TAMPA, Fla. — They featured the first scrimmage of the preseason on the second day of the Tampa Bay Lightning training camp. A handful of Bolts starters, including Nick Paul, Brandon Hagel, Mike Eyssimont, and Zach Bogosian, took part. Players are divided into different groups for different drills, so the vast majority of veteran players did not participate in Friday's scrimmage.
"Everyone’s working their tails off, so that’s definitely positive. There were some nice goals scored out there," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said after the workout. "As coaches, we’re not as much looking at the players as we are- are they trying to do the right things? Things we’re asking. Honestly, for the most part, a lot of good stuff."
The players were happy to get in a game-like situation so they could do most of the things they couldn't do during the offseason.
"Conditioning feels good. There’s still a long way to go to get into game shape," Lightning center Mike Eyssimont said after the scrimmage. "There’s not much you can do in the summer to feel bodies and to feel the stops and starts that happen in a game. But the more scrimmages we have, the more battle drills we have, the easier it comes."
Sixty players are taking part in training camp. Some of them have playoff pedigree with other teams. Cooper says there's no such thing as having too much experience on a roster full of playoff-seasoned players.
"They’ve played in some first-class organizations. They’ve gone deep in those playoff runs, and they’ve played with good players before," he added. "They know what it takes to have success with groups like this. Experience is invaluable, and these guys have it. So that’s good for us."
Bolts center Tyler Motte played for the New York Rangers team that the Lighting beat in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.
"Usually, when players come in, you let them kinda settle in. Then, I’ll deep dive into it a little bit. But it’s hard," Cooper joked. "Now we’re teammates. I don’t know them well enough to start bringing up happy memories for me and things that aren’t so happy for him. So I gotta wait a little on that."
The Lightning's first preseason game is Tuesday at Carolina (7 P.M.).
