RALEIGH, N.C. — Victor Hedman and his Tampa Bay Lightning teammates spent the higher a part of every week in North Carolina holding a watch on what was occurring again residence as Hurricane Milton roared ashore.
Now, with the storm previous together with their regular-season opener, they’ll lastly get again residence and work out what’s subsequent.
The Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in Friday night time’s season opener for each groups to cap a protracted keep within the Raleigh space, their haven to get out of Florida forward of Milton’s arrival. Tampa Bay’s untimely departure meant spending days skating to prepare, spending time with their households in an prolonged keep in a brand new place and hoping for the very best again residence.
“I believe many of the guys have gotten reviews about their very own properties,” Hedman stated, including later: “It is good to have a couple of days to sort of get every little thing collectively.”
This week’s storm left no less than 10 folks useless as of Friday night time amid flooding and tornadoes, whereas the variety of clients in Florida with out energy was roughly 1.9 million, in line with poweroutage.us. The Lightning’s preseason recreation towards Nashville on Monday was canceled, and the crew as a substitute headed to the North Carolina to get out of the world earlier than Milton made landfall.
Jon Cooper, who has coached the Lightning to 2 Stanley Cups, wasn’t positive precisely how his crew would possibly reply Friday night time with disrupted routines and fear.
“Outwardly as a coach, you need to be optimistic, however typically you are just a little nervous inside,” Cooper stated. “So you were not precisely positive how issues had been going to go. However I do know the blokes actually wished to play a hockey recreation.”
Aside from Jordan Staal‘s purpose, Cooper preferred the best way Tampa Bay performed within the first interval. A robust third interval that included three targets — the go-ahead one-timer and two empty-netters — from Nikita Kucherov pushed the Lightning to victory.
“I believe all people’s so locked in proper now,” Kucherov stated.
The sport between perennial playoff groups provided a welcomed distraction and normalcy in an irregular state of affairs, no less than.
Lots of the gamers had household with them on the journey, and Cooper let the crew have Wednesday off as they equipped for opening night time. Cooper additionally grabbed the possibility to enterprise over to Duke in close by Durham to reconnect with Blue Devils males’s lacrosse coach John Danowski, Cooper’s coach at Hofstra throughout his personal taking part in profession (1986-89) that included scoring 74 targets and profitable two convention championships.
Danowski provided a tour of Duke and its venerable Cameron Indoor Stadium males’s basketball residence, and Cooper stated he additionally obtained to fulfill retired Blue Devils Corridor of Fame males’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski — the winningest coach in that sport’s historical past with 1,202 wins in a profession that included 5 NCAA titles and 13 Ultimate Fours.
Subsequent got here a go to to close by North Carolina because the Lightning had been staying in Chapel Hill, residence to the Tar Heels basketball program that has received six NCAA titles and is thought for its notable basketball alums.
“We noticed the numerous a whole bunch of images of Michael Jordan all over the place and located a reasonably cool institution there,” Cooper informed reporters earlier Friday. “It was good, we had fun. For me, although, I did not notice how shut Duke and North Carolina had been from one another, and I see why there’s such a rivalry.
“It is the issues you need to do whenever you’ve obtained just a little further time in your arms.”
The Lightning and Hurricanes had been initially slated to play once more in Florida on Saturday, although that recreation was postponed because of Milton restoration. Which means Tampa Bay will not play once more till internet hosting New Jersey on Tuesday.
“I do not know if anyone on the crew has energy,” Cooper stated after the win. “All people’s in all probability be going again to Tampa and staying in a resort. … This would be the first time that anyone will get to see what injury has been finished with their very own eyes. Is there water in your home or not? In order that’s going to be making an attempt. We’re not out of the woods but with a few of the adversity we have got to face.”
The crew will not skate Saturday and can goal to return to work Sunday, hopefully with some certainty about what’s forward.
“We’re tremendous excited to get again residence and hopefully get our lives going once more,” Hedman stated, “and hopefully we’re finished with the storms this 12 months.”
