Orlando welcomes Lightning to Amway Center

In August, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced a three-year agreement with the Orlando Solar Bears making the team the Bolts' ECHL affiliate.
Tonight, the Lightning organization will make further inroads into the Orlando market by playing a preseason game at the Amway Center against the Florida Panthers. The game will be the sixth of Tampa Bay's seven preseason games and the second of three to close out the exhibition schedule versus Florida.

"It's really exciting the mere fact it's right down the road," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said of the ECHL affiliation with Orlando. "One of the tough things about, when you're in Florida, a lot of the leagues are a lot farther north than down here. So to have a team that's this close and a partner in hockey that's this close, it's great because inevitably we're just trying to grow the sport down here as well. To have two organizations like the Panthers and the Lightning and to be able to use other cities in the state as breeding grounds for players it does nothing but help the game down here."

The Lightning held morning skate at the Amway Center Thursday morning, getting their first chance to test out the ice.
The reviews were all positive.
"I think it's really exciting," Lightning forward Yanni Gourde said. "It's my first time in this building, and it looks great. The ice was good this morning I thought. It's going to be fun tonight and obviously playing the Panthers is always fun games and good rivalry."
The Lightning last played in Orlando during the 2013 preseason when they defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-3 in a shootout. Tonight's game will be the third time in Lightning preseason history they've played at the Amway Center and eighth time in Orlando overall (the Bolts played five games at the old Orlando Arena).
KUCHEROV OUT: Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov played just one period in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Florida at AMALIE Arena before exiting the game with a lower-body injury.
Kucherov remains sidelined for tonight's game in Orlando. Whether he'll play in the final preseason game Saturday in Sunrise remains to be seen.
"We'll keep re-evaluating, but definitely not tonight," Cooper said when asked if Kucherov would play again this preseason.
The Lightning have two major pieces of their team on the shelf this preseason with injuries to Kucherov and Tyler Johnson (upper-body injury), who won't play again during the exhibition schedule the team announced Sunday. And that's not including Ryan Callahan, who remains out until early November following offseason shoulder surgery.
A COMPLETE GAME: The Lightning liked a lot about their game in Tuesday's loss to Florida.
Just not the way it finished.
After a scoreless first period, Tampa Bay scored twice in the second behind a power-play goal from Adam Erne and Alex Killorn's marker. The Panthers rallied in the third, however, scoring three-consecutive goals to escape AMALIE Arena with a victory.
The focus then for tonight's second game in the best-of-three series with Florida will be on playing a complete game.

"Every time you're in a game, you want to bring a 60-minute game," Gourde said. "Obviously, sometimes it doesn't happen. I think tonight it is a big focus. We've got to bring that 60-minute game because we've got to get ready for the season. There are only two more games left. We've got to focus on that and those things and feel good on the ice."
Cooper said he feels comfortable with the way the team is progressing through the preseason schedule after a rough couple of outings to start against Carolina. In particular, he likes how hard his team has worked in training camp. Now it's just a matter of getting the legs back, getting their timing back and getting hit by an opponent rather than a teammate.
"Our season doesn't open for another week and a half, but have we made strides throughout this training camp in a positive light? We have," Cooper said. "We didn't like the final score the other night but there was a lot to like to our game. And I'm sure Florida can say the same. We're still working different guys in. Florida's doing the same thing and preparing the team to put our best foot forward for next Saturday night."