The disruption of Hurricane Ian is continuing as NHL side Tampa Bay Lightning have been forced to fly to Nashville for pre-season.
The storm that's soon to hit the Florida coast has already reached category four in strength, with it expected to his category five as it barrels towards the south-eastern state. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already began practicing in Miami as opposed to their regular facilities, and the Lightning have travelled even further away.
The Lightning were meant to face Nashville Predators in Tampa, but have instead headed over to Tennessee to play our their pre-season games there as a safety precaution. They have also moved their training camp to Nashville until further notice.
The Lightning and the Buccaneers have departed, but millions of others are left battling it out in Tampa, and are currently bracing themselves for the storm. This was acknowledged by Lightning defenceman Mikhail Sergachev, who paid tribute to those left behind.
"Our organisation did everything they could to provide the best hotels, food and everything for us and our families. Obviously, it's going to be tough on people who stay in Tampa," he said.
"I hope they'll be safe, and the storm will pass, but it's not something we're used to. I hope people will stay safe and try to seal their houses."
Head coach Jon Cooper also spoke about the situation, as he added: "Everybody is trying to look after their families, everybody had to be brought here [including] pets. It was like [team owner Jeff] Vinik's ark, bringing everybody here.
"It disrupts everything because now we're losing home games. Everything is on the road for us. We're scrambling to find ice, to find where we're going to put our players. It takes away from what you have going on.
"Plus, everybody is worried about their houses and what they have going on in Tampa. It plays a part. Our job is trying to get everybody focused on hockey, but you have to have a little compassion for these guys too, and what they're going through. So we've just got to fight through this."
Florida have been plunged into a state of emergency for the time being, and unsurprisingly the Lightning weren't their usual selves on Tuesday night. They lost 5-1 to Carolina in their first pre-season match, with back-to-back games against the Predators coming up next
They they have two matches against the Florida Panthers to wrap up pre-season, before the first puck drop on October 12. Their opening regular season game is against New York Rangers as Madison Square Garden.
