2012–13 Tampa Bay Lightning season
| 2012–13 Tampa Bay Lightning | |
|---|---|
| Division | 4th Southeast |
| Conference | 14th Eastern |
| 2012–13 record | 18–26–4 |
| Home record | 12–10–2 |
| Road record | 6–16–2 |
| Goals for | 148 |
| Goals against | 150 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Steve Yzerman |
| Coach |
Guy Boucher (Oct–Mar) Jon Cooper (Mar/Apr) |
| Captain | Vincent Lecavalier |
| Alternate captains |
Mattias Ohlund Martin St. Louis Steven Stamkos |
| Arena | Tampa Bay Times Forum |
| Average attendance | 19,056 (99.2%) |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Steven Stamkos (29) |
| Assists | Martin St. Louis (43) |
| Points | Martin St. Louis (60) |
| Penalties in minutes | B. J. Crombeen (112) |
| Plus/minus |
(+): Benoit Pouliot (8) (−): Brian Lee (−13) |
| Wins | Anders Lindback (10) |
| Goals against average | Anders Lindback Mathieu Garon (2.90) |
The 2012–13 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the franchise’s 20th season (21st season of operation) in the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to a lockout.
The Lightning began the season with one of the best starts in franchise history, earning a 6–1–0 record. Since that seventh game, however, the team went 7–16–1, falling to 14th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference. This led General Manager Steve Yzerman to fire Head Coach Guy Boucher on March 24, 2013. Boucher was in his third year as the team's head coach.
One day later, the Lightning named Jon Cooper as the team's new head coach. Cooper was first hired by the organization in 2010 to coach the Lightning's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, and after the Lightning changed affiliates, the Syracuse Crunch. While coaching the Admirals in the 2011–12 season, the team won 28 consecutive games and would go on to win the Calder Cup, sweeping the championship series. At the time of Cooper's naming as Lightning head coach, 10 players on the team's roster had played for Cooper in Syracuse at some point during the season.
With goaltending having been an issue for the team all season, on April 3, the day of the trade deadline, the Lightning acquired Ben Bishop from the Ottawa Senators. In return, the Lightning dealt rookie left wing Cory Conacher, who at the time was second in the League in points among first-year players with 24, and led all rookies in assists with 15. The Lightning also gave up a fourth-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
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