Carolina Hurricanes Play Hard, Get a Point Against the Tampa Bay Lightning

The Carolina Hurricanes competed heard against an elite team on Saturday, and they have one point to show for it after a 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In a game full of speed and high danger scoring chances, the Tampa Bay Lightning pick up a big two points against a hard-fighting Carolina Hurricanes team.

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Scoring Summary

1st Period

TBL Goal (16:43) – Ondrej Palat (9), assisted by Tyler Johnson (18)

Thanks to a great individual play, the Tampa Bay Lightning struck first. Palat was able to make a series of slick moves on the rush to get by Carolina’s Ron Hainsey, and he was able to beat Eddie Lack to top it off and make it 1-0.

2nd Period

CAR Goal (13:24) – Victor Rask (15), assisted by Phil Di Giuseppe (8), Jeff Skinner (16)

The Canes tied the game with a great looking odd-man rush. Skinner started the play in the neutral zone and fed Di Giuseppe along the left-side boards, and instead of shooting, he dropped it back to Rask at the top of the slot and he beat Ben Bishop blocker side.

TBL Goal (15:41) – Ondrej Palat (10), assisted by Nikita Kucherov (27)

3rd Period

CAR PPG (3:09) – Jordan Staal (17), assisted by Elias Lindholm (24), Victor Rask (24)

The Hurricanes got a big powerplay early in the third period, and they capitalized. Lindholm walked in and fired the puck on net from the left of Bishop, and it bounced off of Staal in front, off of Stralman, and into the net to tie the game at two.

CAR Goal (10:18) – Jeff Skinner (23), assisted by Phil Di Giuseppe (9), Ryan Murphy (5)

Carolina’s best line all night was the Rask line, and they gave the Canes a 3-2 lead. Di Giuseppe threw the puck on net, knowing that Skinner would be there, and the 2010 Calder winner was on the spot, and he got the puck past Bishop in front.

TBL Goal (13:42) – Tyler Johnson (12), assisted by Nikita Kucherov (28), Vladislav Namestnikov (18)

The Bolts bounced right back. Tampa took advantage of a mistake from Eddie Lack as he decided to play a puck instead of icing it, and it ended with Johnson slamming one home in front to tie the game.

Overtime

TBL Goal (4:16) – Alex Killorn (13), assisted by Valtteri Filppula (21)

Killorn ended the game on one final push up ice. He drove the puck in past Joakim Nordstrom, waited out Eddie Lack, and went top shelf on the sprawling goalie.

Three Stars

1st Star – Alex Killorn, C (TBL) – 1 goal, 1 shot, 1 hit, 19:20 TOI

2nd Star – Ondrej Palat, LW (TBL) – 2 goals, +1, 4 shots, 1 hit, 18:51 TOI

3rd Star – Jeff Skinner, LW (CAR) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 6 shots, 15:52 TOI

Recap

A hectic night in the Sunshine State didn’t end how the Carolina Hurricanes wanted, but it was an incredible performance by the road team despite the loss.

The night was hectic for a plethora of reasons. A talented and elite Tampa Bay team, now winners of a franchise best nine consecutive games, went up against a young and exciting Carolina team with a lot to prove.

Carolina Hurricanes

Per usual, a game like this ends with the playoff-bound home team getting the win, but there’s a lot to be proud of if you’re the Hurricanes.

They trailed the Lightning at two different points of the hockey game – the first and second periods. Despite trailing, the Canes bounced back both times. They played with a lot of energy, and they had very limited defensive mistakes against a very good offensive team.

The Hurricanes forced overtime thanks in large part to their special teams. They tallied a big second period powerplay goal to tie the game at two, and they killed off all four powerplay opportunities that they gave up to the Lightning. They went positive in the special teams, which was a big factor in getting a point in the standings.

The Victor Rask line played big time hockey on Saturday. Rask’s unit, flanked by Jeff Skinner and Phil Di Giuseppe, beat All-Star goalie Ben Bishop twice, and they had a plethora of other chances as the night went on.

Eddie Lack, featuring a new set of black goalie pads, had a so-so game. He was lackadaisical in regards to his positioning. It wasn’t uncommon to see him going well-out of his crease and giving the Bolts great quality chances. Thankfully, Carolina’s defense was able to cover for him a majority of the time.

It was another massive step for Jaccob Slavin‘s young career. He skated a career-high 29:54, and he did well with the increased minutes. He was a +1 and played an incredible two-way game. Amongst all the young defensemen that have staked their claim in the NHL this season for Carolina, he has been the most impressive, and that is saying a lot given his competition.

If nothing else, this was a game that showed, again, that this team is moving in the right direction. They played one of the best and toughest teams in the league hard all the way to the end. They played with speed, smarts, and heart, and they came awfully close to ending Tampa’s glorious win streak.

Next: Hurricanes Season Feels Different This Year

The Carolina Hurricanes will get the next two days off prior to hosting the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. The Canes are now 5 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.