Continuing with our impromptu mid-week mini-series on the Carolina Hurricanes' second-round mishaps, we'll turn the clocks back to 2021 to discuss the first of the trifecta. In 2022, the Canes' season ended with disappointing performances in Games 6 and 7 against the Rangers. However, the year prior saw them bow out to the defending Stanley Cup champions in short order.
With the 2019-20 season ending at a weird time, the league had to completely readjust everything to mitigate the ongoing spread of COVID-19 throughout the league. This meant reshaping the divisions. In doing so, the league reunited the Canes with two former Southeast Division foes and forced them to play eight times in 56 games.
One of those temporary Central Division rivals was the Tampa Bay Lightning. The season series between Carolina and Tampa Bay was incredibly tight, with the sides splitting things down the middle at 4-3-1. The Canes claimed the division crown, while Tampa finished third behind Florida, whom they promptly beat in the first round, setting up this titanic clash in the second round.
#28: The Bolts struck thrice in Raleigh, making PNC Arena their new home
As was usually the case against the Hurricanes during this era, the edge in skill and experience belonged to the Lightning. They emerged from the bubble playoffs as the 2020 Stanley Cup champions, finishing the Montreal Canadiens in a five-game set. The Canes were trying to get back to the conference finals, but they ran into a brick wall.
Scoring was at a premium early in the series. Tampa's power play scored the first goal midway through Game 1 after Brayden Point redirected a pass from Victor Hedman. Jake Bean got it back in the third period on the power play, tying it up with plenty of time left. However, Barclay Goodrow snuck a shot through with 7:21 left, and Tampa held on for a 2-1 win to begin the series.
We didn't quite know it at the time, but Goodrow's goal was a perfect indication of the series we were about to watch. The shot came from a sharp angle and surprised rookie netminder Alex Nedeljkovic. While he'd been great during the regular season, earning a Calder Trophy nomination, those kinds of mistakes wouldn't be enough to outduel one of the best goalies in the world.
Game 2 was identical. Alex Killorn threw a shot from above the dots at the net, and Nedeljkovic was a second late as Tampa broke the ice in the middle frame. The biggest difference was that the Bolts scored another goal before the Canes got on the board, coming from Anthony Cirelli midway through the third. Andrei Svechnikov broke the shutout, but it was too late in another 2-1 loss for Carolina.
Down 2-0 with the series shifting to Tampa Bay, the Canes desperately needed to get in the win column. Like the previous two in Raleigh, the first goal of Game 3 didn't come until the second period, but it was Carolina playing from in front. Brett Pesce stepped into one to beat Andrei Vasilevskiy. Then, just 2:25 later, Sebastian Aho buried a breakaway, doubling the Canes' lead.
The Lightning refused to let the Canes celebrate. Brayden Point and Alex Killorn scored on the power play, tying the game at two after 40 minutes. Neither side figured it out in the third, sending Game 3 to overtime. On the power play, Carolina showed signs of life. Aho's shot redirected off Jordan Staal at the side of the net, putting the Canes within striking distance and making it a series once again.
The death blow was the Canes' inability to capitalize in Game 4
In Game 3, the Canes made a change in the net, sending out Petr Mrazek to try and put the team on his back. He stopped 35 shots in the 3-2 win, and he drew the assignment again in Game 4. The contest started without much excitement. The only goal of the first period belonged to Point, giving Tampa a 1-0 lead after 20. Little did we know what we would get in the second.
The Canes' offense, which had been dormant for much of the series, erupted. Teuvo Teravainen and Jesper Fast scored 39 seconds apart to take the lead. Steven Stamkos tied it on the power play, but Dougie Hamilton and Jaccob Slavin regained and extended the lead with a pair in 2:06 to give the Canes a 4-2 lead. It was starting to feel like they were turning a corner.
That feeling didn't last through the end of the period. Tampa Bay scored the next three goals before the intermission, with Nikita Kucherov scoring on the power play, Tyler Johnson getting his first of the playoffs, and Stamkos getting another on the man advantage. In less than five minutes, the Bolts were back in front, stunning the Canes.
Kucherov scored one more time in the third to make it 6-4, and that's how things would end. This felt like the moment that the series ended. You rarely saw a team have this kind of game against Vasilevskiy in the playoffs. So, when you do get to him this many times, you need to find a way to get the job done. The Canes failed to do so, putting their season in jeopardy.
In typical Vasilevskiy fashion, he didn't allow a goal in the series-clinching game when the sides returned to Raleigh. Point scored a beautiful backhand goal on the power play in the second period, and Ross Colton added the insurance in the third. Vasilevskiy stopped all 29 of Carolina's shots, putting their season to rest with a 2-0 victory.
There was no question who the better team in this series was. The Lightning had been here and done this with regularity by now, and they'd go on to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in 2021, helping to ease the sting of this loss. This series was another case of the Canes' offense failing to generate anything. They only scored nine goals, with no player finding the back of the net more than once.
Goaltending was also a huge advantage for Tampa Bay. Vasilevskiy was outstanding, finishing with a .940 save percentage and a 1.77 GAA, even with a rough outing in Game 4. Nedeljkovic wasn't bad, and his numbers reflect that (.914 SV%, 2.06 GAA), but a few too many of those goals against were soft. Mrazek had one bad game to balance his excellent start in Game 3.
I'll reiterate that this loss doesn't serve the same bad memories as the New York loss in the second round a year later, keeping it higher on the list of postseason series. All things considered, it was a pretty even series throughout, even if it ended in five games. There's no question that the better team won, but the Canes' time was coming.
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