1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the Lightning's second season of operation. The team finished last in the Atlantic Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning
Division7th Atlantic
Conference12th Eastern
1993–94 record30–43–11
Goals for224
Goals against251
Team information
CoachTerry Crisp
CaptainVacant

Offseason

Buoyed by an active off-season, confidence was high as the Lightning headed to Lakeland to prepare for the team's second National Hockey League season. The team was moved to the newly formed Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, prompting the beginning of several heated rivalries with East Coast teams such as Philadelphia and Florida.

Brian Bradley, fresh from an 86-point All-Star season, returned to lead the offense. Notably absent was Chris Kontos, who couldn't agree to a contract with the team. Offense, however, was expected to be a stronger area for the Lightning, with the off-season additions of flashy playmaker Denis Savard fresh off a Stanley Cup championship the previous season (free agent) and renowned sniper Petr Klima (trade with Edmonton). And with a move from Expo Hall across Tampa Bay to the Florida Suncoast Dome (soon renamed ThunderDome), the team was hoping the added stars would help fill the almost 30,000 seats available in St. Petersburg.

Another notable addition that would prove to be the most significant for the Lightning was the claim of veteran goaltender Daren Puppa from Florida in Phase II of the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft. Puppa, a former NHL All-Star with Buffalo, moved to the forefront in the Lightning net and posted a 22-33-6 record while the team allowed 81 fewer goals than in 1992-93.

Other notable additions to the Lightning lineup in 1993-94 included first-round draft choice Chris Gratton and a pair of heavyweights Tampa Bay fans would grow to love—Rudy Poeschek and Enrico Ciccone. Poeschek, a defenseman/forward signed as a free agent after time with the Rangers and Winnipeg, stepped into the enforcer role and immediately elicited chants of "Rudy" from ThunderDome crowds. Ciccone was acquired in a late-season deal that sent Joe Reekie to Washington, and "Chico" quickly teamed with Poeschek to form one of the most formidable tandems in the league.

Regular season

On the ice, the team couldn't match the hot start from 1992–93, and quickly dropped to 3-12-2 by early November. However, a bit of NHL history was made early in the season when the first regular-season game at the ThunderDome, which drew an NHL-record 27,227 fans to watch the Lightning face the Panthers on October 9, 1993. That attendance mark remains as the league record for a regular season game. Also, that same month when the Los Angeles Kings came to town (October 20), NHL legend Wayne Gretzky faced his brother—Lightning 1992 draft choice Brent—for the only time in his career. Older brother Wayne got the better end of Brent this evening, helping Los Angeles to a 4-3 victory with a goal and an assist. The season did, however, have its share of highlights. The Lightning eventually began to show more consistency, and a 9-3-1 stretch through late December (a month that also featured the team's most successful road trip to that point, a 3–0 December swing through California that pushed the Lightning's record in the Golden State to a perfect 7-0.) and most of January put the Bolts back in the race. The Bolts closed out the season with a 5-2 victory against Quebec at the ThunderDome and with high hopes for even more improvement in 1994-95. Although they never managed to reach .500, the Lightning posted a marked improvement with seven more wins and 18 more points than the previous year.

In addition to being their first season in the ThunderDome, the team played four regular-season home games in Orlando at Orlando Arena.

The Lightning finished the regular season as the NHL's most disciplined team, being shorthanded only 335 times. They also allowed the most short-handed goals in the league, with 20.[1]

Final standings
Atlantic Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
11z-New York Rangers8452248299231112
23New Jersey Devils84472512306220106
37Washington Capitals8439351027726388
48New York Islanders8436361228226484
59Florida Panthers8433341723323383
610Philadelphia Flyers8435391029431480
712Tampa Bay Lightning8430431122425171

