ Montreal Canadiens1–0OTBishopBell Centre21,28642–20–690
69March 12@ Boston Bruins2–3SOBishopTD Garden17,56542–20–791
70March 14Winnipeg Jets1–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,20442–21–791
71March 16Montreal Canadiens4–2BishopAmalie Arena19,20443–21–793
72March 20Detroit Red Wings3–1BishopAmalie Arena19,20444–21–795
73March 22Boston Bruins5–3BishopAmalie Arena19,20445–21–797
74March 24Florida Panthers4–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena18,72946–21–799
75March 26Nashville Predators2–3BishopAmalie Arena19,20446–22–799
76March 28@ Detroit Red Wings0–4BishopJoe Louis Arena20,02746–23–799
77March 30@ Montreal Canadiens5–3BishopBell Centre21,28647–23–7101
78March 31@ Toronto Maple Leafs1–3VasilevskiyAir Canada Centre18,85747–24–7101 :
April: 3–0–1, 7 Points (home: 2–0–0; road: 1–0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
79April 2@ Ottawa Senators1–2OTBishopCanadian Tire Centre18,09747–24–8102
80April 4@ Florida Panthers4–0BishopBB&T Center11,07248–24–8104
81April 9New Jersey Devils4–3OTBishopAmalie Arena19,20449–24–8106
82April 11Boston Bruins3–2SOBishopAmalie Arena19,20450–24–8108 :
2014–15 Schedule :
Lightning score listed first;
  Win (2 Points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2015 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference First Round vs. Detroit Red Wings (A3) – Tampa Bay won series 4–3
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 16Detroit Red Wings2–3BishopAmalie Arena19,2040–1
2April 18Detroit Red Wings5–1BishopAmalie Arena19,2041–1
3April 21@ Detroit Red Wings0–3BishopJoe Louis Arena20,0271–2
4April 23@ Detroit Red Wings3–22:25 OTBishopJoe Louis Arena20,0272–2
5April 25Detroit Red Wings0–4BishopAmalie Arena19,2042–3
6April 27@ Detroit Red Wings5–2BishopJoe Louis Arena20,0273–3
7April 29Detroit Red Wings2–0BishopAmalie Arena19,2044–3 :
Eastern Conference Second Round vs. Montreal Canadiens (A1) – Tampa Bay won series 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 1@ Montreal Canadiens2–12:06 2OTBishopBell Center21,2871–0
2May 3@ Montreal Canadiens6–2BishopBell Center21,2872–0
3May 6Montreal Canadiens2–1BishopAmalie Arena19,2043–0
4May 7Montreal Canadiens2–6BishopAmalie Arena19,2043–1
5May 9@ Montreal Canadiens1–2BishopBell Center21,2873–2
6May 12Montreal Canadiens4–1BishopAmalie Arena19,2044–2 :
Eastern Conference Finals vs. New York Rangers (M1) – Tampa Bay won series 4–3
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 16@ New York Rangers1–2BishopMadison Square Garden18,0060–1
2May 18@ New York Rangers6–2BishopMadison Square Garden18,0061–1
3May 20New York Rangers6–53:33 OTBishopAmalie Arena19,2042–1
4May 22New York Rangers1–5BishopAmalie Arena19,2042–2
5May 24@ New York Rangers2–0BishopMadison Square Garden18,0063–2
6May 26New York Rangers3–7BishopAmalie Arena19,2043–3
7May 29@ New York Rangers2–0BishopMadison Square Garden18,0064–3 :
Stanley Cup Finals vs. Chicago Blackhawks (C3) – Chicago won series 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1June 3Chicago Blackhawks1–2BishopAmalie Arena19,2040–1
2June 6Chicago Blackhawks4–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,2041–1
3June 8@ Chicago Blackhawks3–2BishopUnited Center22,3362–1
4June 10@ Chicago Blackhawks1–2VasilevskiyUnited Center22,3362–2
5June 13Chicago Blackhawks1–2BishopAmalie Arena19,2042–3
6June 15@ Chicago Blackhawks0–2BishopUnited Center22,4242–4 :
Lightning score listed first;
  Win
  Loss :

