# 2017–18 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 2017–18 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 26th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on December 16, 1991.

## Off-season
### April

On April 9, 2017, the Lightning's 2016–17 season came to an end when they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4–2 at Amalie Arena. The Lightning were eliminated from playoff contention the night before when the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3.
On April 23, 2017, the Lightning signed Boris Katchouk to a three-year, entry-level contract. Katchouk posted career highs in goals (35), assists (29) and points (64). Katchouk said he had "dreamed of this for a long time" after signing the contract. Katchouk joined the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL) after the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds were eliminated from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) playoffs.
On April 25, 2017, Tanner Richard left the Syracuse Crunch to join the Switzerland men's national ice hockey team to try to earn a spot for the 2017 IIHF World Championship. It was unknown at the time whether Richard would rejoin the Crunch if the team remained in the playoffs.
On April 28, 2017, Richard agreed to a two-year contract with Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss National League A (NLA).

### May

On May 15, 2017, the Lightning announced it had signed Taylor Raddysh to a three-year, entry-level contract. Raddysh led the OHL's Erie Otters offense the past season with 109 points in 58 games.
On May 29, 2017, the NHL announced the Lightning would host the 2018 NHL All-Star Game at Amalie Arena. The Lightning had previously served as host of the NHL All-Star game back in 1999, which notably featured Wayne Gretzky's final appearance in an NHL All-Star Game.
On May 31, 2017, the Lightning announced it had traded Bokondji Imama to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. For the condition to be satisfied, the Kings had to sign Imama to an NHL contract before the June 1, 2pm deadline. The Kings satisfied the requirements of the conditional seventh-round pick when it signed Imama to a three-year, entry-level contract.

### June

On June 15, 2017, the Lightning announced a blockbuster trade that sent forward Jonathan Drouin to the Montreal Canadiens and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and a conditional second-round pick in the 2018 Draft. In 2016–17, Sergachev played in 50 games with the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, recording 10 goals and 43 points. Sergachev also helped Windsor capture the 2017 Memorial Cup as Canadian Hockey League (CHL) champions.
On June 18, 2017, the Lightning announced its list of protected players for the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. The Lightning chose to protect forwards Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Ryan Callahan, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov; defensemen Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman and Braydon Coburn; and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. Vegas was permitted to negotiate with any unprotected players until June 21. If a player was signed, then it counted as Vegas' expansion draft pick. Barring any trades, Vegas would create its inaugural roster by selecting one player from every NHL club.
On June 19, 2017, Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) announced it had signed Lightning forward prospect Henri Ikonen to a two-year contract.
On June 20, 2017, Lausanne HC of the NLA announced it had signed Lightning prospect Joel Vermin to a five-year contract that contains an NHL clause for a one-way deal. The deal had been previously reported in January, however the terms of the deal and which club had signed him was unknown. Vermin has played in 24 NHL games and recorded four assists. He has primarily played in the AHL, where he has made 185 appearances, scoring 44 goals and 55 assists.
On June 21, 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights selected Lightning defensemen Jason Garrison in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. In order to facilitate Vegas selecting Garrison, the Lightning traded prospect Nikita Gusev, a second-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2018 Draft. In so doing, the Lightning were also able to protect defensive prospects Jake Dotchin and Slater Koekkoek. The selection of Garrison also freed up $4.6 million in salary cap for the 2017–18 season.
On June 22, 2017, it was leaked by the media that the Lightning were re-signing goaltender Peter Budaj to a two-year contract extension. Budaj joined the Lightning as part of the trade that sent Lightning starting goaltender Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings (along with a fifth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft) in exchange for prospect Erik Cernak, a seventh-round pick in 2017 and a conditional pick in 2017.
On June 25, 2017, the Lightning announced the schedule and tentative roster for their annual developmental cap at The Ice Sports Forum. The camp will feature some of the Lightning's top prospects, along with the 2017 Draftees and invitees. Notable prospects attending this year includes Mikhail Sergachev, Brett Howden, Anthony Cirelli, Mathieu Joseph, Taylor Raddysh and Conner Ingram. Also in attendance will be all six players selected at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, including first round pick Callan Foote.
On June 26, 2017, the Lightning announced it had re-signed defenseman Andrej Sustr to a one-year, $1.95 million contract. Sustr skated in 80 games last season, recording 14 points.
Shortly after Sustr's extension was announced by the Lightning, the team announced it had re-signed forward Yanni Gourde to a two-year, $1 million contract extension. Gourde made 20 appearances in 2016–17, scoring six goals.
Later in the afternoon, the Lightning announced it had issued qualifying offers to nine players: Michael Bournival, Jake Dotchin, Kristers Gudlevskis, Tyler Johnson, Tye McGinn, Ondrej Palat, Matthew Peca and Tanner Richard. In so doing, the Lightning retained the rights to these players. Notable players not being issued qualifying offers by the Lightning were prospects Dylan Blujus, Jonathan Racine and Henri Ikonen. Any player not tenured a qualifying offer became an unrestricted free agent.
On June 28, 2017, the Lightning announced it had re-signed forward Cory Conacher to a two-year, $1.3 million contract extension. Conacher appeared in 11 games in 2016–17 with the Lightning, recording a goal and three assists. Conacher predominately played for the Crunch this past season. In his stint with the Crunch, Conacher recorded 17 goals and 43 assists. Additionally, Conacher led all players in scoring in the 2017 Calder Cup playoffs with 12 goals and 28 points.
A short time after the announcement of Conacher being re-signed, the Lightning announced it had re-signed Gabriel Dumont to a two-year, $1.3 million contract extension. Dumont appeared in 39 games with the Lightning in 2016–17, recording two goals and two assists. In the AHL, Dumont played in 20 games with the Crunch, scoring five goals and five assists. Additionally, Dumont appeared in all 22 playoffs games with the Crunch, where he recorded 5 goals and 11 points.
On June 29, 2017, the Lightning announced a massive $6 million renovation to The Ice Sports Forum. The Ice Sports Forum owner Tom Bradley will also be contributing $500,000 to the project. As part of the expansion, the Lightning extended their lease for another ten years. The renovation will increase the size of the facility from roughly 14,500 square feet to 18,000 square feet.
Later that afternoon, the Lightning announced the signing of forward prospect Alexander Volkov to a three-year, entry-level contract. Volkov played for SKA-1946 St. Petersburg the past four seasons. During that time, he played in 128 games and recorded 35 goals and 26 assists. Volkov is expected to play for the Syracuse Crunch in upcoming 2017–18 season.

