1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning season

1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning
Division 7th Atlantic
1993–94 record 30–43–11
Goals for 224
Goals against 251
Team information
Coach Terry Crisp
Captain Vacant
Team leaders
<1992–93 1994–95>

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.

Contents

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 (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.

Final standings

Atlantic Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 1 z-New York Rangers 84 52 24 8 299 231 112
2 3 New Jersey Devils 84 47 25 12 306 220 106
3 7 Washington Capitals 84 39 35 10 277 263 88
4 8 New York Islanders 84 36 36 12 282 264 84
5 9 Florida Panthers 84 33 34 17 233 233 83
6 10 Philadelphia Flyers 84 35 39 10 294 314 80
7 12 Tampa Bay Lightning 84 30 43 11 224 251 71

[1] 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
1 L October 6, 1993 1–2 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 0–1–0
2 L October 7, 1993 4–5 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 0–2–0
3 L October 9, 1993 0–2 Florida Panthers (1993–94) 0–3–0
4 W October 14, 1993 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 1–3–0
5 W October 16, 1993 4–1 Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 2–3–0
6 T October 17, 1993 3–3 OT @ Florida Panthers (1993–94) 2–3–1
7 L October 20, 1993 3–4 Los Angeles Kings (1993–94) 2–4–1
8 W October 22, 1993 4–1 New York Rangers (1993–94) 3–4–1
9 L October 23, 1993 0–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 3–5–1
10 L October 27, 1993 3–4 Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 3–6–1
11 L October 29, 1993 2–4 New York Islanders (1993–94) 3–7–1
12 L October 30, 1993 1–2 OT @ Florida Panthers (1993–94) 3–8–1
13 L November 2, 1993 2–8 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 3–9–1
14 L November 3, 1993 0–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 3–10–1
15 T November 6, 1993 1–1 OT @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 3–10–2
16 L November 8, 1993 3–6 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 3–11–2
17 L November 11, 1993 1–4 Washington Capitals (1993–94) 3–12–2
18 W November 13, 1993 4–3 Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 4–12–2
19 L November 17, 1993 3–4 @ Dallas Stars (1993–94) 4–13–2
20 L November 19, 1993 3–5 New York Rangers (1993–94) 4–14–2
21 W November 20, 1993 4–3 Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 5–14–2
22 W November 24, 1993 4–1 Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 6–14–2
23 L November 26, 1993 0–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 6–15–2
24 L November 27, 1993 3–4 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 6–16–2
25 L December 1, 1993 0–3 Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 6–17–2
26 W December 4, 1993 5–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1993–94) 7–17–2
27 W December 5, 1993 4–2 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 8–17–2
28 W December 7, 1993 3–1 @ San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 9–17–2
29 L December 11, 1993 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 9–18–2
30 T December 14, 1993 1–1 OT Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 9–18–3
31 W December 15, 1993 4–3 Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 10–18–3
32 L December 18, 1993 3–5 Boston Bruins (1993–94) 10–19–3
33 T December 19, 1993 3–3 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 10–19–4
34 L December 21, 1993 3–8 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 10–20–4
35 L December 23, 1993 4–7 @ St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 10–21–4
36 L December 26, 1993 1–3 Florida Panthers (1993–94) 10–22–4
37 W December 28, 1993 4–1 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 11–22–4
38 W December 30, 1993 3–0 @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 12–22–4
39 T January 1, 1994 5–5 OT @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 12–22–5
40 L January 2, 1994 1–4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 12–23–5
41 W January 4, 1994 1–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 13–23–5
42 W January 8, 1994 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 14–23–5
43 W January 10, 1994 5–2 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 15–23–5
44 W January 12, 1994 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 16–23–5
45 L January 13, 1994 0–1 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 16–24–5
46 W January 16, 1994 3–2 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 17–24–5
47 L January 17, 1994 3–6 Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 17–25–5
48 W January 19, 1994 4–3 OT New York Islanders (1993–94) 18–25–5
49 W January 24, 1994 4–0 Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 19–25–5
50 T January 26, 1994 1–1 OT Florida Panthers (1993–94) 19–25–6
51 L January 29, 1994 1–2 San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 19–26–6
52 L February 2, 1994 1–3 Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 19–27–6
53 L February 5, 1994 3–6 @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 19–28–6
54 W February 7, 1994 2–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 20–28–6
55 W February 10, 1994 6–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 21–28–6
56 L February 12, 1994 2–3 Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 21–29–6
57 T February 13, 1994 3–3 OT New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 21–29–7
58 L February 15, 1994 1–2 @ New York Islanders (1993–94) 21–30–7
59 W February 17, 1994 4–3 Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 22–30–7
60 L February 19, 1994 4–5 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 22–31–7
61 T February 20, 1994 2–2 OT Boston Bruins (1993–94) 22–31–8
62 W February 24, 1994 4–0 @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 23–31–8
63 L February 26, 1994 1–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 23–32–8
64 L February 27, 1994 2–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 23–33–8
65 W March 1, 1994 4–3 @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 24–33–8
66 L March 3, 1994 4–5 OT New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 24–34–8
67 W March 5, 1994 4–2 Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 25–34–8
68 L March 6, 1994 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 25–35–8
69 L March 9, 1994 1–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 25–36–8
70 T March 13, 1994 5–5 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 25–36–9
71 L March 15, 1994 3–7 Calgary Flames (1993–94) 25–37–9
72 T March 16, 1994 4–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 25–37–10
73 L March 20, 1994 0–3 Washington Capitals (1993–94) 25–38–10
74 L March 22, 1994 4–5 OT @ New York Islanders (1993–94) 25–39–10
75 L March 24, 1994 1–2 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 25–40–10
76 T March 27, 1994 2–2 OT Dallas Stars (1993–94) 25–40–11
77 W March 30, 1994 3–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 26–40–11
78 W April 1, 1994 4–3 St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 27–40–11
79 L April 4, 1994 1–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 27–41–11
80 W April 6, 1994 3–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 28–41–11
81 W April 9, 1994 3–0 @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 29–41–11
82 L April 10, 1994 4–6 @ Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 29–42–11
83 L April 13, 1994 0–2 New York Islanders (1993–94) 29–43–11
84 W April 14, 1994 5–2 Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 30–43–11

Playoffs

The Lightning did not qualify for the playoffs.

