Carolina Hurricanes oust the Tampa Bay Lightning in Overtime

The Carolina Hurricanes yet again secure a victory in overtime, preserving their 2019-20 undefeated streak.

Three games, three from behind victories, the Carolina Hurricanes yet again secure two points in three-on-three sudden-death overtime. This makes the third consecutive game in a week for the Canes, and six points for the week. This proves yet again that the Hurricanes are entirely capable of playing the full sixty minutes with intensity.

Takeaways from the game

To start with, this isn’t the 2018-19 season’s power play. Carolina is now four-for-twelve on the man advantage, a one-in-four scoring rate. Two familiar faces showed up on the box score for these tallies. Erik Haula, and Dougie Hamilton. Effective use of special teams was a specific key to taking the win tonight, and one I mentioned in my preview yesterday.

Discipline was also significantly improved compared to yesterday’s tilt against Washington. The Hurricanes had a total of four trips to the sin bin in the entirety of the game. Of those trips, Tampa managed to capitalize once, within four seconds. The Penalty Kill for the remainder of the night was top-notch.

The Canes also showed an incredible ability to adapt on the ice. The Canes would capture the lead for a whole 68 seconds in the first, and it would be their sole lead of the game. After going down 3-1 after the first, Tampa would find themselves only getting two more shots on Petr Mrazek for the rest of the night.

This dynamic shift from a near deadlock in puck possession and offensive zone time, to pure dominance by the Hurricanes, is a credit to the coaching staff in Carolina. It is also a credit to their tireless work ethic.

Three Stars and Other Noteworthy Players

Tonight’s three stars of the game are well deserved. Brett Pesce and his rocket to break the ice took the third star. Defensive superstar, alternate captain, and OT breadwinner Jaccob Slavin ranked second. Coming in as the first star of the game is Dougie Hamilton, the man responsible for bringing us to overtime for the third night in a row.

Other notables include second-year Andrei Svechnikov, who put up two points tonight (two assists). Teuvo Teravainen, who also had a two-point night (two assists). And Erik Haula who put us within striking distance (3-2 TB lead) on a powerplay goal.

We also cannot forget the Carolina Hurricanes social media team, who give us gems such as this:

More from Cardiac Cane

• 2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase: Takeaways from the Canes’ Strong Showing in Florida
• Week Two Coverage Of College Hockey In NC
• Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
• Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes

Franchise Benchmarks

Tonight’s victory over the Lightning marked the second time in franchise history the team has gone 3-0-0 in the opening week. The first time was back before the move to Carolina. It also marked the first time since 3 Feb. 2004 that the team has denied another club a single shot in a period.

Erik Haula has also earmarked himself a page in team annals. He ranks as the sixth player in franchise history to record a tally in the first three games of a season. The impressive part is that Haula is the only player to achieve it in his first year as a Hurricane.

Caniacs! From what we have seen in the first week, can the Hurricanes sustain this momentum through 79 more games?