### July

On July 1, 2017, the Lightning announced it had signed prospect Oleg Sosunov to a three-year, entry-level contract. Sosunov was recently selected 39th overall in the 2017 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft by the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Moose Jaw Warriors. Sosunov will be playing for the Warriors in the upcoming 2017–18 season.
The Lightning acquired forward Carter Verhaeghe from the New York Islanders in exchange for goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis. Verhaeghe is a former third-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Verhaeghe appeared in 45 games with the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he scored 16 goals and 13 assists.
The Lightning announced the signing of goaltender Michael Leighton to a one-year, two-way contract. Leighton played in four games with the Carolina Hurricanes this past season. Leighton also spent time with the Hurricanes' AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, where he played in 23 games. He had a record of 11–7–3 in those games, along with a 2.17 goals-against average (GAA) and a .921 save percentage. Leighton is expected to start the season as the Syracuse Crunch's starting goaltender.
The Lightning announced the signing of defenseman Mat Bodie to a one-year, two-way contract. In 2016–17, Bodie played for both the AHL's Rochester Americans and Hartford Wolf Pack. His season totals were 10 goals and 39 points, both career highs.
The Lightning announced the signing of left wing Alex Gallant to a one-year, two-way contract. Gallant played in 29 games with the AHL's San Jose Barracuda in 2016–17, recording two assists. Gallant has also skated in 56 career AHL games, scoring one goal and two assists.
The Lightning announced it had signed defenseman Jamie McBain to a one-year, two-way contract. McBain spent the duration of the 2016–17 season with the Tucson Roadrunners. McBain is expected to provide Syracuse with a veteran presence, having played in 348 career NHL games.
The Lightning announced the free agent signing of defenseman Dan Girardi to a two-year contract valued at $3 million per season. Girardi had spent his entire career with the New York Rangers before signing with the Lightning. Girardi is a veteran of 788 career NHL games. During that span Girardi has scored 46 goals and 230 points.
The final signing announced by the Lightning was free agent left wing Chris Kunitz to a one-year contract was worth $2 million. Kunitz brings a plethora of playoff experience, having won four Stanley Cups. Kunitz's career has spanned 884 career NHL games where he has 250 goals and 580 points.
On July 10, 2017, the Lightning announced it had re-signed restricted free agent forward Tyler Johnson to a seven-year, $35 million contract extension. Johnson has spent his entire NHL career with the Lightning since signing with them as undrafted free agent. Over five season Johnson has recorded 89 goals and 122 assists.
On July 14, 2017, the Lightning announced the re-signing of restricted free agent forward Ondrej Palat to a five-year, $26.5 million contract extension. Since being selected in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Palat has scored 74 goals and 144 assists over 307 games.
On July 18, 2017, the Lightning announced it had re-signed forward Michael Bournival to a one-year contract extension. In 2016–17, Bournival played in 19 games with the Lightning last season and 38 with the Crunch. In his career, Bournival has played in 108 career NHL games where he has recorded 12 goals and 22 points.

