2007–08 Tampa Bay Lightning season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	2007–08
Year:	2007
Team:	Tampa Bay Lightning
Conferencerank:	15th
Divisionrank:	5th
Record:	31–42–9
Homerecord:	20–18–3
Roadrecord:	11–24–6
Goalsfor:	223
Goalsagainst:	267
Attendance:	18,693 (95.9%)
Goalsleader:	Vincent Lecavalier (40)
Assistsleader:	Martin St. Louis (58)
Pointsleader:	Vincent Lecavalier (92)
Plusminusleader:	Michel Ouellet (+11)
Pimleader:	Shane O'Brien (154)
Winsleader:	Johan Holmqvist (20)
Gaaleader:	Johan Holmqvist (3.01)

The 2007–08 Tampa Bay Lightning season began October 4, 2007. It is the Lightning's 16th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Lightning introduced a new logo design prior to the start of the season. The new, "modernized" logo was similar to the team's original logo, with the edges on the lightning bolt, and the text looking "sharper." The wordmark "Lightning" has been dropped from the logo. It was the first change to the team's primary logo in its 15-year history and coincided with the launch of the Rbk Edge jersey design, introduced League wide.^[1]

The Lighting also announced that the team, along with the St. Pete Times Forum, had been tentatively sold to a group represented by former Columbus coach and general manager Doug MacLean.^[2] The deal was terminated in mid-November after the group, called Absolute Hockey Enterprises, began to fight amongst itself, leading to lawsuits being filed.^[3] The team, in announcing the cancellation of the sale, expressed in a November 27 release that it hoped the deal could be resurrected.^[4]

Forwards Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis were selected to represent the Lightning, and the Eastern Conference, at the 2008 All-Star Game in Atlanta.^[5] For the first time since the 2001–02 season, the Tampa Bay Lightning missed the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Regular season

The Lightning had the fewest power-play opportunities of all 30 teams (296) and, excluding one shootout goal allowed, gave up 266 goals during the regular season, tied with the Atlanta Thrashers for 30th overall.^[6] ^[7]

Game log

October

Record: 5–5–1; home: 5–0–1; road: 0–5–0.

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 4		1 – 3	Tampa Bay			19,454	1–0–0	2
2	October 6		2 – 5	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	19,220	2–0–0	4
3	October 10		1 – 2	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	18,540	3–0–0	6
4	October 13	Tampa Bay	4 – 6				15,801	3–1–0	6
5	October 18	Tampa Bay	1 – 4			Holmqvist	16,363	3–2–0	6
6	October 20		2 – 6	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	19,420	4–2–0	8
7	October 24	Tampa Bay	3 – 5			Denis	10,226	4–3–0	8
8	October 25		2 – 5	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	18,616	5–3–0	10
9	October 27		4 – 3	Tampa Bay	OT	Holmqvist	19,804	5–3–1	11
10	October 29	Tampa Bay	1 – 3			Holmqvist	18,200	5–4–1	11
11	October 31	Tampa Bay	1 – 6			Holmqvist	13,218	5–5–1	11

November

Record: 5–8–1; home: 3–3–0; road: 2–5–1.

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
12	November 1	Tampa Bay	0 – 4			Denis	11,008	5–6–1	11
13	November 3		6 – 4	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	19,155	5–7–1	11
14	November 5	Tampa Bay	3 – 4			Holmqvist	10,149	5–8–1	11
15	November 7		1 – 3	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	16,526	6–8–1	13
16	November 8	Tampa Bay	5 – 1			Holmqvist	14,017	7–8–1	15
17	November 10	Tampa Bay	5 – 2			Holmqvist	14,617	8–8–1	17
18	November 14		1 – 6	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	17,444	9–8–1	19
19	November 16		2 – 5	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	19,526	10–8–1	21
20	November 19	Tampa Bay	3 – 4		OT	Holmqvist	13,419	10–8–2	22
21	November 21		2 – 1	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	20,110	10–9–2	22
22	November 23	Tampa Bay	3 – 4			Holmqvist	18,033	10–10–2	22
23	November 24		3 – 2	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	19,077	10–11–2	22
24	November 28	Tampa Bay	1 – 5			Holmqvist	11,122	10–12–2	22
25	November 29	Tampa Bay	2 – 4			Denis	17,001	10–13–2	22

December

Record: 5–8–1; home: 4–5–1; road: 1–3–0.

