The Hurricanes play their second night in as many days against the defending champion the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Hurricanes won the first two meetings against this team and Carolina was looking for the series sweep.
The Lightning started the first period strong, registering 6 shots before the Canes were able to get one. But, it was the Hurricanes who struck first with a goal from Nino Niederreiter on the team’s first shot. The goal came 7 minutes and 59 seconds into the period. That goal was Nino’s 21st this year, a new high in his Canes career.
The Lightning started the second period with a powerplay after Ian Cole took a hooking penalty as time expired in the first. Alex Killorn had the equalizer for the Lightning on the period-opening powerplay to even the score at 1.
The Canes got their lead back after a Teuvo Teravainen pass was beautifully tipped by rookie Seth Jarvis. Jarvis is now at 13 goals in 53 games this season. The rookie has looked very at home on that top line, he now has 5 goals in his last 7 games.
Less than 2 minutes later perennial Norris contender Victor Hedman made it a 2-2 game. Hedman’s 4-on-4 goal came at the midway point of the second period. Despite a sluggish start, the game’s pace really picked up throughout the second period.
Some Tony DeAngelo magic in the offensive zone led to a tip from Sebastian Aho out in front of the net. Carolina took a 3-2 lead very late in the second period. Aho joins the 30-goal club for the third time in his young career.
The Lightning’s powerplay continued to be hot during the third period, Brayden Point scored at 13:58 to knot the score at 3. Point stormed in less than 30 seconds later but Antti Raanta shut the door to keep the game tied late.
This back and forth game wasn’t enough and the two teams required overtime. Captain Jordan Staal took a penalty 26 seconds into overtime, and Lightning captain Steven Stamkos won the game in overtime less than 30 seconds later to end the game at a score of 4-3.
The league’s best penalty kill looked very pedestrian tonight, allowing Tampa to convert 3 times on 4 attempts. The Hurricanes lost a 1-goal lead three separate times throughout this game, and it cost them. The Canes finish the season series against Tampa with a record of 2-0-1. They look to rebound against Montreal on Thursday.
Three Stars For The Canes:
3. Teuvo Teravainen- 1 A
2. Nino Niederreiter- 1 G
1.Seth Jarvis- 1 G, 1 A
Canes Highlight Of The Night:
This was so nasty pic.twitter.com/PaiwOuBmtg
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) March 30, 2022