### August

On August 17, 2017, the Lightning announced it had re-signed forward Tye McGinn to a one-year, two-way contract. McGinn was limited to just 21 games in 2016–17 due to an injury. He recorded 10 goals and 19 points.
On August 29, 2017, the Lightning announced its annual prospect tournament roster. Prospects of note in attendance are Brett Howden, Callan Foote, Mikhail Sergachev, Taylor Raddysh, and Anthony Cirelli. Also of note, the younger brother of Lightning forward Cory Conacher, Shane Conacher, is attending as an invitee. The prospect tournament will take place at Germain Arena, which is located in Estero, Florida. The other teams participating in the tournament are the Florida Panthers, the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals. The tournament is set to run from September 9 to 12, inclusive.

## Training camp
### September

On September 6, 2017, the Lightning announced the annual prospect tournament had been canceled due to Hurricane Irma. The Lightning opted to play the Nashville Predators' prospects in a series of scrimmages over three days at Ford Ice Center in Antioch, Tennessee.
On September 13, 2017, the Lightning announced its 63-man roster for training camp. There were six training camp invitees this year, which were Shane Conacher, Kevin Hancock, Kevin Lynch, Reid McNeill, Joseph Raaymakers and Nicola Riopel. The roster also features all the prospects that participated in the scrimmages with the Predators the prior weekend.
On September 18, 2017, Brian Hart and Cameron Darcy both cleared unconditional waivers. This terminated the remaining year on both players contract, which frees up two contracts as part of the team's 50-contract limit. On September 20, 2017, the Lightning announced the first round of players cut from their training camp roster. Kevin Hancock and Joseph Raaymakers were released from their tryout agreements. Alexey Lipanov, Christopher Paquette, Taylor Raddysh, Christopher Paquette and Oleg Sosunov were reassigned to their respective junior clubs.
On September 21, 2017, the Lightning announced that it had trimmed down its training camp roster by three players. Boris Katchouk, Callan Foote and Libor Hajek were assigned to their junior clubs for the upcoming season.
On September 23, 2017, the Lightning made another round of roster cuts, which reduced the training camp roster to 44 players. Shane Conacher, Kevin Lynch, Reid McNeill were released from their tryout agreements. Otto Somppi was assigned to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)'s Halifax Mooseheads. Alex Gallant, Carter Verhaghe, Mat Bodie, Matthew Spencer, Connor Ingram and Michael Leighton were assigned to the Syracuse Crunch.
On September 25, 2017, the Lightning announced it was retiring Vincent Lecavalier's number 4 jersey on February 10, 2018. The retirement ceremony will take place before the game against the Los Angeles Kings, the club Lecavalier finished his career with. That same day, the Lightning announced it had reduced its training camp roster down to 30 players. Former first round pick Brett Howden was assigned to his junior club in the WHL, while Anthony Cirelli, Adam Erne, Mathieu Joseph, Tye McGinn, Matthew Peca, Mitchell Stephens, Dennis Yan, Erik Cernak, Jamie McBain, Ben Thomas and Daniel Walcott were reassigned to Syracuse.
On September 28, 2017, the Lightning announced it had signed forward prospect Alexy Lipanov to a three-year, entry-level contract.
On September 29, 2017, the Lightning announced it had reduced its training camp roster by one player: Alexander Volkov, the Lightning's 2017 second-round draft pick, was reassigned to Syracuse.

### October

On October 1, 2017, the Lightning announced that it had reassigned goaltender Nicola Riopel to the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL.
On October 2, 2017, the Lightning placed on Cory Conacher on waivers for the purpose of reassigning him to the Crunch. Conacher was the final roster cut of training camp. The Lightning will started the season with thirteen forwards and eight defensemen. The forward group consisted of J. T. Brown, Ryan Callahan, Gabriel Dumont, Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Chris Kunitz, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ondrej Palat, Cedric Paquette, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos. The defensemen on the opening night roster were Braydon Coburn, Jake Dotchin, Dan Girardi, Victor Hedman, Slater Koekkoek, Mikhail Sergachev, Anton Stralman and Andrej Sustr. Forwards Michael Bournival, Erik Condra, Jonne Tammela, Carter Verhaeghe and defenseman Dominik Masin remained with the team on injured reserve.

