Regular Season, Game 67: Hurricanes at Tampa Bay Lightning

Out of nowhere, the Canes' offense has seemed to find new footing. They've scored 13 goals in the last two games, both road wins, and everyone has been contributing. Last night, the Hurricanes found the recipe for success against the Washington Capitals, a team they hadn't beaten yet this season. They were up 2-0 before the halfway point of the first period, scored three times in the second period, and held Washington to just one goal in a 6-1 win. They scored a short-handed goal for the second straight game and Martin Necas had three points, including two of the six goals. Frederik Andersen was stellar to earn his 32nd win of the season. There is still a black cloud that looms over this game because of the unnecessary hit that Lars Eller threw on Jesperi Kotkaniemi with less than five seconds left in the game and now he's likely to miss some games. Tonight's opponent for the second half of a back-to-back is a formidable one and someone they've grown familiar with throughout the month, the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is the third and final meeting this season and there are still some fresh cuts left from the game exactly one week ago. Last Tuesday in Raleigh, the Canes snapped a four-game losing streak by stymying the defending champs, scoring twice on the power play in the second period and holding on for a 3-2 win. Things got chippy late after Nikita Kucherov took an interference penalty with Andrei Vasilevskiy on the bench to all but end the game, then he took a run at Aho after the final horn sounded and the two teams had a prolonged meeting of the minds at center ice. This is likely to be talked about a lot on the broadcast tonight. The only major changes I'd anticipate are Steven Lorentz taking Kotkaniemi's spot and Antti Raanta starting between the pipes with Andersen playing last night. 

Tampa Bay is returning home after four games in six days on the road, winning the final two legs of their trip. They played back-to-back games over the weekend, beating Detroit in overtime 2-1 on Saturday, before beating the Islanders 4-1 on Sunday. The Lightning scored four unanswered goals in what was a very chippy game between the two teams that met in the third round last season. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 23 shots in the win and will likely be the starter for tonight's affair as well. Ryan McDonagh will be out of the lineup after missing the two games over the weekend due to injury. The Lightning are currently in a tough battle in the Atlantic, trying to stay ahead of both Toronto and Boston for second in the division, though just one point separates them from both teams. There is going to be some bad blood in what could be a future playoff matchup. They remember how last Tuesday ended as the Canes look to sweep their road trip before heading home. Last night's win was an emotional one, so tonight could be a tough go against a very skilled team. 

1st Period

Scoring

(CAR) 7:59- Nino Niederreiter (21) (assisted by Jordan Staal (16) & Ian Cole (16))

Thoughts

This is exactly what I expected to happen to a certain extent. The Lightning were the dominant team, holding the Canes shotless until almost halfway through the period and spending most of the time in front of Antti Raanta. The Canes didn't have a shot until 7:59 in the period, but it also happens to be the only goal of the Canes so far. The Staal line had an excellent forechecking shift, created and turnover, then Staal found Niederreiter in front to make it 1-0. The Canes killed a power play but looked terrible with the man-advantage. I'm sure being tired has something to do with it, but this was very one-sided. The kill will have to do it again to start the period with Cole taking a penalty to end the period. This is going to be a huge kill to get things going in the second. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(TB) 0:52- Alex Killorn (21) PP (assisted by Nikita Kucherov (25) & Brayden Point (26))

(CAR) 8:41- Seth Jarvis (13) (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (38))

(TB) 9:43- Victor Hedman (19) (assisted by Anthony Cirelli (22) & Steven Stamkos (42))

(CAR) 16:47- Sebastian Aho (30) (assisted by Tony DeAngelo (33) & Seth Jarvis (15))