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
26	December 1		1 – 4	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	18,444	11–13–2	24
27	December 4		3 – 4	Tampa Bay	SO	Holmqvist	17,540	12–13–2	26
28	December 6		1 – 2	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	16,674	13–13–2	28
29	December 8		3 – 2	Tampa Bay	OT	Holmqvist	18,319	13–13–3	29
30	December 10	Tampa Bay	1 – 6			Holmqvist	19,454	13–14–3	29
31	December 11	Tampa Bay	3 – 2		SO	Denis	21,273	14–14–3	31
32	December 13		9 – 6	Tampa Bay		Denis	19,026	14–15–3	31
33	December 15		3 – 2	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	18,367	14–16–3	31
34	December 18	Tampa Bay	2 – 6			Holmqvist	14,060	14–17–3	31
35	December 20		1 – 2	Tampa Bay			19,131	15–17–3	33
36	December 22		4 – 1	Tampa Bay		Ramo	18,765	15–18–3	33
37	December 26	Tampa Bay	2 – 3			Ramo	15,035	15–19–3	33
38	December 27		5 – 2	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	20,294	15–20–3	33
39	December 29		4 – 2	Tampa Bay		Ramo	20,124	15–21–3	33

January

Record: 6–5–2; home: 2–4–0; road: 4–1–2.

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
40	January 1	Tampa Bay	3 – 4		SO	Ramo	19,347	15–21–4	34
41	January 3	Tampa Bay	3 – 6			Ramo	21,273	15–22–4	34
42	January 5	Tampa Bay	3 – 4		OT	Holmqvist	20,108	15–22–5	35
43	January 8	Tampa Bay	5 – 3			Ramo	18,200	16–22–5	37
44	January 10		4 – 1	Tampa Bay		Ramo	20,426	16–23–5	37
45	January 12	Tampa Bay	5 – 3			Holmqvist	16,578	17–23–5	39
46	January 15		3 – 0	Tampa Bay		Ramo	17,222	17–24–5	39
47	January 18	Tampa Bay	3 – 0			Holmqvist	17,132	18–24–5	41
48	January 19	Tampa Bay	2 – 0			Holmqvist	20,091	19–24–5	43
49	January 22		3 – 4	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	16,799	20–24–5	45
50	January 24		8 – 4	Tampa Bay		Ramo	16,346	20–25–5	45
51	January 29		4 – 2	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	18,920	20–26–5	45
52	January 31		3 – 4	Tampa Bay		Ramo	17,019	21–26–5	47

February

Record: 5–5–2; home: 2–4–0; road: 3–1–2.

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
53	February 2		3 – 2	Tampa Bay		Ramo	19,977	21–27–5	47
54	February 5	Tampa Bay	5 – 4			Holmqvist	17,150	22–27–5	49
55	February 7	Tampa Bay	5 – 4			Holmqvist	13,959	23–27–5	51
56	February 9	Tampa Bay	1 – 2		OT	Holmqvist	18,879	23–27–6	52
57	February 12		2 – 3	Tampa Bay		Ramo	17,420	24–27–6	54
58	February 14	Tampa Bay	5 – 3			Holmqvist	19,336	25–27–6	56
59	February 16		3 – 2	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	20,254	25–28–6	56
60	February 20	Tampa Bay	3 – 4		OT	Holmqvist	18,690	25–28–7	57
61	February 21	Tampa Bay	0 – 1			Ramo	12,382	25–29–7	57
62	February 23		5 – 3	Tampa Bay		Holmqvist	20,519	25–30–7	57
63	February 27		3 – 2	Tampa Bay			17,211	25–31–7	57
64	February 29		2 – 3	Tampa Bay	OT	Smith	20,641	26–31–7	59

March

Record: 5–8–2; home: 4–2–1; road: 1–6–1.

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
65	March 1	Tampa Bay	1 – 5			Smith	16,831	26–32–7	59
66	March 4		2 – 0	Tampa Bay		Smith	19,206	26–33–7	59
67	March 6	Tampa Bay	2 – 3			Smith	19,217	26–34–7	59
68	March 7	Tampa Bay	1 – 2		OT	Ramo	15,670	26–34–8	60
69	March 9	Tampa Bay	3 – 5			Smith	14,796	26–35–8	60
70	March 11		4 – 8	Tampa Bay		Ramo	19,111	27–35–8	62
71	March 13	Tampa Bay	3 – 1			Smith	13,373	28–35–8	64
72	March 15		0 – 3	Tampa Bay		Smith	20,926	29–35–8	66
73	March 19	Tampa Bay	4 – 7			Ramo	18,690	29–36–8	66
74	March 20	Tampa Bay	2 – 4			Smith	17,044	29–37–8	66
75	March 22	Tampa Bay	2 – 4			Smith	18,502	29–38–8	66
76	March 25		1 – 3	Tampa Bay		Ramo	16,110	30–38–8	68
77	March 27		4 – 3	Tampa Bay	OT	Ramo	17,777	30–38–9	69
78	March 29		1 – 2	Tampa Bay		Ramo	19,311	31–38–9	71
79	March 31		2 – 0	Tampa Bay		Smith	17,411	31–39–9	71

April

Record: 0–3–0; home: 0–0–0; road: 0–3–0.

