The Tampa Bay Lightning have entered the NHL’s Olympic break on a high note, leading the Atlantic Division. The league is paused until Feb. 25. However, the biggest storylines for the week revolve around who is not playing, as injuries have forced two key stars out of the Winter Olympics.
Point and Cirelli Out of Olympics
The most significant news is the withdrawal of Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli from Team Canada due to injuries.
Point sustained a lower-body injury in mid-January. Despite attempting to return for the break, he was deemed not healthy enough to compete and has been replaced on Team Canada by Seth Jarvis (Carolina Hurricanes).
Cirelli suffered an injury during the Stadium Series game against Boston on Feb. 1 after a collision. He has been replaced by Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers).
This allows both centers valuable rest time to heal for the Lightning’s playoff push, joining Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy (ineligible due to Russia’s ban) in recovering during the break.
First Place at the Break
The Lightning entered the pause sitting 1st in the Atlantic Division with a record of 37-14-4 (78 points).
They closed out their pre-Olympic schedule with a dominant 6-1 win over the Florida Panthers (Feb. 5) and a dramatic comeback win in the Stadium Series against the Boston Bruins (Feb. 1).
Lightning Olympic Schedule This Week
Here is the schedule for Lightning players competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.
Active Lightning Olympians:
- USA: Jake Guentzel
- Canada: Brandon Hagel
- Sweden: Victor Hedman, Pontus Holmberg
- Switzerland: J.J. Moser
- Slovakia: Erik Cernak
- Denmark: Oliver Bjorkstrand
- Latvia: Zemgus Girgensons
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup | Lightning Players Involved |
| Wed, Feb 11 | 10:40 AM | Slovakia vs. Finland | Erik Cernak (SVK) |
| 3:10 PM | Sweden vs. Italy | Victor Hedman, Pontus Holmberg (SWE) | |
| Thu, Feb 12 | 6:10 AM | Switzerland vs. France | J.J. Moser (SUI) |
| 10:40 AM | Canada vs. Czechia | Brandon Hagel (CAN) | |
| 3:10 PM | Latvia vs. USA | Zemgus Girgensons (LAT) vs. Jake Guentzel (USA) | |
| 3:10 PM | Denmark vs. Germany | Oliver Bjorkstrand (DEN) | |
| Fri, Feb 13 | 6:10 AM | Sweden vs. Finland | Victor Hedman, Pontus Holmberg (SWE) |
| 6:10 AM | Italy vs. Slovakia | Erik Cernak (SVK) | |
| 3:10 PM | Canada vs. Switzerland | Brandon Hagel (CAN) vs. J.J. Moser (SUI) | |
| Sat, Feb 14 | 6:10 AM | Sweden vs. Slovakia | Hedman/Holmberg (SWE) vs. Cernak (SVK) |
| 6:10 AM | Germany vs. Latvia | Zemgus Girgensons (LAT) | |
| 3:10 PM | USA vs. Denmark | Jake Guentzel (USA) vs. Oliver Bjorkstrand (DEN) | |
| Sun, Feb 15 | 6:10 AM | Switzerland vs. Czechia | J.J. Moser (SUI) |
| 10:40 AM | Canada vs. France | Brandon Hagel (CAN) | |
| 1:10 PM | Denmark vs. Latvia | Oliver Bjorkstrand (DEN) vs. Zemgus Girgensons (LAT) | |
| 3:10 PM | USA vs. Germany | Jake Guentzel (USA) |
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