# 1996–97 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 1996–97 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the Lightning's fifth season of operation. The Lightning were unable to qualify for the playoffs despite making their first playoff appearance the previous year and losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Atlantic Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 45 | 23 | 14 | 231 | 182 | 104 |
| 2 | 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 45 | 24 | 13 | 274 | 217 | 103 |
| 3 | 4 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 35 | 28 | 19 | 221 | 201 | 89 |
| 4 | 5 | New York Rangers | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 258 | 231 | 86 |
| 5 | 9 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 33 | 40 | 9 | 214 | 231 | 75 |
| 6 | 11 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 217 | 247 | 74 |
| 7 | 12 | New York Islanders | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 240 | 250 | 70 |
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | New Jersey Devils | ATL | 82 | 45 | 23 | 14 | 231 | 182 | 104 |
| 2 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 237 | 208 | 92 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | ATL | 82 | 45 | 24 | 13 | 274 | 217 | 103 |
| 4 | Florida Panthers | ATL | 82 | 35 | 28 | 19 | 221 | 201 | 89 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | ATL | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 258 | 231 | 86 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 285 | 280 | 84 |
| 7 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 31 | 36 | 15 | 226 | 234 | 77 |
| 8 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 31 | 36 | 15 | 249 | 276 | 77 |
| 9 | Washington Capitals | ATL | 82 | 33 | 40 | 9 | 214 | 231 | 75 |
| 10 | Hartford Whalers | NE | 82 | 32 | 39 | 11 | 226 | 256 | 75 |
| 11 | Tampa Bay Lightning | ATL | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 217 | 247 | 74 |
| 12 | New York Islanders | ATL | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 240 | 250 | 70 |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 26 | 47 | 9 | 234 | 300 | 61 |
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Schedule and results

1996–97 regular season :
October: 5–4–1 (home: 1–3–1; road: 4–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 5, 19964–3 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)1–0–0Recap
2LOctober 11, 19962–6@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)1–1–0Recap
3WOctober 12, 19967–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)2–1–0Recap
4WOctober 15, 19964–0@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)3–1–0Recap
5WOctober 20, 19965–2New York Rangers (1996–97)4–1–0Recap
6WOctober 22, 19966–3@ New York Islanders (1996–97)5–1–0Recap
7LOctober 24, 19962–5Ottawa Senators (1996–97)5–2–0Recap
8LOctober 26, 19961–4New Jersey Devils (1996–97)5–3–0Recap
9TOctober 29, 19962–2 OTChicago Blackhawks (1996–97)5–3–1Recap
10LOctober 31, 19963–4Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)5–4–1Recap :
November: 2–10–1 (home: 1–5–1; road: 1–5–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11LNovember 2, 19961–2@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)5–5–1Recap
12WNovember 4, 19965–3@ New York Rangers (1996–97)6–5–1Recap
13LNovember 6, 19961–2Washington Capitals (1996–97)6–6–1Recap
14TNovember 8, 19965–5 OTPittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)6–6–2Recap
15LNovember 10, 19962–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)6–7–2Recap
16LNovember 14, 19963–5@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)6–8–2Recap
17LNovember 16, 19963–6@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)6–9–2Recap
18WNovember 19, 19963–0Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)7–9–2Recap
19LNovember 23, 19961–2Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)7–10–2Recap
20LNovember 25, 19962–4@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)7–11–2Recap
21LNovember 27, 19960–3Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)7–12–2Recap
22LNovember 29, 19961–2Dallas Stars (1996–97)7–13–2Recap
23LNovember 30, 19963–6Hartford Whalers (1996–97)7–14–2Recap :
December: 5–5–3 (home: 2–1–3; road: 3–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
24LDecember 4, 19961–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)7–15–2Recap
25WDecember 5, 19962–1@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)8–15–2Recap
