<P> Throughout March, the Lightning had been competing with the Atlanta Thrashers for first place in the Southeast Division . With a chance to overtake the Thrashers one final time and once again become division champions for the third time in team history, on April 6, 2007, in the final week of the regular season, the Lighting suffered a loss to the Florida Panthers, the night before the season finale in Atlanta . That same night, the Thrashers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes and subsequently clinched the division . For the Lightning, this meant having to settle for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a final record of 44--33--5 (93 points). </P> <P> However, the Lightning were eliminated from playoff competition on April 22 after a 3--2 home loss to the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals . </P> <P> Following their playoff exit, on August 7, 2007, Absolute Hockey Enterprises, a group led by Doug MacLean, announced it had signed a purchase agreement for the team and the leasehold on the St. Pete Times Forum . MacLean is the former president and general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets and former head coach for both the Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers . The group announced it planned to keep the team in Tampa, but the deal collapsed during the 2007--08 season . </P> <P> The Lightning struggled to maintain success during the 2007--08 campaign . Although the "Big 3" of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards, along with Vaclav Prospal, had performed up to expectations, they had little consistent play from supporting players . </P>

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