They would go on to have 6 consecutive losing seasons after that year, and would not make the playoffs again until 2003 when they would lose in the 2nd round to the New Jersey Devils after beating the Washington Capitals in round 1. The Lightning would end up losing in the first round of their first playoff appearance in 1996 to the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2. After winning just 17 games the season before, the Lightning finished with a 38-32-12 record, good enough to give the franchise its first Stanley Cup playoff birth. In the 1995-96 NHL season, Tampa Bay finally had its first winning hockey season. Although it did ease travel, it did not help their play, as the team would still have losing seasons the first two years in their new division. These were all teams that were located on the East coast and made travel for road trips much easier. Their new division rivals were the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, and Philadelphia Flyers. The next season, the Lightning were moved to the Atlantic division which would make travel a little easier on their schedule. Because NHL teams within their own division are scheduled to play each other head to head more each season, this led to the Tampa Bay Lightning to have to travel much further than the other teams had to for road games in the division. Louis Blues were all located in the Midwest. Other teams in the Norris division that season, the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars), and St. It was said at the time that one of the reasons for such a poor first season was that the Lightning should not have been in the Norris Division to begin with. That first season, the Lightning finished with a 23-54-7 record which finished them in last place of the Norris division in the Campbell Conference.
The Tampa Bay Lightning entered the NHL as a new expansion team in 1992 and played its first official game at the beginning of the 1992-93 hockey season.
Other NHL teams in the same division include the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadians, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, and the Detroit Red Wings. They play in the Atlantic division of the Eastern Conference. The Tampa Bay Lightning are a National Hockey League team (NHL) that plays their home games at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. About the Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey Team
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