2022-23 Regular Season, Game 73: Hurricanes (47-16-9) v. Tampa Bay Lightning

It took a third-period comeback but the Canes fought back to earn a point against the Boston Bruins on Sunday night as the team celebrated Whalers Night. Jack Drury scored his second goal of the season to draw the Canes back even in the second period before Boston scored twice more to hold a 3-1 lead after two periods. Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho scored in the first four minutes of the third period to tie the again as Jeremy Swayman and Frederik Andersen refused to give an inch for the remainder of the period. With the game going to overtime and both teams securing a point, neither team could be too upset with the result. After a great overtime went scoreless, the Bruins would ultimately prevail in a shootout to take the second point. While it's not the two points they would've wanted, they got something out of a game that seemed to be a lost cause after 40 minutes. Andersen allowed three rough goals but he also kept the Canes in the game, settling for his first overtime or shootout loss of the season. Tonight, the Canes will conclude their four-game homestand against another of the Atlantic's best teams.

Projected Lines/Pairs

Jordan Martinook-Sebastian Aho-Martin Necas

Seth Jarvis-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Stefan Noesen

Teuvo Teravainen-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Paul Stastny-Derek Stepan-Jack Drury

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Shayne Gostisbehere-Jalen Chatfield

Pyotr Kochetkov

Frederik Andersen

Injuries/Scratches- Jesse Puljujarvi (healthy), Calvin de Haan (healthy), Dylan Coghlan (healthy),

Antti Raanta (lower-body injury; day-to-day)

IR- Andrei Svechnikov (Torn ACL), Max Pacioretty (Achilles), Ondrej Kase (concussion)

The Canes will stick with the same groups that they used in the third period on Sunday. There were questions as to whether Jesper Fast would play tonight with his wife giving birth today but he appears to be in the lineup. Pyotr Kochetkov will get the start in the net. He stopped 41 shots in his last outing, a 5-3 victory over Toronto on Saturday night. This will be his first start against the Lightning in his career. 

Tonight's Opponent: Tampa Bay Lightning (42-26-6, 90 Points, 3rd in the Atlantic)

The state of things in Tampa Bay is not good right now. They're below .500 since the All-Star Break (10-11-5) and have just five wins in their last 16 games (5-9-2). The Lightning have lost four in a row, their second losing streak of at least four games in the last month, and they've been outscored 17-7 in those four losses. Their stop in Raleigh tonight is the final stop of a four-game road trip, making the trip south after losing in Boston on Saturday afternoon. The tilt with the Bruins began with a fight nine seconds into the game between Garnet Hathaway and Pat Maroon. Special teams would be the name of the game in the first as Patrice Bergeron opened the scoring for Boston on the power play and Victor Hedman tied it while Tampa Bay was short-handed. Things would remain tied for the rest of the first and most of the second until Hathaway finally found the back of the net late in the middle frame. It would be a stalemate from there as Linus Ullmark outdueled Andrei Vasilevskiy to earn Boston the 2-1 victory in regulation. It's the same Tampa Bay team that we know and love. Nikita Kucherov is already over 100 points. Brayden Point has 45 goals. Steven Stamkos can still make almost every play. Victor Hedman still controls the blueline. Vasilevskiy remains the standard-bearer in the net. No matter what kind of streak they're on, it's not fun to play Tampa Bay. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- This is the second meeting of the month between these two in Raleigh and the first time, it was all Carolina. The Canes scored four times on the power play. Teuvo Teravainen scored a hat trick. Jesperi Kotkaniemi finished with a goal and four assists. Shayne Gostisbehere recorded three points, including a goal, in his second game with the team. Add three assists from Martin Necas, a goal from Andrei Svechnikov, and a 14-save shutout for Frederik Andersen and the Canes easily won this one, 6-0. Tampa Bay went without a shot for the entire second period and never seemed like they ever stood a chance. It was one of the most lopsided victories I remember the Canes having against a team of Tampa's quality in a long time. 

Tampa Bay's Starting Goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy (31-20-4, 2.69 GAA, .914 SV%)- It has been over a year since Vasilevskiy lost three straight starts in regulation. Based on some very quick research, he hasn't lost four straight since 2016-17 when he dropped six in a row in regulation. He's been very good against the Canes in his career but has had a tough time of it lately, going 1-2-2 against the Canes over the last two seasons. He's been in the net for both of Tampa Bay's losses to Carolina this season, including the 6-0 loss in their last encounter. 

Tampa Bay Player to Watch: Ross Colton- We'll always have our eyes on Tampa Bay's big guns, so it'll be about which of their depth players will step up to help lead them to victory. I'm keeping my eye on Colton. His numbers are down compared to last season, in part to a recent stretch where he has just four points in 17 games. Colton also hasn't scored a goal in almost two weeks. He scored a goal in the first meeting this season and has four points in nine games against the Canes in the regular season. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

None

2nd Period

(TB) 5:58- Steven Stamkos (31) (assisted by Mikhail Sergachev (48) & Nikita Kucherov (75))

(TB) 14:23- Brayden Point (46) (assisted by Steven Stamkos (45))

3rd Period

(TB) 12:20- Brayden Point (47) (assisted by Steven Stamkos (46) & Nikita Kucherov (76))

(TB) 15:39- Alex Killorn (23) EN (assisted by Brayden Point (39 & Erik Cernak (14))