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
80	April 2	Tampa Bay	2 – 6			Smith	17,644	31–40–9	71
81	April 3	Tampa Bay	1 – 4			Ramo	18,277	31–41–9	71
82	April 5	Tampa Bay	1 – 4			Smith	18,732	31–42–9	71

Playoffs

The Lightning failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 2001–02 season, snapping their four season playoff streak.

Player stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Regular season
Top 10 players	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
	81	40	52	92	-17	89
	82	25	58	83	-23	26
Vaclav Prospal (18 Phi)	62	29	28	57	-7	39
Brad Richards (12 Dal)	62	18	33	51	-25	15
	64	17	19	36	11	12
	75	6	25	31	-8	40
	72	10	21	31	-13	56
	37	4	21	25	-29	57
Jan Hlavac (18 Nsh)	62	9	13	22	-10	32
	73	7	15	22	-14	20

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses;
GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Regular season
Player	GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Johan Holmqvist (2 Dal)	45	2469	20	16	6	124	0	.890	3.01
	22	1268	7	10	11	64	0	.899	3.03
Mike Smith (21 Dal)	13	773	3	10	1	28	0	.893	2.79
	10	414	1	5	0	28	0	.864	4.05

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular season
Player	Milestone	Reached
	1st NHL game	October 4, 2007
	100th NHL PIM	October 6, 2007
	200th NHL PIM	October 13, 2007
	1st NHL assist 1st NHL point	October 18, 2007
	500th NHL game	October 29, 2007
	100th NHL game	October 31, 2007

Transactions

The Lightning have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.

Trades

June 13, 2007 https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=210735&hubname=	To Tampa Bay Lightning Chris Gratton	To Florida Panthers 2nd round pick in either 2007 or 2008 – Jacob Markstrom
July 4, 2007	To Tampa Bay Lightning Bryce Lampman	To New York Rangers Mitch Fritz
November 19, 2007	To Tampa Bay Lightning Mario Scalzo	To Dallas Stars Bryce Lampman
January 15, 2008	To Tampa Bay Lightning Junior Lessard	To Dallas Stars Dan Jancevski
February 26, 2008	To Tampa Bay Lightning Mike Smith Jussi Jokinen Jeff Halpern	To Dallas Stars Brad Richards Johan Holmqvist
February 26, 2008	To Tampa Bay Lightning 7th round pick in 2008 – Joacim Eriksson	To Nashville Predators Jan Hlavac
February 26, 2008	To Tampa Bay Lightning Brandon Segal Conditional Draft Pick	To Anaheim Ducks Jay Leach

Free agents

Player	Former team	Contract terms
		2 years, $2.5 million
		1 year, $475,000
		1 year, $475,000
		3 years, $4.7 million
		1 year, $525,000
		1 year, $500,000

Player	New team
	Calgary Flames
	Atlanta Thrashers
	New York Islanders
	Ottawa Senators

Draft picks

Tampa's picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio.^[8] The Lightning do not have a first round pick, having dealt the 16th overall selection to the Anaheim Ducks.

Round		Player	Position	College/junior/club team (league)
2	47	Dana Tyrell	C/RW	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
3	75	Luca Cunti	C/LW	Dubendorf (Switzerland)
3	77	Alexander Killorn	C	Deerfield Academy (USHS-MA)
4	107	Mitch Fadden	C	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
5	150	Matt Marshall	C/RW	Noble and Greenough School (USHS–MA)
6	167	Johan Harju	LW	Luleå HF (Elitserien)
7	183	Torrie Jung	G	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
7	197	Michael Ward	D	Lewiston Maineiacs (QMJHL)
7	210	Justin Courtnall	LW	Burnaby Express (BCHL)

Farm teams

American Hockey League

Norfolk Admirals

ECHL

Mississippi Sea Wolves

References

Player stats: Tampa Bay Lightning player stats on espn.com
Game log: Tampa Bay Lightning game log on espn.com
Team standings: NHL standings on espn.com

Notes and References

http://lightning.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=336301 LIGHTNING UNVEIL MODERNIZED LOGO & JERSEYS
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=215627&hubname=nhl https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=215627&hubname=nhl
Erlendsson, Erik, Purchase Of Bolts Fizzles; Group Sues Key Investor, TBO.com, November 26, 2007
http://lightning.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=344598&nhlLink=true&page=NewsPage&service=page PALACE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT STATEMENT REGARDING PENDING SALE OF THE TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
http://www.nhl.com/allstar/2008/east_roster.html 2008 Eastern Conference All-Stars
Web site: 2007-08 NHL Summary.
Web site: 2007-08 NHL Schedule and Results.
2007 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com