Fire Damages Boyle’s Home

Tampa Bay defenseman Dan Boyle had his evening go from bad to worse Tuesday, when he was informed after the Lightning’s 4-1 loss to Calgary that his house caught fire.

About one-third of the 3,000-square-foot, two-story house burned and Boyle lost memorabilia from his career, including his first jersey as an NHL player, when he played for the Florida Panthers.

“I’m 27 years old and I don’t know one person who had their house burn down,” Boyle said Wednesday. “The important thing is no one was in the house and no one was hurt.”

Boyle was informed minutes after the game by Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk. He said indications are the fire started in an electrical socket in his recreation room, then spread. A neighbor called the fire department and Boyle arrived about midnight, after the fire was extinguished.

“I came off the ice and did a couple interviews, then Dave pulled me aside and told me,” Boyle said. “I thought it was a joke at first. When you’re playing in the Stanley Cup finals, you start to feel super human. Something like this happens and you realize you’re not.”

Boyle said it was hard to regain focus on the series, but “I will have by Game 2. The guys are trying to help me with that.”

Lightning Coach John Tortorella pitched in as well.

“We talked to Dan last night,” he said. “It’s fine. That’s just a bunch of wood burning. There’s no one hurt. There’s nothing serious that happened. Whatever the insurance doesn’t cover, I am sure he has enough money to spend and take care of it.”