Thoughts

The Canes showed off their hand-eye coordination in the second period with two beautiful goals. The Lightning opened up the scoring in the period on the power play with Killorn taking advantage of a bad defensive breakdown. However, the Canes would capitalize on a 3-on-2 with Seth Jarvis tipping a puck out of midair past Vasilevskiy to take the lead back. After some shenanigans and players being sent to the box, Hedman tied it again with the Lightning winning a board battle to get the puck. Right before the period ended, Sebastian Aho tipped a seemingly weak backhand shot from DeAngelo through the goalie and into the net to give the Canes the lead again. This has been very back and forth and the physicality seemed to ramp up quite a bit. Neither team plays a very physical style, so we'll see whether we see much of it in the third period. I haven't felt like the Canes have controlled much of this game. It's been more about capitalizing on the opportunities they're being given and they come in short supply through 40 minutes. Though I don't think they've played their best game, they find themselves ahead for the time being. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(TB) 6:02- Brayden Point (25) PP (assisted by Steven Stamkos (43) & Nikita Kucherov (26))

Thoughts

It has been an uncharacteristically bad night for the Canes' special teams. They allowed the tying goal to the Lightning while a man down thanks to Point's presence in front of the net. After that, the Lightning had plenty of chances on Raanta, but the goalie was up to the task. The fact the Canes are getting a point tonight might be extremely lucky. I don't think they've been the better team in any period tonight, but they've stuck in there and muscled it out to finish this short road trip. The Canes have won the only overtime game between the two this season, so let's see if they're able to sweep the season series after securing their fifth point of the season against the defending champions. 

Overtime

Scoring

(TB) 0:52- Steven Stamkos (30) PP (assisted by Nikita Kucherov (27) & Anthony Cirelli (23))

Thoughts

Not much to say about that overtime period. A very iffy holding penalty set up a Lightning power play early in overtime and it was at that point I knew the game was over. Sure enough, Stamkos ends it in the slot by simply just beating Raanta. I hate that's how it ended, but a point is a point. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Sebastian Aho (Goal)

Aho's goal got him to 30 for the season, his third 30+ goal season in his career, tying him for second-most since relocation. The deflection itself was spectacular. I couldn't tell how DeAngelo's backhand shot got through Vasilevskiy. He continues to stay hot with goals in back-to-back games now and has points in each of his last five. 

Second Star- Nino Niederreiter (Goal)

I will shout it to the rooftops until it actually gets done. PLEASE GIVE NINO HIS EXTENSION NOW!!! He's been another player that has been unreal lately. His goal to open the scoring was huge for the Canes since it was on their first shot almost eight minutes in. It put a huge dent in Vasilevskiy's armor to get the first one in. 

First Star- Seth Jarvis (Goal, Assist)

This is the fourth multi-point game for Jarvis since re-entering the lineup. The points seem to be coming in bunches for the rookie after he hit a brick wall. His goal was the real highlight, batting it out of midair to fool Vasilevskiy and give the Canes the lead again in the second period. His assist was secondary on the Aho goal. Having him on the first line with Aho and Turbo has been working well. 

Final Thoughts

It stinks that the stripes were involved in the outcome, but they aren't to blame for this loss. I mentioned it earlier but this was a terrible night for the Canes' special teams. Tampa scored three times on the power play, including the game-winner, and the Canes' power play looked awful all night. Tampa's power play was the difference in the playoff series last year, so the Canes are well aware of how lethal it can be. There might be a few silver linings for this overtime loss. First, they earned a point despite being outshot badly and after never really having too much control of the game. Second, they earned five of a possible six points in the season series. Third, a bunch of players stayed hot tonight by picking up points. Fourth, it helped to expand their lead in the Metro with New York beating Pittsburgh tonight. Lastly, Antti Raanta kind of outshined Andrei Vasilevskiy. Granted he was much busier, Raanta made some truly spectacular saves tonight to prevent this game from getting out of hand. After getting into town early this morning, I'm not surprised by the outcome that much. They ran into a team that hadn't played last night and they were beaten. They'll come home for two games, starting with their final meeting with Montreal on Thursday to finish the month of March. We're in the home stretch of the season now, so points are super important. Thursday is a two the Canes need to get.