## Player stats

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Steven Stamkos | 82 | 43 | 29 | 72 | 2 | 49 |
| Tyler Johnson | 77 | 29 | 43 | 72 | 33 | 24 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 82 | 29 | 36 | 65 | 38 | 37 |
| Ondrej Palat | 75 | 16 | 47 | 63 | 31 | 24 |
| Ryan Callahan | 77 | 24 | 30 | 54 | 9 | 41 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 82 | 12 | 36 | 48 | −14 | 24 |
| Anton Stralman | 82 | 9 | 30 | 39 | 22 | 26 |
| Alexander Killorn | 71 | 15 | 23 | 38 | 8 | 36 |
| Victor Hedman | 59 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 12 | 40 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 70 | 4 | 28 | 32 | 3 | 34 |
| Jason Garrison | 70 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 27 | 19 |
| Brian Boyle | 82 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 3 | 54 |
| Cedric Paquette | 64 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 4 | 51 |
| Matt Carle | 59 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 12 | 26 |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 43 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 13 |
| Brett Connolly$^‡$ | 50 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 4 | 38 |
| Andrej Sustr | 72 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 34 |
| J. T. Brown | 52 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −2 | 30 |
| Brenden Morrow | 70 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −1 | 64 |
| Nikita Nesterov | 27 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 16 |
| Mark Barberio | 52 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −4 | 16 |
| Radko Gudas$^‡$ | 31 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −5 | 34 |
| Eric Brewer$^‡$ | 17 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| Braydon Coburn$^†$ | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Jonathan Marchessault | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Mike Blunden | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| Mike Angelidis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Luke Witkowski | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Slater Koekkoek | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Tyler Johnson | 26 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 7 | 24 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 26 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 7 | 14 |
| Steven Stamkos | 26 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 2 | 20 |
| Alexander Killorn | 26 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 3 | 12 |
| Ondrej Palat | 26 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 5 | 12 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 26 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −6 | 4 |
| Victor Hedman | 26 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 6 |
| Anton Stralman | 26 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 8 |
| Ryan Callahan | 25 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 14 |
| Jason Garrison | 23 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 8 |
| Nikita Nesterov | 17 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
| Braydon Coburn | 26 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −6 | 21 |
| Cedric Paquette | 24 | 3 | 0 | 3 | −6 | 28 |
| Matt Carle | 25 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −10 | 4 |
| Brian Boyle | 25 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 10 |
| J. T. Brown | 24 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −5 | 0 |
| Andrej Sustr | 26 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 18 |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 4 |
| Brenden Morrow | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 22 |
| Mark Barberio | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Jonathan Marchessault | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 2 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Ben Bishop | 62 | 60 | 3519 | 40 | 13 | 5 | 136 | 2.32 | 1620 | .916 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 16 | 13 | 864 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 34 | 2.36 | 415 | .918 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Evgeni Nabokov$^‡$ | 11 | 9 | 553 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 29 | 3.15 | 232 | .882 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Ben Bishop | 25 | 25 | 1459 | 13 | 11 | 53 | 2.18 | 669 | .921 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 4 | 1 | 113 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3.19 | 57 | .895 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$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