## Standings

Atlantic Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | z – Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 54 | 23 | 5 | 48 | 296 | 236 | +60 | 113 |
| 2 | x – Boston Bruins | 82 | 50 | 20 | 12 | 47 | 270 | 214 | +56 | 112 |
| 3 | x – Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 49 | 26 | 7 | 42 | 277 | 232 | +45 | 105 |
| 4 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 248 | 246 | +2 | 96 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 25 | 217 | 255 | −38 | 73 |
| 6 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 29 | 40 | 13 | 27 | 209 | 264 | −55 | 71 |
| 7 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 28 | 43 | 11 | 26 | 221 | 291 | −70 | 67 |
| 8 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 25 | 45 | 12 | 24 | 199 | 280 | −81 | 62 |

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

2017 preseason game log: 3–4–0 (Home: 1–2–0; Road: 2–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordRecap
1September 19Carolina Hurricanes1–2LeightonAmalie Arena11,4540–1–0
2September 20@ Carolina Hurricanes4–3LeightonPNC Arena6,4861–1–0
3September 22Nashville Predators3–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena15,5042–1–0
4September 24Florida Panthers2–4BudajAmalie Arena12,9112–2–0
5September 26@ Florida Panthers2–4VasilevskiyBB&T Center8,2422–3–0
6September 28@ Florida Panthers2–5BudajBB&T Center13,2792–4–0
7September 30@ Nashville Predators3–2OTVasilevskiyBridgestone Arena17,1333–4–0 :
Lightning score listed first;
  Win
  Loss
  Overtime/shootout loss :

