The Tampa Bay Lightning have released their 2025-26 regular season schedule, which includes 41 home games at Amalie Arena. The season kicks off at home on Thursday, October 9, against the Ottawa Senators.
Key Dates and Matchups
Lightning fans have several exciting dates to look forward to:
- Home Opener: Thursday, October 9, against the Ottawa Senators.
- NHL Stadium Series: On February 1, the Lightning will face the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium as part of the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series. This will be the second time the Lightning have participated in the NHL Stadium Series.
- Olympic Break: The NHL will take a break from February 6-22 for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
- The Lightning will play all teams in the NHL a minimum of two times. They will play teams in their division four times, with the exception of Ottawa and Toronto, against whom they will play three games.
Monthly Breakdown
- October: The Lightning will have several home games in October, including matchups against the New Jersey Devils (October 11), Chicago Blackhawks (October 23), Anaheim Ducks (October 25) and Vegas Golden Knights (October 26).
- November: November will see the Lightning at home against the Washington Capitals (November 8), New York Rangers (November 12), Vancouver Canucks (November 16), New Jersey Devils (November 18), Edmonton Oilers (November 20), Philadelphia Flyers (November 24) and Calgary Flames (November 26).
- December: December's home games include matchups against the Pittsburgh Penguins (December 4), New York Islanders (December 6), Florida Panthers (December 15), Los Angeles Kings (December 18), Carolina Hurricanes (December 20), St. Louis Blues (December 22) and Montreal Canadiens (December 28).
- January: January features fewer home games with the team spending more time on the road.
- February: The highlight of February is the Stadium Series game against Boston.
- March: March will be the busiest month for the Lightning, with 16 games in total, 8 of which will be at Amalie Arena. Home opponents include Columbus (March 10), Detroit (March 12), Carolina (March 14), Minnesota (March 24), Seattle (March 26), Ottawa (March 28), Nashville (March 29) and Montreal (March 31).
Road Trips
The longest road trip for the Lightning will be a five-game stretch from January 10-18. They also have five separate four-game road trips.
Back-to-Back Games
The Lightning will play 15 back-to-back games during the season. Two sets will be at Amalie Arena, ten will be on the road, and three will be split between home and away.
National Broadcasts
National TV assignments for the 2025-26 Lightning will be announced closer to the start of the season. Tampa Bay Lightning games will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Sun, ABC, ESPN, TNT, TBS, Hulu and NHL Network. The NHL's national broadcast partners for the 2025-26 season are The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), TNT Sports, Sportsnet, Prime Video and TVA Sports.