## Awards and honors
### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Steven Stamkos | NHL Third Star of the Week | October 20, 2014 |
| Ryan Callahan | NHL Second Star of the Week | December 1, 2014 |
| Steven Stamkos | NHL All-Star game selection | January 10, 2015 |
| Tyler Johnson | NHL All-Star game selection | January 10, 2015 |
| Jonathan Drouin | NHL All-Star game rookie selection | January 10, 2015 |
| Tyler Johnson | NHLPA Player of the Week | January 12, 2015 |
| Cedric Paquette | NHL Second Star of the Week | February 2, 2015 |
| Ben Bishop | NHL Third Star of the Week | March 23, 2015 |
| Steve Yzerman | NHL General Manager of the Year Award | June 24, 2015 |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point 1st career NHL goal | October 13, 2014 |
| Tyler Johnson | 100th career NHL game | October 14, 2014 |
| Ondrej Palat | 100th career NHL game | October 18, 2014 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 1st career NHL game | October 20, 2014 |
| Anton Stralman | 400th career NHL game | October 20, 2014 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 21, 2014 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 1st career NHL goal | October 24, 2014 |
| Brian Boyle | 400th career NHL game | October 25, 2014 |
| Radko Gudas | 100th career NHL game | October 25, 2014 |
| Anton Stralman | 100th career NHL assist | October 25, 2014 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 1st career NHL hat trick | October 28, 2014 |
| Cedric Paquette | 1st career NHL goal | November 6, 2014 |
| Steven Stamkos | 200th career NHL assist | November 11, 2014 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 200th career NHL assist | December 1, 2014 |
| Brett Connolly | 100th career NHL game | December 6, 2014 |
| Steven Stamkos | 250th career NHL goal | December 9, 2014 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL win | December 16, 2014 |
| Ryan Callahan | 500th career NHL game | December 20, 2014 |
| Nikita Nesterov | 1st career NHL game | December 31, 2014 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 600th career NHL game | January 6, 2015 |
| Nikita Nesterov | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | January 13, 2015 |
| Luke Witkowski | 1st career NHL game | January 20, 2015 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 100th career NHL game | January 20, 2015 |
| Cedric Paquette | 1st career NHL hat trick | January 29, 2015 |
| J. T. Brown | 100th career NHL game | February 5, 2015 |
| Ondrej Palat | 100th career NHL point | February 5, 2015 |
| Andrej Sustr | 100th career NHL game | February 16, 2015 |
| Nikita Nesterov | 1st career NHL goal | February 16, 2015 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 1st career NHL Shutout | March 3, 2015 |
| Slater Koekkoek | 1st career NHL Game | March 31, 2015 |
| Mark Barberio | 100th career NHL Game | April 2, 2015 |
| Jonathan Marchessault | 1st career NHL Goal 1st career NHL Point | April 11, 2015 |
Playoffs :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 16, 2015 |
| Nikita Nesterov | 1st Career Playoff Game 1st Career Playoff Goal 1st Career Playoff Point | April 16, 2015 |
| Ben Bishop | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 16, 2015 |
| Nikita Nesterov | 1st Career Playoff Assist | April 18, 2015 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 1st Career Playoff Assist | April 18, 2015 |
| Andrej Sustr | 1st Career Playoff Goal 1st Career Playoff Point | April 18, 2015 |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1st Career Playoff Assist 1st Career Playoff Point | April 18, 2015 |
| Ben Bishop | 1st Career Playoff Win | April 18, 2015 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 23, 2015 |
| Cedric Paquette | 1st Career Playoff Goal | April 27, 2015 |
| Ben Bishop | 1st Career Playoff Shutout | April 29, 2015 |
| Andrej Sustr | 1st Career Playoff Assist | May 1, 2015 |
| J. T. Brown | 1st Career Playoff Goal | May 3, 2015 |
| Jonathan Marchessault | 1st career NHL Game | May 12, 2015 |
| Tyler Johnson | 1st Career Playoff hat trick | May 18, 2015 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 1st Career Playoff Win | June 6, 2015 |
* $^{Note}$ First in Franchise History

## Transactions

The Lightning have been involved in the following transactions during the 2014–15 season.

### Trades

| June 27, 2014 | To Vancouver Canucks 2nd-round pick in 2014 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Jason Garrison Jeff Costello (rights) 7th-round pick in 2015 |
| June 27, 2014 | To New York Islanders NYR's 1st-round pick in 2014 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 2nd-round pick in 2014 MTL's 2nd-round pick in 2014 |
| June 28, 2014 | To Minnesota Wild 3rd-round pick in 2014 7th-round pick in 2015 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 3rd-round pick in 2014 |
| June 28, 2014 | To New York Rangers 5th-round pick in 2014 STL's 5th-round pick in 2014 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 4th-round pick in 2014 |
| June 28, 2014 | To New York Islanders 7th-round pick in 2014 7th-round pick in 2015 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 7th-round pick in 2014 |
| June 29, 2014 | To Edmonton Oilers Teddy Purcell | To Tampa Bay Lightning Sam Gagner |
| June 29, 2014 | To Arizona Coyotes Sam Gagner B. J. Crombeen | To Tampa Bay Lightning 6th-round pick in 2015 |
| June 30, 2014 | To Anaheim Ducks Nate Thompson | To Tampa Bay Lightning 4th-round pick in 2015 7th-round pick in 2015 |
| November 28, 2014 | To Anaheim Ducks Eric Brewer | To Tampa Bay Lightning EDM's 3rd-round pick in 2015 |
| February 6, 2015 | To Toronto Maple Leafs conditional 7th-round pick in 2016 | To Tampa Bay Lightning David Broll Carter Ashton |
| February 9, 2015 | To San Jose Sharks Evgeni Nabokov | To Tampa Bay Lightning Future Considerations |
| March 2, 2015 | To Philadelphia Flyers Radko Gudas Conditional 1st-round pick in 2015 3rd-round pick in 2015 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Braydon Coburn |
| March 2, 2015 | To Boston Bruins Brett Connolly | To Tampa Bay Lightning 2nd-round pick in 2015 2nd-round pick in 2016 |
| June 1, 2015 | To New York Rangers NYR's 7th-round pick in 2015 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Daniel Walcott |
Lost via retirement
Player
Players released
Date
Player
Via
Ref
June 25, 2014
Ryan Malone
Compliance buyout :

