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Lightning players become Santa's helpers
Sean Barie reports
TAMPA, Fla. - Players for the Tampa Bay Lightning can usually be seen scoring goals, but on Tuesday, they were bringing smiles to 20 kids on a holiday shopping spree.
The Bolts teamed up with Metropolitan Ministries for the shopping spree.
"We were this age once, and we know how exciting it is to get some gifts, especially from Santa," said Lightning forward Nick Paul.
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Players were paired up with a family and a child and walked around a Target in Tampa picking out everything from snacks to clothes and toys.
"I guess today I can be Saint Nick and Kris Kringle," joked Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix.
While the main goal was to fill their carts up with each child's wish list, the focus was on giving each child a memory to last a lifetime.
"Days like this are awesome," Paul said. "It really brings the spirit of Christmas and the community does so much for us and supports us so much that it's the least we could do is come back and do things like this."
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By the end of the shopping spree, meanwhile, the Bolts did their best to pick up a few new fans along the way.
"It's fun to just see the kids, follow them around and just talk to them and get to know them a little bit," said Perbix.