Lightning celebrate their 29th birthday with 90’s Night

TAMPA — It’s safe to say Kevin Shattenkirk is a fan of the 90’s.

Last year, while playing for New York, he and his wife found a couple of Rangers Starter jackets on e-bay. Remember the puffy quarter-zips with the pocket on the stomach? Of course they bought the jackets.

When he learned Thursday was 90’s Night at Amalie Arena, Shattenkirk said he might have to look for a Lightning jacket.

It was Dec. 5, 1990 that the NHL awarded Tampa Bay a franchise. How better to celebrate the organization’s 29th birthday than with the highlights from that last decade of the millennium.

The Lightning made a new goal video for the occasion. It started with “G•O•A•L” and featured The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You” so you can probably guess where this is going. The best part was the clip of Gourde’s chop celebration to the clapping.

In-arena host Greg Wolfe donned an Adidas zip-up with a velour bucket hat and big glasses. The intermission tricycle race became a Mario Kart race, complete with a banana peel to slip on and Yoshi throwing shells (proudly sponsored by the Times, by the way).

Only seven of the Lightning were born before the 90’s. But the rest are 90’s babies, so that counts for something (the youngest Lightning, Mikhail Sergachev was born in 1998).

Ryan McDonagh remembers when Caller ID first became a thing. He and his friends would call each other just to see the names pop up on the screen. And yes, this was on landlines. Remember those?

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Shattenkirk, born Jan. 29, 1989, a big music fan, describes himself as a “90’s hip-hop guy.” Notorious B.I.G and Tupac stand above all else, but there were also Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Jay-Z and Puff Daddy (pre-the Diddy years).

Pat Maroon (April 23, 1988) also threw out nods to Biggie and Tupac, but his favorite band of all time is Hootie and the Blowfish. No, he doesn’t have a favorite song. He’d like to suggest all of them.

Luke Schenn (Nov. 2, 1989) agrees on 90’s music, but differs on the genre. He’s a country fan and throws it back to Garth Brooks and Shania Twain. Curtis McElhinney (May 23, 1983) goes for rock, like Weezer, Guns N’ Roses and Green Day.

Contact Diana C. Nearhos at dnearhos@tampabay.com. Follow @dianacnearhos.