Brandon Hagel snapped a third-period tie with his 20th goal of the season to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to their eighth consecutive win with a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

Get the best Avalanche vs. Lightning predictions ahead of Tuesday's showdown at Amalie Arena. Free NHL picks for January 6.

Lightning strikes are always a serious threat, no matter what season it is. For the last year, lightning strikes in the U.S. have reached an 8-year-high, according to Vaisala Xweather.

The Great Plains, including parts of Texas, has become an epicenter for severe storm activity, according to a new report. Environmental insight firm AEM just released its annual lightning report, which uses detection technology that recorded nearly 430 million lightning pulses within 88.

Florida has long been regarded as the lightning capital of the United States — but it may have competition. A new report by environmental consulting firm AEM found that Oklahoma was the nation’s lightning hot spot last year, with approximately 73 flashes per square mile, while Florida was bumped down to second place.

But the story of the Lightning’s eighth straight win was the way they stymied the league’s top scoring offense, particularly the No. 1 line centered by NHL goal-scoring leader Nathan MacKinnon, in a 4-2 victory at Benchmark International Arena.

Cooper was hired by the Lightning in 2013 and is the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL. He has coached the team to four Stanley Cup Final appearances, winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021.

Florida ranks high in lightning deaths every year. Know myths from facts. Nvidia showed off its latest physical AI technologies at CES 2026. Jensen Huang took to the CES stage on Monday to share the latest from NVIDIA.