2024-25 Regular Season, Game 41 Preview: Hurricanes at Tampa Bay Lightning

The Carolina Hurricanes were on the winning side of a tough battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night to complete a back-to-back at the Lenovo Center. The Penguins struck twice less than 90 seconds apart in the first 5:08 of the game, getting goals from Kevin Hayes and Michael Bunting to paint the Canes into a tough corner after a one-sided loss to the Wild on Saturday night. The Canes came out in the second period on a mission. Seth Jarvis got the Canes on the board and Jalen Chatfield tied it, both goals assisted by Sebastian Aho, to bring some life to the building. Jarvis notched his second of the night late in the frame to give the Canes their first lead, but Erik Karlsson one-time blast early in the third drew the game back even. With overtime needed to settle this one, Aho stepped up and got it done, depositing Dmitry Orlov's rebound chance past Alex Nedeljkovic to record his third point of the game and his 600th career point. Jarvis added an assist to go with his two goals and Dustin Tokarski earned his third win in four starts with the Canes. 

The Opponent: Tampa Bay Lightning (20-15-2, 42 Points- 4th in the Atlantic Division)
Last Meeting: The Canes and the Bolts began the regular season with a meeting in Raleigh on Opening Night. Jordan Staal scored the first goal of the game late in the first period, but the visiting stars soon took the game over. Brayden Point struck on the power play to tie the game in the second period before Nikita Kucherov completed a natural hat trick in the third period with a pair of empty-netters to help the Lightning begin the season with a 4-1 win. Kucherov had four points, Victor Hedman had three assists, Jake Guentzel had two helpers in his return to Raleigh, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 stops in the win. The two were supposed to meet again the following night but had to be rescheduled due to Hurricane Milton. 

Since We Last Met: Replace Steven Stamkos with Jake Guentzel and you have the same Tampa Bay Lightning team we've seen for several seasons. They are a four-headed monster with two high-level support guys and an all-world goalie that can score and defend. Nikita Kucherov is fifth in scoring (55). Brayden Point is tied for second in goals (23). Guentzel isn't far behind, sitting tied for ninth (21). Victor Hedman continues to produce (29 points). Brandon Hagel (17 goals, 42 points) and Anthony Cirelli (33 points) are providing excellent support. Andrei Vasilevskiy looks like the goalie of Vezina's past. The only difference is that the wins haven't been coming as frequently. They got off to a slow start, by their standards, sitting 12-9-2 entering December before winning eight of ten with a +25 goal differential. However, they've lost four in a row, barely hanging on to their Wild Card spot in the jam-packed Eastern Conference. 

Stories of the Night
1. Tampa Returning from California Winless
This makeup game comes at an incredibly inconvenient time for the Lightning. Instead of having three days between the end of their California trip and Thursday's game against New Jersey, they only get one day to re-acclimate. To top it off, their trip to California yielded zero points in three games, losing in regulation to San Jose, Los Angeles, and Anaheim while scoring a combined three goals. On Tuesday night, the Canes will be facing either a very tired team or a very angry team. If it's the latter, we could be in for a long night. 

2. You Know the Drill: STAY OUT OF THE BOX!!!!!
On paper, it should be the irresistible force (Tampa Bay's power play- 3rd in the league) vs. the immovable object (Carolina's penalty kill- 2nd in the league). However, whenever the Canes play the Bolts, their power play always finds a way to make a difference. They struck twice on Opening Night to turn the game in their favor and have a knack for making life difficult for the Canes. It's likely too much to ask the Canes to not take any penalties because they're inevitable. Being aggressive and being stupid are two different things. If the Canes are stupid, they'll be in for a world of hurt. 

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