### Regular season

2017–18 regular season game log :
October: 10–2–1, 21 points (Home: 6–1–0; Road: 4–1–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 6Florida Panthers5–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0921–0–02
2October 7@ Florida Panthers4–5VasilevskiyBB&T Center16,8711–1–02
3October 9Washington Capitals4–3OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0922–1–04
4October 12Pittsburgh Penguins5–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0923–1–06
5October 14St. Louis Blues2–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0924–1–08
6October 16@ Detroit Red Wings3–2VasilevskiyLittle Caesars Arena19,5155–1–010
7October 17@ New Jersey Devils4–5SOBudajPrudential Center13,1765–1–111
8October 19@ Columbus Blue Jackets2–0VasilevskiyNationwide Arena13,1556–1–113
9October 21Pittsburgh Penguins7–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0927–1–115
10October 24@ Carolina Hurricanes5–1VasilevskiyPNC Arena10,4988–1–117
11October 26Detroit Red Wings3–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0929–1–119
12October 28Anaheim Ducks1–4BudajAmalie Arena19,0929–2–119
13October 30@ Florida Panthers8–5VasilevskiyBB&T Center9,49310–2–121 :
November: 7–4–1, 15 points (Home: 3–1–1; Road: 4–3–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
14November 2New York Rangers1–2OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09210–2–222
15November 4Columbus Blue Jackets5–4SOVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09211–2–224
16November 8@ San Jose Sharks5–1VasilevskiySAP Center17,04412–2–226
17November 9@ Los Angeles Kings5–2BudajStaples Center18,23013–2–228
18November 12@ Anaheim Ducks2–1VasilevskiyHonda Center15,70714–2–230
19November 16Dallas Stars6–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09215–2–232
20November 18New York Islanders3–5VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09215–3–232
21November 22Chicago Blackhawks3–2OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09216–3–234
22November 24@ Washington Capitals1–3VasilevskiyCapital One Arena18,50616–4–234
23November 25@ Pittsburgh Penguins2–5BudajPPG Paints Arena18,65916–5–234
24November 28@ Buffalo Sabres2–0VasilevskiyKeyBank Center17,56917–5–236
25November 29@ Boston Bruins2–3VasilevskiyTD Garden17,56517–6–236 :
December: 11–2–0, 22 points (Home: 7–1–0; Road: 4–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
26December 2San Jose Sharks5–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09218–6–238
27December 5New York Islanders6–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09219–6–240
28December 7Colorado Avalanche5–2BudajAmalie Arena19,09220–6–242
29December 9Winnipeg Jets4–3OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09221–6–244
30December 12@ St. Louis Blues3–0VasilevskiyScottrade Center18,29022–6–246
31December 14@ Arizona Coyotes4–1VasilevskiyGila River Arena11,59123–6–248
32December 16@ Colorado Avalanche6–5BudajPepsi Center16,95624–6–250
33December 19@ Vegas Golden Knights3–4VasilevskiyT-Mobile Arena17,81324–7–250
34December 21Ottawa Senators4–3SOVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09225–7–252
35December 23Minnesota Wild3–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09226–7–254
36December 28Montreal Canadiens3–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09227–7–256
37December 29Philadelphia Flyers3–5BudajAmalie Arena19,09227–8–256
38December 31@ Columbus Blue Jackets5–0VasilevskiyNationwide Arena18,87828–8–258 :
January: 6–5–1, 13 points (Home: 1–2–0; Road: 5–3–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
39January 2@ Toronto Maple Leafs2–0VasilevskiyAir Canada Centre19,34429–8–260
40January 4@ Montreal Canadiens1–2SOVasilevskiyBell Centre21,30229–8–361
41January 6@ Ottawa Senators3–6VasilevskiyCanadian Tire Centre16,24729–9–361
42January 7@ Detroit Red Wings5–2DomingueLittle Caesars Arena19,51530–9–363
43January 9Carolina Hurricanes5–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09231–9–365
44January 11Calgary Flames1–5VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09231–10–365
45January 18Vegas Golden Knights1–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09231–11–365
46January 20@ Minnesota Wild2–5VasilevskiyXcel Energy Center19,00731–12–365
47January 22@ Chicago Blackhawks2–0VasilevskiyUnited Center21,66232–12–367
48January 23@ Nashville Predators4–3OTDomingueBridgestone Arena17,33233–12–369
49January 25@ Philadelphia Flyers5–1VasilevskiyWells Fargo Center19,48934–12–371
All-Star Break (January 26–29)
50January 30@ Winnipeg Jets1–3DomingueBell MTS Place15,32134–13–371 :
February: 9–4–1, 19 points (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 5–3–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
51February 1@ Calgary Flames7–4VasilevskiyScotiabank Saddledome19,00035–13–373
52February 3@ Vancouver Canucks4–2VasilevskiyRogers Arena18,86536–13–375
53February 5@ Edmonton Oilers2–6VasilevskiyRogers Place18,34736–14–375
54February 8Vancouver Canucks5–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09237–14–377
55February 10Los Angeles Kings4–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09238–14–379
56February 12@ Toronto Maple Leafs3–4VasilevskiyAir Canada Centre19,11238–15–379
57February 13@ Buffalo Sabres3–5DomingueKeyBank Center16,53038–16–379
58February 15Detroit Red Wings4–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09239–16–381
59February 17New Jersey Devils3–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09239–17–381
60February 20@ Washington Capitals4–2VasilevskiyCapital One Arena18,50640–17–383
61February 22@ Ottawa Senators4–3DomingueCanadian Tire Centre16,20441–17–385
62February 24@ Montreal Canadiens4–3SOVasilevskiyBell Centre21,20342–17–387
63February 26Toronto Maple Leafs4–3SOVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09243–17–389
64February 28Buffalo Sabres1–2OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09243–17–490 :
March: 9–5–0, 18 points (Home: 6–3–0; Road: 3–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
65March 1@ Dallas Stars5–4OTDomingueAmerican Airlines Center17,33744–17–492
66March 3Philadelphia Flyers7–6SOVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09245–17–494
67March 6Florida Panthers5–4OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09246–17–496
68March 8New York Rangers5–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09247–17–498
69March 10Montreal Canadiens3–2SODomingueAmalie Arena19,09248–17–4100
70March 13Ottawa Senators4–7VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09248–18–4100
71March 17Boston Bruins0–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09248–19–4100
72March 18Edmonton Oilers3–1DomingueAmalie Arena19,09249–19–4102
73March 20Toronto Maple Leafs4–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09250–19–4104
74March 22@ New York Islanders7–6VasilevskiyBarclays Center10,35451–19–4106
75March 24@ New Jersey Devils1–2VasilevskiyPrudential Center16,51451–20–4106
76March 26Arizona Coyotes1–4DomingueAmalie Arena19,09251–21–4106
77March 29@ Boston Bruins2–4VasilevskiyTD Garden17,56551–22–4106
78March 30@ New York Rangers7–3DomingueMadison Square Garden18,00652–22–4108 :
April: 2–1–1, 5 points (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 0–0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
79April 1Nashville Predators1–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09252–23–4108
80April 3Boston Bruins4–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09253–23–4110
81April 6Buffalo Sabres7–5VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,09254–23–4112
82April 7@ Carolina Hurricanes2–3OTDominguePNC Arena15,40254–23–5113 :
Lightning score listed first;
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2018 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference First Round vs. New Jersey Devils (WC2) – Tampa Bay wins series 4–1
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 12New Jersey Devils5–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0921–0
2April 14New Jersey Devils5–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0922–0
3April 16@ New Jersey Devils2–5VasilevskiyPrudential Center16,5142–1
4April 18@ New Jersey Devils3–1VasilevskiyPrudential Center16,5143–1
5April 21New Jersey Devils3–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0924–1 :
Eastern Conference Second Round vs. Boston Bruins (A2) – Tampa Bay wins series 4–1
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 28Boston Bruins2–6VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0920–1
2April 30Boston Bruins4–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0921–1
3May 2@ Boston Bruins4–1VasilevskiyTD Garden17,5652–1
4May 4@ Boston Bruins4–3OTVasilevskiyTD Garden17,5653–1
5May 6Boston Bruins3–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0924–1 :
Eastern Conference Finals vs. Washington Capitals (M1) – Washington wins series 4–3
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 11Washington Capitals2–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0920–1
2May 13Washington Capitals2–6VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0920–2
3May 15@ Washington Capitals4–2VasilevskiyCapital One Arena18,5061–2
4May 17@ Washington Capitals4–2VasilevskiyCapital One Arena18,5062–2
5May 19Washington Capitals3–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0923–2
6May 21@ Washington Capitals0–3VasilevskiyCapital One Arena18,5063–3
7May 23Washington Capitals0–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena19,0923–4 :
Lightning score listed first;
  Win
  Loss
  If necessary :