26WDecember 7, 19964–3@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)9–15–2Recap
27TDecember 12, 19962–2 OTEdmonton Oilers (1996–97)9–15–3Recap
28WDecember 14, 19964–1New York Islanders (1996–97)10–15–3Recap
29WDecember 16, 19964–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)11–15–3Recap
30LDecember 18, 19963–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)11–16–3Recap
31LDecember 19, 19960–3@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)11–17–3Recap
32LDecember 21, 19965–6 OT@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)11–18–3Recap
33LDecember 23, 19961–3Washington Capitals (1996–97)11–19–3Recap
34TDecember 26, 19963–3 OTFlorida Panthers (1996–97)11–19–4Recap
35TDecember 28, 19964–4 OTMontreal Canadiens (1996–97)11–19–5Recap
36WDecember 31, 19964–2New York Rangers (1996–97)12–19–5Recap :
January: 6–5–1 (home: 2–1–1; road: 4–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
37WJanuary 3, 19973–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)13–19–5Recap
38LJanuary 4, 19973–7@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)13–20–5Recap
39WJanuary 6, 19974–3@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)14–20–5Recap
40WJanuary 8, 19974–3@ New York Rangers (1996–97)15–20–5Recap
41WJanuary 9, 19973–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)16–20–5Recap
42TJanuary 11, 19974–4 OTNew York Islanders (1996–97)16–20–6Recap
43WJanuary 13, 19972–0@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)17–20–6Recap
44LJanuary 15, 19972–4@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)17–21–6Recap
45WJanuary 21, 19973–2 OTColorado Avalanche (1996–97)18–21–6Recap
46LJanuary 25, 19972–3@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)18–22–6Recap
47LJanuary 27, 19973–5@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)18–23–6Recap
48LJanuary 30, 19971–4Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)18–24–6Recap :
February: 6–6–1 (home: 5–2–1; road: 1–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
49LFebruary 1, 19970–3Boston Bruins (1996–97)18–25–6Recap
50WFebruary 4, 19972–0@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)19–25–6Recap
51LFebruary 5, 19970–4@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)19–26–6Recap
52LFebruary 8, 19971–3Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)19–27–6Recap
53LFebruary 12, 19972–5@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)19–28–6Recap
54LFebruary 14, 19974–5 OT@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)19–29–6Recap
55WFebruary 15, 19974–1Washington Capitals (1996–97)20–29–6Recap
56TFebruary 17, 19973–3 OTDetroit Red Wings (1996–97)20–29–7Recap
57WFebruary 20, 19975–2Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)21–29–7Recap
58WFebruary 22, 19973–1New Jersey Devils (1996–97)22–29–7Recap
59WFebruary 23, 19974–3San Jose Sharks (1996–97)23–29–7Recap
60WFebruary 25, 19973–2St. Louis Blues (1996–97)24–29–7Recap
61LFebruary 27, 19972–6@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)24–30–7Recap :
March: 5–8–1 (home: 3–6–0; road: 2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
62WMarch 1, 19972–0Florida Panthers (1996–97)25–30–7Recap
63WMarch 4, 19976–3@ New York Islanders (1996–97)26–30–7Recap
64LMarch 6, 19970–5Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)26–31–7Recap
65LMarch 8, 19974–6Boston Bruins (1996–97)26–32–7Recap
66WMarch 9, 19972–1 OTCalgary Flames (1996–97)27–32–7Recap
67LMarch 13, 19970–3New York Islanders (1996–97)27–33–7Recap
68LMarch 15, 19972–5Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)27–34–7Recap
69LMarch 16, 19971–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)27–35–7Recap
70LMarch 19, 19971–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)27–36–7Recap
71WMarch 21, 19974–3 OT@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)28–36–7Recap
72LMarch 22, 19972–3@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)28–37–7Recap
73WMarch 25, 19975–0Ottawa Senators (1996–97)29–37–7Recap
74LMarch 27, 19972–5Hartford Whalers (1996–97)29–38–7Recap
75TMarch 29, 19971–1 OT@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)29–38–8Recap :
April: 3–2–2 (home: 1–0–1; road: 2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
76TApril 1, 19971–1 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)29–38–9Recap
77LApril 4, 19970–3@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)29–39–9Recap
