Sep 17, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Lucas Wallmark (71) is congratulated by defenseman Jesper Sellgren (58) after he scores a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Amalie Arena. | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports And yet, the Bolts are still the favourites in the East. The Bolts It’s just the preseason, but the Tampa Bay Lightning are two games in to their warm-up season and have yet to score a goal through two games. They lost 3-0 at home to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday before losing 2-0 on the road to the same Jerks. [NHL dot com] Penalties continue to be an issue for the Lightning to start this preseason. A night after taking six minor penalties to the ire of head coach Jon Cooper, the Bolts were sent to the box five times Wednesday, although the penalty kill was a perfect 5-for-5 and improved to 10-for-11 this preseason. Some players really struggled in the game, namely AHL stars Carter Verhaeghe and Alex Barre-Boulet, who were both in the teens when it came to shot share. Verhaeghe was a -16 shot player in 14 minutes, while ABB was a -14 in 13 minutes of hockey. [Natural Stat Trick] Lightning at Hurricanes: not the most fun for Carter Verhaeghe.All game charts: https://t.co/DAwtHeEWb4 pic.twitter.com/J3paxDzP1Q— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) September 19, 2019 Shortly before last night’s game, the Lightning cut six players from their training camp roster, reducing the circus to 56. Louis Crevier, Cody Donaghey, and Eli Zummack were all released from their tryouts, while Gabriel Fortier, Maxim Cajkovic, and Quinn Schmiemann were all sent back to the CHL (QMJHL, QMJHL, WHL). [NHL dot com] The Tampa Bay Lightning have trimmed their 2019 training camp roster, presented by Florida Blue, by six players, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today. The Lightning now have 56 players in camp. Tampa Bay has assigned forwards Gabriel Fortier and Maxim Cajkovic, along with defenseman Quinn Schmiemann, to their junior teams. Additionally, the team released forward Eli Zummack and defensemen Louis Crevier and Cody Donaghey from their tryouts. And yet, the Lightning are the team to beat in the East. [Associated Press] After finishing 21 points ahead of everyone else during the 2018-19 regular season, the Lightning are again Stanley Cup favorites and the team to beat in an ever-improving Eastern Conference. With a stacked roster that includes goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, defenseman Victor Hedman and forwards Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point, the road to the final goes through Tampa Bay. Joe Smith goes into the five things he’s observed and that we’ve learned after this first week of training camp. Five things we’ve learned in the first five days of Lightning training camp. From position battles to line shuffling, blueline makeup, a different Ondrej Palat, some system tweaks. Also, what Brayden Point has been up to, and his interesting replacement https://t.co/DgsYYCgmwl— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) September 18, 2019 Bloopers from rookie camp! barreboulet_laugh.mp3 BB mic'd up at rookie camp? A treasure. pic.twitter.com/QyTZmXKJdo— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 18, 2019 The Prospects Over in Syracuse, here are the five special jerseys the team will be wearing throughout the season! [Syracuse] The only one of those that’s a repeat from last year is the Hockey Fights Cancer sweater. Someone say specialty jerseys? https://t.co/247RIgjA1C— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) September 18, 2019 Not our affiliate, but the Adirondack Thunder have named a young Alex Mann to their staff as an equipment manager. A real Mann’s job. [Adirondack Thunder] “Going back to our days in Portland, Alex and I always had a great working relationship,” Thunder Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Alex Loh said. “He is a hard-working individual and has a great personality that will fit in well with the culture we built in this organization.” The ECHL has released some important dates to look out for during this coming season. October 11th is opening day! Critical Dates for the 2019-20 #ECHL Season ??https://t.co/XP9N6bYH25— ECHL (@ECHL) September 18, 2019 The Game Dustin Byfuglien is considering retiring after 14 seasons in the NHL. He has yet to report for training camp and has two years left on his contract that will pay him in excess of $14 million in total. Bob with the latest. Dustin Byfuglien, currently on personal leave from WPG, is believed to be using the time to ponder his NHL future. I’m not saying Byfuglien is retiring; I’m not saying he’s coming back to play. Only that he’s contemplating his options and there’s no timetable for a decision.— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 18, 2019 If Big Buff doesn’t return, the Jets defense corps is going to look *bad*. Like, really bad. No Laine. No Connor. Four blueliners gone elsewhere and now Dustin Byfuglien is pondering his future. We examine the Jets' situation with @TSNBobMcKenzie & @odognine2 on @7ElevenCanada #ThatsHockey - 7pm et on #TSN, TSN App & TSN Direct pic.twitter.com/Z1ZifPbfwp— Gino Reda (@GinoRedaTSN) September 18, 2019

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) – St. Pete police are looking for an irate customer who allegedly threatened to kill employees who were holding up his food at McDonald’s. The incident occurred at the McDonald’s in the 300 block of 38th Avenue North. Police said the unidentified man was upset when his order took too long […]

Moments after he was formally elected Tuesday to serve as Florida’s next House speaker, Palm Harbor Republican Chris Sprowls waded into issues such as bolstering the state’s finances and addressing climate change. And he made clear he doesn’t think much of social media and the goings-on in Washington, D.C. Sprowls, a 35-year-old attorney, will succeed Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, after the November 2020 elections and will hold one of the most-powerful political jobs in Florida. He has…

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — More than 200 Bahamians whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Dorian arrived Wednesday in Florida on a cruise ship. It was the second mass arrival for the Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line. More than 850 Bahamian evacuees arrived Sept. 7 after the storm ravaged the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco. […]