when was the last time the lightning went to the stanley cup
List of Tampa Bay Lightning seasons Tampa Bay made their first playoffs in the 1995–96 season. The team's best year was the 2017–18 season, in which they finished 54–23–5. The team's worst year was the 1997–98 season, in which they finished 17–55–10. Tampa Bay moved to the Southeast Division in 1998, and won the division for the first time in the 2002–03 season. The Lightning won the Eastern Conference and their only Stanley Cup in the following season.[3] As part of the 2013–14 NHL season realignment, the Lightning were relocated into the Atlantic Division after the league reduced from six divisions to four.[4] Eleven years after their first cup win, the Lightning again won the Eastern Conference title and qualified for the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals.[5]