"Thunderstruck": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 35: Carolina Hurricanes at Tampa Bay Lightning

Friday night was a good night that quickly turned sour for the Carolina Hurricanes. Their 3-0 lead disappeared, Seth Jarvis was hurt in overtime, and the team lost its winning streak in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Panthers. Without much time to process everything that happened, the Canes were back on the ice to complete their road trip against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are dealing with injury concerns of their own. With both teams needing a soft reset, they turned to their Russian netminders to lead the way on Saturday night. The Canes played without three key players, while the Lightning had a few questions ahead of puck drop. Anything could happen on Saturday night.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (2:42)- Eric Robinson (7) (Jordan Staal (5))

CAR (4:00-PP)- Jackson Blake (10) (Nikolaj Ehlers (16) & Shayne Gostisbehere (23))

CAR (12:27-PP)- Bradly Nadeau (2) (Logan Stankoven (10))

2nd Period

TBL (0:30)- Gage Goncalves (3) (Dominic James (4) & Max Crozier (5))

TBL (1:20)- Brayden Point (6) (Charle-Edouard D'Astous (7) & Nikita Kucherov (30))

TBL (16:36)- Jack Finley (2) (Dominic James (5) & Yanni Gourde (7))

3rd Period

CAR (2:49)- Andrei Svechnikov (8) (Mark Jankowski (4) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (4))

TBL (3:13)- Ryan McDonagh (4) (Pontus Holmberg (6) & Charle-Edouard D'Astous (8))

TBL (6:38)- Jake Guentzel (16) (JJ Moser (9) & Nick Paul (5))

TBL (19:33-EN)- Jake Guentzel (17) (Ryan McDonagh (4))

My Thoughts

Let's get the narrative out of the way first. I'm not panicking after another blown 3-0 lead, and I don't think you should either. It is December 20, 2025. This is the 35th game of the season. There are 47 games remaining, meaning more than half of the season. The Carolina Hurricanes played tonight without their top goal scorer, their top defenseman, and one of their biggest heart-and-soul players in the second half of one of the toughest back-to-backs you can get in the NHL on the road. Sure, you'd like for them to hold at least one of their 3-0 lead, ideally both. Still, they're the top team in the standings for the division and the conference in a year when separation has been nearly impossible. Behind them, there are nine teams within two points of each other. The Hurricanes need to make changes, but they're going to be fine. If it continues to happen, I might get a little more worried. 

The final result is a major bummer because that was one of the Hurricanes' best starts of the season. Within four minutes, they were already up 2-0, thanks to Eric Robinson. He scored the opening goal and drew the penalty that allowed Jackson Blake to score his 10th goal shortly after. The power play got one more later in the frame. Bradly Nadeau, who was called up with Seth Jarvis going on IR, scored his first with the man advantage in the NHL, though he didn't do it from his one-timing position like he has several times with the Chicago Wolves. Add a solid start for Pyotr Kochetkov, and the Canes appeared to be in business. 

That's about when it all collapsed. The Canes took their foot off the gas and didn't start the second period on time. The Bolts capitalized with two goals in the opening 1:20 to make it uncomfortable for the Canes. Another bad turnover at the offensive blue line caught the Hurricanes in a bad line change, giving the Lightning the opportunity they needed to tie it. I liked how Svechnikov responded by scoring the opening goal in the third period, but the Canes failed to protect that lead as well. They allowed a goal 24 seconds later and never recovered. The third period was simply not Hurricanes hockey after Svechnikov's goal. There's not a ton to love about the final 40 minutes. 

No one player should dare shoulder the burden for this loss. It took everyone on the ice to lose this game. Sebastian Aho and Jackson Blake were each -4. Taylor Hall was -3, as was Jalen Chatfield. I've already mentioned Svechnikov's turnover leading to a goal. Aho and Jordan Staal each had rough nights in the dot. Kochetkov had a bad third period. It wasn't just one man. The entire team deserves blame. They need to leave this in the past, go back to the drawing board at practice over the next two days, and find a way to get two points before Christmas.

First Star of the Game: Bradly Nadeau

After missing the team meetings this morning as he traveled to Tampa, Bradly Nadeau was rolling tonight. He was poised with the puck for most of the night. He finished with a team-high four shots and tied the captain with four hits. To top it off, Nadeau scored his first goal on the power play, striking for the second time in the NHL.

Next Up: The Canes welcome the Panthers to the Lenovo Center on Tuesday night, trying to get some revenge before celebrating Christmas. They'll be back on the ice on Saturday night, hosting the Detroit Red Wings before finishing 2025 with a divisional back-to-back against the Penguins and the Rangers.