Friday night fans donned their Bolts blue and headed downtown to cheer on the Lightning as they took on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Eastern Conference finals.
The team hosted their official watch party at Channelside Bay Plaza starting at 6 p.m. The game was shown on a 9' x 16' LED television.
Fans couldn't stop cheering as they started off game one.
"Let's go BOLTS! Let's Go Bolts," they cheered
But there was devastation as star player Ben Bishop left the ice on a stretcher, and later, when Center Tyler Johnson left the ice after a lower body injury.
"Bishop's injured," said one dejected fan. "He's our star player!"
Others remained positive toward the middle of the first period.
"At first, it's pretty bad, not feeling it, but I think we'll get through it," said another fan.
Then, elation as the Lightning scored their first goal against the Penguins just before the end of the first period.
"I think we were down, but I think that point on the board put a big smile on everybody's face," said another fan.
