The Tampa Bay Lightning ‘s home opener against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday has been postponed “amid recovery efforts in the Tampa Bay area from the impact of Hurricane Milton,” the NHL announced Thursday.
Milton grew as powerful as a Category 5 hurricane before making landfall in Florida as a Category 3. It was the second hurricane to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast in the span of two weeks, preceded by Hurricane Helene, which flooded streets and homes on that same side of the state and left at least 230 people dead across the South.
The storm devastated the Tampa area, even ripping through the roof of Tropicana Field , home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays .
“Everybody’s minds aren’t probably where they should be,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Thursday. “There’s a lot going on at home, whether it’s family, friends, houses, cars — what it’s going to look like. Pretty much everyone on our team doesn’t have power yet.”
“There’s a lot of concern for everybody there,” he added. “That’s our home. It’s going to be drastically different than when we left.”