Tampa Bay Lightning Head To Carolina Early For Season Opener

By this point, you're no doubt aware that a little over a week after Hurricane Helene came through, Hurricane Milton is now barreling straight for the Tampa Bay area.

The storm is expected to cause a lot of damage and everyone is having to adjust their plans and prepare for the worst, and that includes the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Milton is scheduled to slam into Florida's Gulf Coast right in the middle of the first few days of the National Hockey League season, with the Lightning set to open their regular season slate on the road against — ironically — the Carolina Hurricanes.

According to the Associated Press, the Lightning decided to head to Raleigh early, doing so on Monday night after canceling a preseason game against the Nashville Predators, with plans to prepare for their season opener on Friday night in North Carolina.

The News & Observer reports that Lightning GM Julien BriseBois told the press that players were allowed to bring their families along on the trip. The team's staff is also on the trip.

Well, that worked out alright for them didn't it? They got out of the storm's path and, at the moment, it's not looking like Milton will have any effect on Friday's game.

But there's a bit of a problem…

Hurricane Milton is headed straight for Tampa and the Lightning's home ice, Amalie Arena. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Friday night's game is the first of a home-and-home series between the Lightning and Hurricanes that is scheduled to conclude on Saturday night in Tampa.

Are you seeing the problem?

The Lightning play at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa and while you'd think playing that one on Saturday at Lenovo Center — the Hurricanes' home arena — would be an option, it isn't; at least not on Saturday. That's because the NC State Wolfpack hosts Syracuse at nearby Carter-Finley Stadium, and that would create a logistics headache.

They could bump Saturday's game to Sunday in Raleigh if necessary. However, BriseBois noted that if things are that bad, the Lightning probably won't be in a hockey-playing mindset, which is more than understandable.

Hopefully, it doesn't come to that and everyone impacted by the storm stays safe.