One thing the Tampa Bay Lightning are not short on is iconic moments for the franchise. A perk of numerous deep playoff runs is that big moments happen along the way.
It’s time to look back at Lightning hockey history and relive some of the best goals in the franchise’s history. The order of these goals will be in chronological order.
St. Louis Sends the Stanley Cup Final Back to Tampa Bay (2004)
It’s double overtime of Game 6 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning have their backs against the wall as if they give up another goal, the Calgary Flames win the Stanley Cup.
Just 33 seconds into the period, Martin St. Louis flips the puck past Miikka Kiprusoff to win the game 3-2 and force a decisive Game 7 in Tampa.
The Lightning would go on to win Game 7, 2-1, to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Stamkos Scores 60 (2012)
There will be some reminiscing of the Steven Stamkos era during this article. Those who had “seen Stamkos” remember one of the first major milestones in his career. One that represented what would become a future Hall-of-Fame career.
Related: Revisiting the Lightning’s Blockbuster Trade for Blake Coleman
On April 7, 2012, Stamkos scored his 60th goal of the season on the road against the newly established Winnipeg Jets. In total, the Lightning scored 235 goals, meaning Stamkos accounted for one-fourth of all goals that season.
A fun oddity of this matchup is that it was a division matchup. This was the first season after the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, and the NHL hadn’t realigned yet. So a historic team moment happened during a weird transition period for the league.
Tyler Johnson’s Buzzer Beater Against Montreal (2015)
The Lightning we’ve gotten to know over the last decade began their rise with their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015. Had they won the Stanley Cup, forward Tyler Johnson likely would’ve won the Conn Smythe for his herculean performance.
In 26 playoff games, Johnson had 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points. His goals and point totals led the playoffs. He also had his share of big moments.
In the final seconds of Game 3 of the second round vs the Montreal Canadiens with a 1-1 score, Victor Hedman flipped the puck from the left circle to Johnson in front of the net to push the puck past Carey Price as the clock wound down to zero to win 2-1 and put the Lightning up 3-0 in the series.
Point Ends It in the 5th Overtime Period (2020)
Fast-forward to the Stanley Cup Playoffs bubble. The Lightning have a rematch with the Columbus Blue Jackets after infamously being swept out of the first round in the 2019 Playoffs. They seek redemption after a humiliating exit as the Presidents’ Trophy winners and a heavy favorite to finally win a Stanley Cup.
The Blue Jackets wouldn’t make it easy. The first game would go tied 2-2 into overtime. No score in the first OT period…then none in the second…none in the third…couldn’t end it in the fourth either. The game went on so long the Carolina Hurricanes-Boston Bruins game was pushed back to the next morning.
Someone also had an ingenious idea of saying it’s time for the seventh-period stretch.
Brayden Point finally brought the game to an end with a goal in the fifth overtime period to win it for the Lightning 3-2.
The win lifted a major weight off their shoulders and they would go on to rout Columbus in five games, including another Point overtime goal in Game 5.
Cirelli Sends Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final (2020)
Following the series win over the Blue Jackets, the Lightning beat the Boston Bruins in five games before taking on the New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference Final. The Islanders won Game 5 in double overtime to force a Game 6. The Lightning led the series 3-2 heading into the game.
It was yet another low-scoring bout with the game tied 1-1 after regulation. On the 49th shot of the game at 13:18 into the period, Anthony Cirelli scored the game-winning goal to clinch the Bolts’ trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
They were now in striking distance of the Stanley Cup and completing the redemption arc.
Stamkos Makes Lone Playoff Appearance Count (2020)
Perhaps one of the most magical moments in Lightning history. Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning and the Dallas Stars are tied 1-1 in the series with Tampa Bay leading 1-0 in the first period. Captain Steven Stamkos hadn’t played a single shift up to this point in the entire playoffs due to injury and his family was going through an emotional time.
The time came for him to get back on the ice. He might not be able to do much, so he had to make it count. He had only 2:47 of ice time in the game and one shot. The result was a goal that arguably turned the tide of the series.
After that, you had this gut feeling that the Lightning were a team of destiny. Stamkos recalled the moment in his farewell message to Tampa Bay.
“When I got into the lineup for Game 3, I felt pretty good,” Stamkos said. “I thought I’d be able to play the rest of the series. But on my second shift, I got the puck and went past Lindell along the boards, and as I kind of dipped by him, and I felt the muscle go. It completely tore. I just tried to use my momentum and weight to get a shot off. I looked up and it was going top corner and adrenaline took over. It’s one of those plays where you just try to leave it all out there.”
Three games later, he was hoisting the Cup as a champion. En route to that moment, he overcame physical and emotional struggles and delivered a moment that Lightning fans will remember for the rest of their lives.
Point Forces Game 7 Against Maple Leafs (2022)
The final moment we’ll look at is the most recent overtime winner for the Lightning to date.
As the defending back-to-back champions, the Lightning were on the brink of being bounced in the first round. But Point delivered yet another clutch moment in overtime to win the game 4-3 and send the game back to Toronto for Game 7.
The Lightning would win the series and make their way back to the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight year. This goal set them up to win 11 straight playoff series – the most by a team this century.
Perhaps new iconic moments will come in time. But for now, fans will have these to look back on and cherish. The era might be coming to an end, but that makes you appreciate what happened just a little more.