[2] Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game log
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1LOctober 6, 19931–2@ New Jersey Devils (1993–94)0–1–0
2LOctober 7, 19934–5@ New York Rangers (1993–94)0–2–0
3LOctober 9, 19930–2Florida Panthers (1993–94)0–3–0
4WOctober 14, 19933–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)1–3–0
5WOctober 16, 19934–1Ottawa Senators (1993–94)2–3–0
6TOctober 17, 19933–3 OT@ Florida Panthers (1993–94)2–3–1
7LOctober 20, 19933–4Los Angeles Kings (1993–94)2–4–1
8WOctober 22, 19934–1New York Rangers (1993–94)3–4–1
9LOctober 23, 19930–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94)3–5–1
10LOctober 27, 19933–4Winnipeg Jets (1993–94)3–6–1
11LOctober 29, 19932–4New York Islanders (1993–94)3–7–1
12LOctober 30, 19931–2 OT@ Florida Panthers (1993–94)3–8–1
13LNovember 2, 19932–8@ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)3–9–1
14LNovember 3, 19930–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94)3–10–1
15TNovember 6, 19931–1 OT@ Boston Bruins (1993–94)3–10–2
16LNovember 8, 19933–6@ New York Rangers (1993–94)3–11–2
17LNovember 11, 19931–4Washington Capitals (1993–94)3–12–2
18WNovember 13, 19934–3Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)4–12–2
19LNovember 17, 19933–4@ Dallas Stars (1993–94)4–13–2
20LNovember 19, 19933–5New York Rangers (1993–94)4–14–2
21WNovember 20, 19934–3Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94)5–14–2
22WNovember 24, 19934–1Hartford Whalers (1993–94)6–14–2
23LNovember 26, 19930–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)6–15–2
24LNovember 27, 19933–4 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1993–94)6–16–2
25LDecember 1, 19930–3Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)6–17–2
26WDecember 4, 19935–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1993–94)7–17–2
27WDecember 5, 19934–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94)8–17–2
28WDecember 7, 19933–1@ San Jose Sharks (1993–94)9–17–2
29LDecember 11, 19933–6Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)9–18–2
30T#December 14, 19931–1 OTMontreal Canadiens (1993–94)9–18–3
31WDecember 15, 19934–3Ottawa Senators (1993–94)10–18–3
32LDecember 18, 19933–5Boston Bruins (1993–94)10–19–3
33TDecember 19, 19933–3 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)10–19–4
34LDecember 21, 19933–8@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)10–20–4
35LDecember 23, 19934–7@ St. Louis Blues (1993–94)10–21–4
36L#December 26, 19931–3Florida Panthers (1993–94)10–22–4
37WDecember 28, 19934–1@ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)11–22–4
38WDecember 30, 19933–0@ Ottawa Senators (1993–94)12–22–4
39TJanuary 1, 19945–5 OT@ Washington Capitals (1993–94)12–22–5
40L#January 2, 19941–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94)12–23–5
41WJanuary 4, 19941–0@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94)13–23–5
42WJanuary 8, 19944–2Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)14–23–5
43WJanuary 10, 19945–2@ New York Rangers (1993–94)15–23–5
44WJanuary 12, 19944–2@ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94)16–23–5
45LJanuary 13, 19940–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94)16–24–5
46WJanuary 16, 19943–2 OT@ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94)17–24–5
47LJanuary 17, 19943–6Detroit Red Wings (1993–94)17–25–5
48WJanuary 19, 19944–3 OTNew York Islanders (1993–94)18–25–5
49W#January 24, 19944–0Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)19–25–5
50TJanuary 26, 19941–1 OTFlorida Panthers (1993–94)19–25–6
51LJanuary 29, 19941–2San Jose Sharks (1993–94)19–26–6
52LFebruary 2, 19941–3Detroit Red Wings (1993–94)19–27–6
53LFebruary 5, 19943–6@ Washington Capitals (1993–94)19–28–6
54WFebruary 7, 19942–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94)20–28–6
55WFebruary 10, 19946–2@ Ottawa Senators (1993–94)21–28–6
56LFebruary 12, 19942–3Vancouver Canucks (1993–94)21–29–6
57TFebruary 13, 19943–3 OTNew Jersey Devils (1993–94)21–29–7
58LFebruary 15, 19941–2@ New York Islanders (1993–94)21–30–7
59WFebruary 17, 19944–3Montreal Canadiens (1993–94)22–30–7
60LFebruary 19, 19944–5@ New Jersey Devils (1993–94)22–31–7
61TFebruary 20, 19942–2 OTBoston Bruins (1993–94)22–31–8
62WFebruary 24, 19944–0@ Calgary Flames (1993–94)23–31–8
63LFebruary 26, 19941–3@ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94)23–32–8
64LFebruary 27, 19942–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94)23–33–8
65WMarch 1, 19944–3@ Washington Capitals (1993–94)24–33–8
66LMarch 3, 19944–5 OTNew Jersey Devils (1993–94)24–34–8
67WMarch 5, 19944–2Hartford Whalers (1993–94)25–34–8
68LMarch 6, 19941–3Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)25–35–8
69LMarch 9, 19941–4@ Hartford Whalers (1993–94)25–36–8
70TMarch 13, 19945–5 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)25–36–9
71LMarch 15, 19943–7Calgary Flames (1993–94)25–37–9
72TMarch 16, 19944–4 OTEdmonton Oilers (1993–94)25–37–10
73L#March 20, 19940–3Washington Capitals (1993–94)25–38–10
74LMarch 22, 19944–5 OT@ New York Islanders (1993–94)25–39–10
75LMarch 24, 19941–2@ New Jersey Devils (1993–94)25–40–10
76TMarch 27, 19942–2 OTDallas Stars (1993–94)25–40–11
77WMarch 30, 19943–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)26–40–11
78WApril 1, 19944–3St. Louis Blues (1993–94)27–40–11
79LApril 4, 19941–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)27–41–11
80WApril 6, 19943–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94)28–41–11
81WApril 9, 19943–0@ Boston Bruins (1993–94)29–41–11
82LApril 10, 19944–6@ Hartford Whalers (1993–94)29–42–11
83LApril 13, 19940–2New York Islanders (1993–94)29–43–11
84WApril 14, 19945–2Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)30–43–11

