Lightning postpone home opener as region recovers from Hurricane Milton

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced Thursday that they postponed their home opener against the Carolina Hurricanes at Amalie Arena on Saturday.

There is no makeup date for the game yet. The team evacuated from the city earlier this week ahead of Hurricane Milton and will play its scheduled season-opener on the road Friday at Carolina.

"Everybody’s minds aren’t probably where they should be," head coach Jon Cooper told NHL.com's Kurt Dusterberg on Thursday. "There’s a lot going on at home."

The team noted that the postponement was due to the Tampa Bay region recovering from the effects of Milton, which, per the AP, has claimed at least five lives and caused millions of power outages.

Notably, high winds tore Tropicana Field's roof, home to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team and briefly the Lightning in 1993-96. The stadium was serving as a "base camp" for first responders.

"There’s a lot of concern for everybody there," Cooper added. "That’s our home, and it’s going to be drastically different than when we left."

Team captain Victor Hedman noted that the team must remain focused on Friday's game and be sensitive to the "tough day" for Floridians.

"It’s been a very stressful two days, not knowing what’s going to happen," Hedman said. "It’s tough. We’re humans. I’ve been there for 15 years and it’s been my home. It’s tough to put that aside. But we’ve got to focus on the game tomorrow and hopefully get to go home and help out down there."

Tampa Bay's new home opener is now scheduled for Oct. 15 against the Vancouver Canucks.