After suffering through two real-life hurricanes, fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning watched their team battle another as they started the 2024-25 season with a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night (Oct. 11). Nikita Kucherov scored a third-period hat trick to lead the Lightning to victory, while newly appointed captain Victor Hedman picked up three assists.
The Lightning had a bit of a different look to start the season. Steven Stamkos will not take the ice in a Lightning sweater for the first time in 16 seasons, while forward Mikhail Sergachev was traded to the Utah Hockey Club. After spending a couple of seasons with the Nashville Predators, Ryan McDonagh returned to Tampa. Following this first game, here are three impressions about the future of the Lightning for the rest of the season.
Impression One: Geekie Has Productive NHL Debut
Injuries to Mikey Eyssimont and Conor Sheary opened the door for the 20-year-old to play his first game in the NHL. Conor Geekie registered 10 minutes of ice time for the night on 14 shifts played. While he did not have a major impact on the outcome of the game, he seemed comfortable in his first game and did nothing to hurt his team while on the ice. Overall, he was at least successful in getting his feet wet in the NHL and began to acclimate to the speed and skill that is needed to be successful at that level.
Acquired in a trade that sent Sergachev to Utah, Geekie skated in 55 games between the Western Hockey League’s (WHL’s) Swift Current Broncos and Wenatchee Wild last season, logging 43 goals and 99 points to rank 10th among WHL skaters for goals and 11th for points. He also skated for Team Canada at the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship, where he recorded two goals and three points in five games before making his professional debut with the American Hockey League’s (AHL’s) Tucson Roadrunners and skating in two Calder Cup Playoff contests.
Impression Two: Raddysh on the Power Play Is a Work in Progress
A player in any sport will tell you how difficult it is to replace a legend. So imagine what Darren Raddysh is feeling by being asked to take the spot of Stamkos on the Lightning’s top power-play unit. The Lightning had the top-ranked power play in the NHL last season. For years, the threat of Stamkos’ powerful one-timer from the left circle consistently made the unit one of the league’s most dangerous. With Stamkos gone, Raddysh will be given a chance to keep the power-play unit productive.
While the Lightning did score their first two goals on the power play, Raddysh did not figure in the scoring for either goal. However, he looked comfortable in that role, and with experience, he could prove to be a factor on this squad, especially if teams underestimate his ability.
Impression Three: Vasilevsky Looked Like… Vasilevsky
In 2023-24, Vasilevskiy missed the first handful of weeks of the season due to back surgery. Even when he returned, the 2018-19 Vezina Trophy winner never seemed to regain the form he displayed in previous seasons. He had a career-worst save percentage (SV%; .900) and goals-against average (GAA; 2.90) – compared to his All-Star level career average of .917 SV% and a 2.56 GAA. However, in the opener against the Hurricanes, he looked more like the All-Star the Lightning and their fans have come to expect of the 30-year-old.
For the game, Vasilevsky stopped 20 shots, including many good scoring chances the Hurricanes had throughout the game. In the second period, he kept the Lightning in the game when the Hurricanes made a big push and outshot the Lightning 11-4. It is very comforting to know that Vasilevskiy is back to full health, as he recently expressed a desire to play 60-70 games this season. While that sounds a bit daunting, a lot of Vasilevskiy in the net will go a long way to getting the Lightning back to a Stanley Cup Final.
Related: Hurricane Milton Will Affect Opening Weeks of Tampa Bay Lightning Season
The teams were initially slated to play again in Florida on Saturday, though that game was postponed due to Milton’s recovery. The Lightning are scheduled to host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (Oct. 15). While the Tampa area continues to recover from the two hurricanes that have struck in recent weeks, the Lightning will look to continue to make gains with their lineup, which has some noticeable differences from previous seasons.
