Ride The Lightning - Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL 11)

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Lightning looking to make the playoffs once more
Things are looking up for Tampa Bay as Stamkos looks to build on career year last season

TAMPA BAY, FL - It seems like when the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup back in 2004... all that seems like a distant memory for Lightning fans.

Ever since that faithful season, the Lightning have only been to the post-season two times and have been ousted in the first round both times. Then things began to get worse... the Lightning went from a playoff team to a 31-win team and then to a league-worst 24 wins.

But then something changed... a 19-year old kid from Markham, Ontario emerged onto the scene and changed the face of the Lightning face once again. Steven Stamkos made the NHL take notice and he lived up to his hype by producing a 95 point season, which included 51 goals and 44 assists.

Just like that, even though the Lightning didn't make the playoffs, they improved their wins by 10 up to 34 wins on the season. Lightning fans knew they had something special in Stamkos, and the 2010-2011 season for Tampa Bay fans couldn't arrive sooner.

With the emergence of Stamkos, a possible breakout year from Victor Hedman, and led by a core of veterans including captain Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and new addition Simon Gagne, the Lightning's future might be looking a bit brighter coming into the new season.

The pre-season hype has been monumental for the Lightning, as the fans feel that this team could challenge the Washington Capitals for the Southeast Division.

With the first pre-season game against the Florida Panthers coming in a few days, the excitement and the wait for Lightning hockey will be finally over. The league, the fans and everyone wants to see how this Tampa Bay Lightning team will do this season... will it be another sub-par year and the hype will be too big... or will the Lightning succeed and make it back to the playoffs?

The journey starts September 20th, 2010 and we hope you all can join us and ride along for a hopeful long, but successful season of Tampa Bay Lightning hockey!

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Roster

Tampa Bay Lightning Roster
#	CENTERS	AGE	HT	WT	SHOT	BIRTH PLACE
#4	Vincent Lecavalier (C)	30	6 '4"	208	L	ILE BIZARD, QC, CAN
#19	Dominic Moore	30	6' 0"	192	L	THORNHILL, ON, CAN
#91	Steven Stamkos	20	6 '1"	188	R	MARKHAM, ON, CAN
#44	Nate Thompson	25	6' 0"	210	L	ANCHORAGE, AK, USA
#42	Dana Tyrell	21	5' 11"	185	L	AIRDRIE, AB, CAN
#	LEFT WINGS	AGE	HT	WT	SHOT	BIRTH PLACE
#10	Sean Bergenheim	26	5' 11"	200	L	HELSINKI, FIN
#12	Simon Gagne	30	6' 1"	193	L	STE. FOY, QC, CAN
#6	Ryan Malone	30	6' 4"	219	L	PITTSBURGH, PA, USA
#16	Teddy Purcell	25	6' 2"	201	R	ST. JOHN'S, NL, CAN
#	RIGHT WINGS	AGE	HT	WT	SHOT	BIRTH PLACE
#9	Steve Downie	23	5' 11"	191	R	NEWMARKET, ON, CAN
#18	Adam Hall	30	6' 3"	213	R	KALAMAZOO, MI, USA
#26	Martin St. Louis (A)	35	5' 8"	176	L	LAVAL, QC, CAN
#	DEFENSE	AGE	HT	WT	SHOT	BIRTH PLACE
#47	Marc-Andre Bergeron	29	5' 9"	198	L	TROIS-RIVIERES, QC, CAN
#2	Eric Brewer	31	6' 3"	220	L	VERNON, BC, CAN
#7	Brett Clark	33	6' 0"	194	L	WAPELLA, SK, CAN
#77	Victor Hedman	19	6' 6"	229	L	ORNSKOLDSVIK, SWE
#8	Randy Jones	29	6' 2"	210	L	QUISPAMSIS, NB, CAN
#13	Pavel Kabina	33	6' 4"	258	R	CELADNA, CZE
#39	Mike Lundin	25	6' 2"	191	L	BURNSVILLE, MN, USA
#5	Mattias Ohlund (A)	34	6' 4"	229	L	PITEA, SWE
#32	Matt Smaby	25	6' 6"	239	L	MINNEAPOLIS, MN, USA
#	GOALIES	AGE	HT	WT	SHOT	BIRTH PLACE
#35	Dwayne Roloson	40	6' 1"	170	L	SIMCOE, ON, CAN
#41	Mike Smith	28	6' 4"	215	L	KINGSTON, ON, CAN

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Depth Chart

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Forwards

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Teddy Purcell, #16 6'2, 201 St. John's, NL $0.750M	Vincent Lecavalier, #4 (C) 6'4, 208 Ile Bizard, QC $7.730M	Martin St. Louis, #26 (A) 5'8, 176 Laval, QC $5.500M

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Simon Gagne, #12 6'1, 193 Ste. Foy, QC $5.250M	Steven Stamkos, #91 6'1, 188 Markham, ON $0.900M	Steve Downie, #9 5'11, 191 Newmarket, ON $1.850M

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Sean Bergenheim, #10 5'11, 200 Helsinki, FIN $0.700M	Dana Tyrell, #42 5'11, 185 Airdrie, AB $0.845M	Adam Hall, #18 6'3, 213 Kalamazoo, MI $0.600M

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Ryan Malone, #6 6'4, 219 Pittsburgh, PA $4.500M	Dominic Moore, #19 6'0, 192 Thornhill, ON $1.100M	Nate Thompson, #44 6'0, 210 Anchorage, AK $0.850M

Defensemen

Left Defense	Right Defense
Mattias Ohlund, #5 (A) 6'4, 229 Pitea, SWE $3.605M	Eric Brewer, #2 6'3, 220 Vernon, BC $4.250M

Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc-Andre Bergeron, #47 5'9, 198 Trois-Rivieres, QC $1.000M	Pavel Kubina, #13 6'4, 258 Celadna, CZE $3.850M

Left Defense	Right Defense
Victor Hedman, #77 6'6, 229 Ornskoldsvik, SWE $0.900M	Brett Clark, #7 6'0, 194 Wapella, SK $1.500M

Goaltenders

Starter	Backup
Dwayne Roloson, #35 6'1, 170 Simcoe, ON $2.500M	Mike Smith, #41 6'4, 215 Kingston, ON $2.220M