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Bradley, BrianBrian Bradley C 78 24 40 64 56 -8 6 0 2
Klima, PetrPetr Klima W 75 28 27 55 76 -15 10 0 2
Savard, DenisDenis Savard C 74 18 28 46 106 -1 2 1 2
Cole, DantonDanton Cole C/RW 81 20 23 43 32 7 8 1 4
Gratton, ChrisChris Gratton C 84 13 29 42 123 -25 5 1 2
Tucker, JohnJohn Tucker C 66 17 23 40 28 9 2 0 6
Chambers, ShawnShawn Chambers D 66 11 23 34 23 -6 6 1 1
Joseph, ChrisChris Joseph D 66 10 19 29 108 -13 7 0 0
Elynuik, PatPat Elynuik RW 63 12 14 26 64 -18 3 1 1
Andersson, MikaelMikael Andersson LW 76 13 12 25 23 8 1 1 2
Hamrlik, RomanRoman Hamrlik D 64 3 18 21 135 -14 0 0 0
Creighton, AdamAdam Creighton C 53 10 10 20 37 -7 2 0 1
Bergevin, MarcMarc Bergevin D 83 1 15 16 87 -5 0 0 1
Bureau, MarcMarc Bureau C 75 8 7 15 30 -9 0 1 1
DiMaio, RobRob DiMaio RW 39 8 7 15 40 -5 2 0 1
Gallant, GerardGerard Gallant LW 51 4 9 13 74 -6 1 0 2
Zamuner, RobRob Zamuner LW 59 6 6 12 42 -9 0 0 1
Reekie, JoeJoe Reekie D 73 1 11 12 127 8 0 0 0
Bergland, TimTim Bergland RW 51 6 5 11 6 -14 0 0 0
Poeschek, RudyRudy Poeschek RW/D 71 3 6 9 118 3 0 0 1
Dufresne, DonaldDonald Dufresne D 51 2 6 8 48 -2 0 0 0
McDougall, BillBill McDougall C 22 3 3 6 8 -4 1 0 0
Beers, BobBob Beers D 16 1 5 6 12 -11 1 0 0
LiPuma, ChrisChris LiPuma D 27 0 4 4 77 1 0 0 0
Gretzky, BrentBrent Gretzky C 10 1 2 3 2 0 0 0 0
Ruff, JasonJason Ruff LW 6 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 0
Ciccone, EnricoEnrico Ciccone D 11 0 1 1 52 -2 0 0 0
Puppa, DarenDaren Puppa G 63 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Bergeron, Jean-ClaudeJean-Claude Bergeron G 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Charron, EricEric Charron D 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Cross, CoryCory Cross D 5 0 0 0 6 -3 0 0 0
Cummins, JimJim Cummins RW 4 0 0 0 13 -1 0 0 0
Jablonski, PatPat Jablonski G 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lafreniere, JasonJason Lafreniere C 1 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Rochefort, NormandNormand Rochefort D 6 0 0 0 10 -1 0 0 0
Young, WendellWendell Young G 9 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Puppa, DarenDaren Puppa 3653 63 22 33 6 165 2.71 4 1637 1472 .899
Jablonski, PatPat Jablonski 834 15 5 6 3 54 3.88 0 374 320 .856
Young, WendellWendell Young 480 9 2 3 1 20 2.50 1 211 191 .905
Bergeron, Jean-ClaudeJean-Claude Bergeron 134 3 1 1 1 7 3.13 0 69 62 .899
Team: 5101 84 30 43 11 246 2.89 5 2291 2045 .893

[2]

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;

Awards and records

Transactions

Roster

Draft picks

Tampa Bay Lightning 1993 Draft

Round - Pick - Overall - Player - Pos - Country - Ht - Wt - Amateur League - Amateur Team

1 - 3 - 3 - Chris Gratton C CAN 6' 4" 226 OHL Kingston Frontenacs

2 - 3 - 29 - Tyler Moss G CAN 6' 0" 185 OHL Kingston Frontenacs

3 - 3 - 55 - Allan Egeland C CAN 5' 11" 174 WHL Tacoma Rockets

4 - 3 - 81 - Marian Kacir R CZE 6' 1" 183 OHL Owen Sound Platers

5 - 3 - 107 - Ryan Brown WHL Swift Current Broncos

6 - 3 - 133 - Kiley Hill L CAN 6' 3" 205 OHL Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

7 - 3 - 159 - Mathieu Raby D CAN 6' 2" 204 QMJHL Victoriaville Tigres

8 - 3 - 185 - Ryan Nauss L CAN 6' 5" 196 OHL Peterborough Petes

9 - 3 - 211 - Alexandre Laporte D CAN 6' 3" 210 QMJHL Victoriaville Tigres

10 - 3 - 237 - Brett Duncan WHL Seattle Thunderbirds

11 - 3 - 263 - Mark Szoke L CAN 5' 11" 185 WHL Lethbridge Hurricanes

Farm teams

See also

References

  1. ^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy et al. ed. THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0. 
  2. ^ "1993-94 Tampa Bay Lightning Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/TBL/1994.html. Retrieved 2009-06-15. 

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