## Player stats

May 23, 2018

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Nikita Kucherov | 80 | 39 | 61 | 100 | 15 | 42 |
| Steven Stamkos | 78 | 27 | 59 | 86 | 18 | 72 |
| Brayden Point | 82 | 32 | 34 | 66 | 18 | 24 |
| Yanni Gourde | 82 | 25 | 39 | 64 | 34 | 50 |
| Victor Hedman | 77 | 17 | 46 | 63 | 32 | 54 |
| Tyler Johnson | 81 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 3 | 24 |
| Vladislav Namestnikov$^‡$ | 62 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 11 | 35 |
| Alex Killorn | 82 | 15 | 32 | 47 | 22 | 45 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 79 | 9 | 31 | 40 | 11 | 38 |
| Ondrej Palat | 56 | 11 | 24 | 34 | 16 | 6 |
| Chris Kunitz | 82 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 8 | 35 |
| J. T. Miller$^†$ | 18 | 10 | 8 | 18 | −3 | 12 |
| Dan Girardi | 77 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 27 |
| Ryan Callahan | 66 | 5 | 13 | 18 | −4 | 29 |
| Anton Stralman | 80 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 29 | 18 |
| Braydon Coburn | 72 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 40 |
| Cory Conacher | 36 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 24 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 18 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 6 |
| Jake Dotchin | 48 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 38 |
| Cedric Paquette | 56 | 5 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 41 |
| Slater Koekkoek | 35 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 18 |
| Andrej Sustr | 44 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −5 | 18 |
| Matthew Peca | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| J. T. Brown$^‡$ | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 12 |
| Adam Erne | 23 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −1 | 11 |
| Ryan McDonagh$^†$ | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Gabriel Dumont$^{‡†}$ | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Michael Bournival | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Nikita Kucherov | 17 | 7 | 10 | 17 | −6 | 10 |
| Steven Stamkos | 17 | 7 | 9 | 16 | −1 | 4 |
| Brayden Point | 17 | 7 | 9 | 16 | −6 | 10 |
| Ondrej Palat | 17 | 6 | 6 | 12 | −1 | 2 |
| Victor Hedman | 17 | 1 | 10 | 11 | −4 | 10 |
| Tyler Johnson | 17 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −1 | 6 |
| J. T. Miller | 17 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −4 | 15 |
| Alex Killorn | 17 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 12 |
| Yanni Gourde | 17 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 8 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 12 |
| Anton Stralman | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −3 | 8 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 17 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| Dan Girardi | 17 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 17 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Ryan Callahan | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Cedric Paquette | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 37 |
| Braydon Coburn | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Chris Kunitz | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 16 |
| Cory Conacher | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 10 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 65 | 64 | 3826 | 44 | 17 | 3 | 167 | 2.62 | 2075 | .920 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| Louis Domingue$^†$ | 12 | 11 | 687 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 2.89 | 384 | .914 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Peter Budaj | 8 | 7 | 431 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 3.77 | 217 | .876 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 17 | 17 | 1000 | 11 | 6 | 43 | 2.58 | 524 | .918 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Louis Domingue | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 7 | 1.000 | 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