### Player signings

| Date | Player | Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) |
| June 27, 2014 | Mark Barberio | 1 year, $874,125 |
| July 1, 2014 | Mike Angelidis | 1 year, $650,000 |
| July 4, 2014 | Andrej Sustr | 1 year, $874,125 |
| July 8, 2014 | Cody Kunyk | 1 year, $874,125 |
| July 10, 2014 | Brett Connolly | 1 year, $850,500 |
| July 11, 2014 | Philippe Paradis | 1 year, $850,500 |
| July 11, 2014 | Richard Panik | 1 year, $735,000 |
| August 2, 2014 | Ben Bishop | 2 years, $11.9 million contract extension |
| December 2, 2014 | Tony DeAngelo | 3 years, $2.7 million entry-level contract |
| March 26, 2015 | Brayden Point | 3 years, entry-level contract |
| April 1, 2015 | Matthew Peca | 2 years, entry-level contract |
| April 1, 2015 | Adam Wilcox | 2 years, entry-level contract |
| April 9, 2015 | Cameron Darcy | 3 years, entry-level contract |

## Draft picks

Below are the Tampa Bay Lightning' selections made at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 19 | Tony DeAngelo | D | United States | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |
| 2 | 35 | Dominik Masin | D | Czech Republic | Slavia Praha (ELH) |
| 2 | 57 | Johnathan MacLeod | D | United States | USA U-18 (USHL) |
| 3 | 79 | Brayden Point | C | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 4 | 119 | Ben Thomas | D | Canada | Calgary Hitmen (WHL) |
| 6 | 170 | Cristiano DiGiacinto | LW | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 6 | 185 | Cameron Darcy | C | United States | Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL) |

### Draft notes

* The New York Islanders' second-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 27, 2014, that sent the Rangers first-round pick in 2014 (28th overall) to New York in exchange for Montreal's second-round pick in 2014 (57th overall) and this pick.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning's second-round pick went to the Los Angeles Kings as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent Linden Vey to Vancouver in exchange for this pick.
* The Montreal Canadiens' second-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 27, 2014, that sent the Rangers first-round pick in 2014 (28th overall) to the New York Islanders in exchange for the Islanders second-round pick in 2014 (35th overall) and this pick. The Islanders previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 5, 2014 that sent Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2014 to Montreal in exchange for Sebastian Collberg and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – New York will receive a second-round pick in 2014 if Montreal qualifies for the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs – was converted on April 1, 2014.
* The Minnesota Wild's third-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a third-round pick in 2014 (80th overall) and a seventh-round pick in 2015 to Minnesota in exchange for this pick.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning's third-round pick went to the Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a third-round pick in 2014 (79th overall) to Tampa Bay in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2015 and this pick.
* Tampa Bay's fourth-round pick went to St. Louis, as the result of a trade on July 10, 2012, that sent B. J. Crombeen, and a fifth-round pick in 2014 to Tampa Bay in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2013, and this pick.
* The New York Rangers' fourth-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a fifth-round pick in 2014 (140th overall) and St. Louis' fifth-round pick in 2014 (142nd overall) to New York in exchange for this pick.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning's fifth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a fourth-round pick in 2014 (119th overall) to Tampa Bay in exchange for St. Louis' fifth-round pick in 2014 (142nd overall) and this pick.
* The New York Islanders' seventh-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2014 (200th overall) and a seventh-round pick in 2015 to New York in exchange for this pick.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning's seventh-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2014 (185th overall) to Tampa Bay in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2015 and this pick.