Let's Talk About the Game

The Canes ran into a team that was in dire need of a good result and the Lightning relied on their stars to get the job done. Tampa's stars showed up to play tonight and while the Canes didn't play a bad game, the Lightning played a better one. Brayden Point finished with four points, Steven Stamkos had three, Nikita Kucherov had two, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped everything thrown at him. You really can't do anything but throw your hands in the air and ask what else they should've done. I really don't have much to offer from this game in terms of analysis. Both Vasilevskiy and Pyotr Kochetkov went save for save in the first period, each ending the period with eight saves. The turning point in the game came early in the second period. Jordan Martinook would be given a penalty in the offensive zone and while the kill would get the job done, Stamkos would sneak a shot through the legs of Kochetkov seconds after the sides were evened up to give Tampa the first goal of the night. It felt like Kochetkov was anticipating a high shot from Stamkos and lifted his right pad leg for just a second, which was more than enough time for the Tampa captain. The Canes would get their first crack on the power play right after the goal and it would come up short. The Lightning added to the lead as Point never give up on a play, banking the puck off of Kochetkov from below the goal line to double the lead. 

Things got very chippy at the end of the second period. It started with Stefan Noesen and Nick Paul colliding on a seemingly innocent play. Noesen would go down with an apparent leg injury on the play and he wouldn't return to the game. Shortly after that, Sebastian Aho was taken down on a 2-on-1 by Darren Raddysh, forcing Aho to collide with Vasilevskiy. Anthony Cirelli would take exception to it and would jump on Aho. Cirelli would get the gate on a double minor for roughing but Aho would also get two minutes for goalie interference. The latter penalty is a bit baffling considering he never got the chance to avoid the goalie. Still, it resulted in a power play for the Canes that would carry into the third period before ultimately being killed off. The Canes looked like they were going to find the back of the net as Jack Drury left a beautiful pass to Jalen Chatfield as he jumped into the play. With Vasilevskiy out of position, Chatfield pushed the puck wide, keeping the shutout intact. Point would uncork a wicked wrister that got some help from the left post before hitting the back bar to make it 3-0 to put the dagger in the Canes and Alex Killorn would score into the empty net to bury them for good. Vasilevskiy would finish the night with 31 saves and his third shutout of the season as Tampa Bay returned the favor for the loss earlier in the month. 

Again, I have to reiterate that the Canes didn't play a bad game. If I were a betting man, the Lightning would've been an appealing bet since they were due a good game. In the end, the Canes still won the season series with the Bolt, taking two of three games and four of a possible six points. As you know, I tend to look at the season by matchups and when you get the better of the reigning three-time conference champs, it's something worth acknowledging. Still, it would've been nice to expand the lead in the division with one of the games in hand. I don't think we need to read too much into this loss. The Canes finished this tough five-game stretch at 2-2-1, earning five of a possible ten points. That's not that bad. You earned a split against a division opponent, then went 1-1-1 against the three best teams in the Atlantic. It's about all I could ask for. They also got some help to maintain a three-point lead in the division. The Canes are in a good spot going into the final nine games of the season. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

As is customary in games like this, I'm not doing the three stars. I will acknowledge that Jack Drury had an excellent game tonight. He probably should've finished with an assist. I don't think the Canes played a terrible game overall. It was just a desperate team they ran into tonight. 

What's Next for the Canes

The Canes will hit the road for the next games. The trip will begin in Detroit on Thursday night. The Red Wings put a touchdown up on the Penguins tonight behind a third-period hat trick from David Perron with two goals late in the third period to break a 4-4 tie. Detroit led the game 3-0 and 4-3 with Pittsburgh battling back from both deficits before Detroit scored three times in the final four minutes. Former Hurricane Alex Nedeljkovic made 35 saves in the win. The trip then heads north of the border as the Canes pay Montreal a visit for the second time this season. Montreal lost 3-2 tonight to Philadelphia to officially be eliminated from playoff contention. They'll also be in action on Thursday, hosting the Panthers. Saturday's game will be the first half of a back-to-back for the Hurricanes as they return home on Sunday night to face the New York Islanders. New York will also be on the second half of a back-to-back as they face the Lightning on Saturday. It's being reported that Antti Raanta will be joining the team on the road. It's a very encouraging sign as the team looks to get healthy before the playoffs. I'd imagine we could see him sometime over the weekend. 

What's Next for the Teams in the Playoff Hunt

New Jersey (100 Points, 3 Points back of the Canes in 2nd)- The Devils' hunt for the division took a big hit on Long Island last night as they fell 5-1 to the Islanders. They are primed for a battle with the Rangers in what could be a first-round preview on Thursday night. 

New York (R) (98 Points, 5 Points back of the Canes in 3rd)- The Rangers hammered Columbus tonight 6-2 as they continue to nip at the heels of the Hurricanes and Devils. New York will travel to New Jersey for Thursday's tilt before facing Buffalo on Friday night. 

New York (I) (85 Points, 1st Wild Card, the Canes' current first-round opponent)- The Islanders picked up a huge win on Monday night against the Devils. They have games on the road in Washington on Wednesday and Tampa Bay on Saturday before meeting the Canes in Raleigh on Sunday. 

Pittsburgh (82 Points, 2nd Wild Card, 3 Points back of New York)- The Penguins still sit in a playoff spot after their 7-4 loss to Detroit but are trending in the wrong direction. They'll play three games in four nights beginning on Thursday against Nashville. 

Florida (79 Points, 3 Points out of the playoffs)- The Panthers appear to be in a freefall after losing their fourth straight on Monday night to Ottawa. They have three teams within three points of them as they continue their road trip in Toronto on Wednesday night.