78WApril 5, 19973–2@ New York Islanders (1996–97)30–39–9Recap
79TApril 8, 19972–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (1996–97)30–39–10Recap
80WApril 10, 19974–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)31–39–10Recap
81WApril 11, 19974–2@ New York Rangers (1996–97)32–39–10Recap
82LApril 13, 19971–2@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)32–40–10Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 77 | Chris Gratton | C | 82 | 30 | 32 | 62 | −28 | 201 |
| 22 | Dino Ciccarelli | RW | 77 | 35 | 25 | 60 | −11 | 116 |
| 12 | John Cullen | C | 70 | 18 | 37 | 55 | −14 | 95 |
| 7 | Rob Zamuner | LW | 82 | 17 | 33 | 50 | 3 | 56 |
| 44 | Roman Hamrlik | D | 79 | 12 | 28 | 40 | −29 | 57 |
| 11 | Shawn Burr | LW | 74 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 5 | 106 |
| 29 | Alex Selivanov | RW | 69 | 15 | 18 | 33 | −3 | 61 |
| 18 | Daymond Langkow | C | 79 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 1 | 35 |
| 28 | Patrick Poulin | C | 73 | 12 | 14 | 26 | −16 | 56 |
| 2 | Bill Houlder | D | 79 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 16 | 30 |
| 19 | Brian Bradley | C | 35 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 2 | 16 |
| 34 | Mikael Andersson | LW | 70 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 1 | 8 |
| 15 | Paul Ysebaert | C | 39 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 1 | 4 |
| 55 | Drew Bannister‡ | D | 64 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −21 | 44 |
| 24 | Jason Wiemer | C | 63 | 9 | 5 | 14 | −13 | 134 |
| 27 | David Shaw | D | 57 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 72 |
| 9 | Jeff Toms | C | 34 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | Cory Cross | D | 72 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 95 |
| 5 | Igor Ulanov | D | 59 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 108 |
| 20 | Rudy Poeschek | RW | 60 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −3 | 120 |
| 6 | Jeff Norton† | D | 13 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 16 |
| 74 | Brantt Myhres | RW | 47 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 136 |
| 23 | Brian Bellows‡ | LW | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 0 |
| 92 | Aaron Gavey‡ | C | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 12 |
| 17 | Brent Peterson | LW | 17 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −4 | 4 |
| 8 | Jamie Huscroft† | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 34 |
| 32 | Corey Schwab | G | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 10 |
| 31 | Rick Tabaracci† | G | 55 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 12 |
| 10 | Paul Brousseau | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 0 |
| 25 | Allan Egeland | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 5 |
| 93 | Daren Puppa | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 26 | Jay Wells | D | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 13 |
| 35 | Derek Wilkinson | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 6 | Craig Wolanin‡ | D | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −9 | 8 |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 31 | Rick Tabaracci† | 55 | 20 | 25 | 6 | 1415 | 138 | 2.75 | .902 | 4 | 3012 |
| 32 | Corey Schwab | 31 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 719 | 74 | 3.04 | .897 | 2 | 1462 |
| 93 | Daren Puppa | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 150 | 14 | 2.59 | .907 | 0 | 325 |
| 35 | Derek Wilkinson | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 72 | 12 | 4.26 | .833 | 0 | 169 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Dino Ciccarelli | |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Daymond Langkow (February) | |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Brent Peterson | November 2, 1996 | |

## Draft picks

Tampa Bay's draft picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 16 | Mario Larocque | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 69 | Curtis Tipler | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 5 | 125 | Jason Robinson | Canada | Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL) |
| 6 | 152 | Nikolai Ignatov | Russia | CSKA Moscow (Russia) |
| 6 | 157 | Xavier Delisle | Canada | Granby Predateurs (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 179 | Pavel Kubina | Czech Republic | HC Vitkovice (Czech Republic) |