# Lightning home game played at the Orlando Arena[3]

Playoffs

The Lightning did not qualify for the playoffs.

Player stats

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Brian BradleyC7824406456-8602
Petr KlimaW7528275576-151002
Denis SavardC74182846106-1212
Danton ColeC/RW81202343327814
Chris GrattonC84132942123-25512
John TuckerC66172340289206
Shawn ChambersD6611233423-6611
Chris JosephD66101929108-13700
Pat ElynuikRW6312142664-18311
Mikael AnderssonLW76131225238112
Roman HamrlikD6431821135-14000
Adam CreightonC5310102037-7201
Marc BergevinD831151687-5001
Marc BureauC75871530-9011
Rob DiMaioRW39871540-5201
Gerard GallantLW51491374-6102
Rob ZamunerLW59661242-9001
Joe ReekieD73111121278000
Tim BerglandRW5165116-14000
Rudy PoeschekRW/D713691183001
Donald DufresneD5126848-2000
Bill McDougallC223368-4100
Bob BeersD1615612-11100
Chris LiPumaD27044771000
Brent GretzkyC1012320000
Jason RuffLW612322000
Enrico CicconeD1101152-2000
Daren PuppaG6301120000
Jean-Claude BergeronG300000000
Eric CharronD400020000
Cory CrossD50006-3000
Jim CumminsRW400013-1000
Pat JablonskiG1500000000
Jason LafreniereC10000-1000
Normand RochefortD600010-1000
Wendell YoungG900040000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Daren Puppa365363223361652.71416371472.899
Pat Jablonski83415563543.880374320.856
Wendell Young4809231202.501211191.905
Jean-Claude Bergeron134311173.1306962.899
Team:5101843043112462.89522912045.893

[4]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Draft picks

Tampa Bay's draft picks at the 1993 NHL Entry Draft held at the Quebec Coliseum in Quebec City, Quebec.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
13Chris Gratton CanadaKingston Frontenacs (OHL)
229Tyler Moss CanadaKingston Frontenacs (OHL)
355Allan Egeland CanadaTacoma Rockets (WHL)
481Marian Kacir Czech RepublicOwen Sound Platers (OHL)
5107Ryan Brown CanadaSwift Current Broncos (WHL)
6133Kiley Hill CanadaSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
7159Mathieu Ruby CanadaVictoriaville Tigers (QMJHL)
8185Ryan Nauss CanadaPeterborough Petes (OHL)
9211Alexandre LaPorte CanadaVictoriaville Tigers (QMJHL)
10237Brett Duncan CanadaSeattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
11263Mark Szoke CanadaLethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
S3Brent Peterson CanadaMichigan Technological University (WCHA)

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-09-29. Retrieved 2013-11-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  3. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/solar-bears/os-sp-s7-tampa-bay-lightning-orlando-appearances-0923-story.html
  4. "1993-94 Tampa Bay Lightning Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.

Official website

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