After playing seven out of their first nine games away from home, the Tampa Lightning can settle in now for an extended stay at home over the next month.
Tampa Bay will play nine of their next 11 games at Amalie Arena, extending through the end of Thanksgiving week.
Over the course of those 11 games, the only times the Lightning will leave home will be for a pair of one game road trips. Tampa Bay will play single games in Washington and Nashville, two of the closer NHL destinations.
With this favorable stretch of the schedule, it will provide an opportunity for the Lightning to make up some ground in the standings.
American thanksgiving has long been a measuring stick point in the season for finding out where your team stands. Ahead of this current four-game home stand, the Lightning currently sit in fourth in the Atlantic Division, just a point behind Florida for third.
Ideally, the Lightning would like to find themselves in a playoff spot when Thanksgiving rolls around. With an extended period of time on home ice ahead, now is the time to make up the ground.
The road ahead will be a challenge as three of the four opponents on this home stand currently sit in a playoff spot. One of those teams includes the surprising Buffalo Sabres who roll into Amalie Arena on Saturday night.
Stanley Cup contenders also lie ahead as the Lightning will also be taking on the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday and the Edmonton Oilers next Tuesday.
Who are we seeing @AmalieArena this week?? 🙋 pic.twitter.com/dAbh436qBT
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) October 31, 2022
With a break in travel for much of the next month, now is the time to make up some ground in the standings.