2025-26 Regular Season, Game 58 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Last Game: It has been a full three weeks since the Carolina Hurricanes took the ice at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. The Rangers were playing their first game after trading Artemi Panarin, and they were already without Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox. Completing their season series, the Canes got on the board early on a snipe from Andrei Svechnikov. As he came off the bench, Svechnikov worked around Matt Rempe and put it past Jonathan Quick to break the ice. Quick was excellent that night, but Brandon Bussi was perfect. Quick was under attack for the majority of the night, finishing the night with 41 stops. Quick did all he could to keep the Rangers in the game. Bussi, when tested, wasn't letting anything through. He had a close call with a shot off the post on the power play, but nothing else felt that close as he completed a 16-save shutout. Jordan Staal scored into the empty net with Quick on the bench, cementing a 2-0 win for the Canes to slide their point streak to ten games.

Injury Report

Eric Robinson: He is back to being a full participant at practice after the Olympic break, so he'll likely be good to go for tonight's contest.

The Opponent: Tampa Bay Lightning (38-14-4, 80 Points; 1st in the Atlantic Division)

Last Meeting: The Hurricanes visited Tampa Bay in mid-December to complete a back-to-back against the Florida teams. They got off to an incredible start, scoring twice in the first four minutes on goals by Eric Robinson and Jackson Blake (PP). Bradly Nadeau added his second career goal on the power play late in the frame to put the group up 3-0 before the end of the first. The Bolts stormed back in the second, scoring twice in the opening 80 seconds and tying it with under four minutes to play in the frame. Andrei Svechnikov put the group back ahead early in the third, but Ryan McDonagh responded 24 seconds later to tie it at four. Jake Guentzel scored the go-ahead goal over three minutes later and added one more into the empty net, handing the Canes consecutive losses after leading by multiple goals. 

Since We Last Met: There's a very good reason that the Tampa Bay Lightning are one of the best teams in the league. In fact, there are about 100 reasons. They don't make many mistakes, and they force their opponents to make a million. The Bolts went 19-1-1 in their 21 games before the break, scoring 92 goals. They have an offense that doesn't stop scoring. Nikita Kucherov is right in the thick of the Art Ross race, contributing to just under half of his team's goals this season. Their Top 6 is among the best in hockey, and Darren Raddysh is turning into a force on the back end. They have one of the premier goalies in the league, Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has the lowest GAA and the most wins in the league. Tampa is getting a big boost to its lineup with the return of Brayden Point after he missed the final few games before the break and the Winter Olympics. They're still without Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul, neither of whom will play tonight. The Bolts will also be without Jon Cooper after his father's passing. Tonight marks the second half of a back-to-back after beating Toronto on Wednesday. Vasilevskiy was in the net for that game, so Jonas Johansson will take the net in Raleigh.

Stories to Watch

1. Welcome Back, Olympians!

All five of the Hurricanes' Olympians have returned to the team this week, and all five should be healthy enough to dress for tonight's contest. The same should be the case for Tampa Bay's eight. Most of the Canes' quintet were teammates with a member of the Lightning in Milan (Jarvis w/ Hagel, Ehlers & Andersen w/ Bjorkstrand, Slavin w/ Guentzel), but the NHL is back, so there are no more friends here. Honestly, I'm less concerned about the Canes that spent their breaks playing and more interested in how everyone else will look. There is almost certain to be some rust. The Bolts have a slight edge in that they'll have a game under their belts. Still, it should be a fun one to watch.

2. Is the momentum still there?

The break came at both the best and the worst possible time for the Hurricanes. They enter play tonight with points in ten straight contests, trying to add a little separation from themselves and the rest of the pack in the Metropolitan Division. The same goes for some of the players who didn't participate in the Olympics, like Jordan Staal and Andrei Svechnikov. I hope we see them at their best tonight in a game against a formidable foe in the Eastern Conference.