## Suspensions/fines

| Player | Explanation | Length | Salary | Date issued |
| Steven Stamkos | Fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct during game with the New York Rangers on November 2, 2017, at Amalie Arena. | — | $5,000 | November 3, 2017 |
| Alex Killorn | Fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct during game with the New York Rangers on November 2, 2017, at Amalie Arena. | — | $5,000 | November 3, 2017 |
| Cedric Paquette | Suspended one game for boarding Boston Bruins' defenseman Torey Krug on November 29, 2017, at TD Garden. | 1 game | $4,368 | November 30, 2017 |
| Steven Stamkos | Fined $5,000 for a dangerous trip on Toronto Maple Leafs' defenseman Morgan Rielly on March 20, 2018, at Amalie Arena. | — | $5,000 | March 21, 2018 |

## Awards and honours
### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Steven Stamkos | NHL First Star of the Week | October 23, 2017 |
| Nikita Kucherov | NHL Second Star of the Week | October 23, 2017 |
| Steven Stamkos | NHL First Star of October | November 1, 2017 |
| Nikita Kucherov | NHL Second Star of October | November 1, 2017 |
| Nikita Kucherov | NHL Second Star of the Week | November 13, 2017 |
| Nikita Kucherov | NHL Third Star of December | January 2, 2018 |
| Steven Stamkos | NHL All-Star game selection | January 3, 2018 |
| Jon Cooper | NHL All-Star game selection | January 7, 2018 |
| Nikita Kucherov | NHL All-Star game selection | January 10, 2018 |
| Victor Hedman | NHL All-Star game selection | January 10, 2018 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | NHL All-Star game selection | January 10, 2018 |
| Brayden Point | NHL All-Star game selection | January 24, 2018 |
| Yanni Gourde | NHL Rookie of the Month for February | March 1, 2018 |
| Victor Hedman | James Norris Memorial Trophy | June 20, 2018 |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 6, 2017 |
| Slater Koekkoek | 1st career NHL goal | October 12, 2017 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 1st career NHL goal | October 19, 2017 |
| Steven Stamkos | 600th career NHL point | October 21, 2017 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 100th career NHL game | October 26, 2017 |
| Dan Girardi | 800th career NHL game | October 28, 2017 |
| Steven Stamkos | 600th career NHL game | November 2, 2017 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 300th career NHL game | November 4, 2017 |
| Chris Kunitz | 900th career NHL game | November 8, 2017 |
| Jake Dotchin | 1st career NHL goal | November 8, 2017 |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 100th career NHL point | November 22, 2017 |
| Braydon Coburn | 800th career NHL game | November 24, 2017 |
| Brayden Point | 100th career NHL game | December 16, 2017 |
| Cedric Paquette | 200th career NHL game | December 23, 2017 |
| Tyler Johnson | 100th career NHL goal | December 31, 2017 |
| Alex Killorn | 400th career NHL game | January 22, 2018 |
| Andrej Sustr | 300th career NHL game | January 25, 2018 |
| Steven Stamkos | 300th career NHL assist | January 25, 2018 |
| Alex Killorn | 200th career NHL point | February 1, 2018 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 300th career NHL point | February 3, 2018 |
| Victor Hedman | 600th career NHL game | February 12, 2018 |
| Braydon Coburn | 200th career NHL point | February 12, 2018 |
| Chris Kunitz | 600th career NHL point | February 22, 2018 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | March 1, 2018 |
| Ryan Callahan | 700 career NHL game | March 18, 2018 |
| Adam Erne | 1st career NHL assist | March 20, 2018 |
| Brayden Point | 100th career NHL point | March 22, 2018 |
| Yanni Gourde | 100th career NHL game | March 30, 2018 |
| Anton Stralman | 700th career NHL game | April 3, 2018 |
Playoffs :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Yanni Gourde | 1st career playoff game 1st career playoff assist 1st career playoff goal 1st career playoff point | April 12, 2018 |
| Brayden Point | 1st career playoff game 1st career playoff assist 1st career playoff point | April 12, 2018 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 1st career playoff game 1st career playoff assist 1st career playoff point | April 12, 2018 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1st career playoff game | April 12, 2018 |
| Brayden Point | 1st career playoff goal | April 14, 2018 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 100th career playoff game | April 18, 2018 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 1st career playoff goal | April 21, 2018 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1st career playoff assist 1st career playoff point | April 21, 2018 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1st career playoff goal | May 2, 2018 |
| Anton Stralman | 100th career playoff game | May 17, 2018 |

## Transactions

The Lightning have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 21, 2017 (2017-06-21) | To Vegas Golden KnightsNikita Gusev 2nd-round pick in 2017 4th-round pick in 2018 | To Tampa Bay LightningVegas Golden Knights select Jason Garrison in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft |
| July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) | To New York IslandersKristers Gudlevskis | To Tampa Bay LightningCarter Verhaeghe |
| November 14, 2017 (2017-11-14) | To Arizona CoyotesMichael Leighton Tye McGinn | To Tampa Bay LightningLouis Domingue |
| January 31, 2018 (2018-01-31) | To Edmonton OilersFuture considerations | To Tampa Bay LightningEdward Pasquale |
| February 26, 2018 (2018-02-26) | To New York RangersLibor Hajek Brett Howden Vladislav Namestnikov 1st-round pick in 2018 Conditional 2nd-round pick in 2019 | To Tampa Bay LightningRyan McDonagh J. T. Miller |
| June 13, 2018 (2018-06-13) | To Los Angeles KingsPeter Budaj | To Tampa Bay LightningAndy Andreoff |
Players released
DatePlayerViaRef
September 18, 2017
Cameron Darcy
Buyout
September 18, 2017
Brian Hart
Buyout :

### Lost via retirement

| Date | Player | Ref |
| August 13, 2017 (2017-08-13) | Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond | |

### Player signings

| Date | Player | Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) |
| June 22, 2017 (2017-06-22) | Peter Budaj | 2-year, $2.05 million |
| June 27, 2017 (2017-06-27) | Andrej Sustr | 1-year, $1.95 million |
| June 27, 2017 (2017-06-27) | Yanni Gourde | 2-year, $1 million |
| June 28, 2017 (2017-06-28) | Cory Conacher | 2-year, $1.3 million |
| June 28, 2017 (2017-06-28) | Gabriel Dumont | 2-year, $1.3 million |
| June 29, 2017 (2017-06-29) | Alexander Volkov | 3-year, $2.775 million |
| July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) | Oleg Sosunov | 3-year, $2.775 million |
| July 3, 2017 (2017-07-03) | Slater Koekkoek | 1-year, $800,000 |
| July 5, 2017 (2017-07-05) | Matthew Peca | 1-year, $650,0000 |
| July 5, 2017 (2017-07-05) | Jake Dotchin | 2-year, $1.62 million |
| July 10, 2017 (2017-07-10) | Tyler Johnson | 7-year, $35 million |
| July 14, 2017 (2017-07-14) | Ondrej Palat | 5-year, $26.5 million |
| July 18, 2017 (2017-07-18) | Michael Bournival | 1-year, $650,000 |
| August 17, 2017 (2017-08-17) | Tye McGinn | 1-year, $650,000 |
| September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28) | Alexey Lipanov | 3-year, $2.775 million |
| April 1, 2018 (2018-04-01) | Cal Foote | 3-year, $2.775 million |
| April 19, 2018 (2018-04-19) | Michael Bournival | 1-year, $650,000 |
| April 19, 2018 (2018-04-19) | Otto Somppi | 3-year, $2.4 million |
| June 7, 2018 (2018-06-07) | Daniel Walcott | 1-year, $650,000 |
| June 12, 2018 (2018-06-12) | Carter Verhaeghe | 1-year, $650,000 |
| June 18, 2018 (2018-06-18) | Edward Pasquale | 1-year, $650,000 |

## Draft picks

Below are the Tampa Bay Lightning' selections at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 14 | Callan Foote | D | Canada | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |
| 2 | 48$^1$ | Alexander Volkov | RW | Russia | SKA-1946 St. Petersburg (MHL) |
| 3 | 76 | Alexey Lipanov | C | Russia | Dynamo Balashikha (VHL) |
| 6 | 169 | Nicklaus Perbix | D | United States | Elk River High School (MSHSL) |
| 6 | 180 | Cole Guttman | C | United States | Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) |
| 7 | 200 | Sam Walker | C | United States | Edina High School (MSHSL) |
Draft notes:
* The Toronto Maple Leafs' second-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on February 27, 2017, that sent Brian Boyle to Toronto in exchange for Byron Froese and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).