"Back in Session": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 58: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

To quote Foreigner, "it feels like the first time," because it has been a few minutes since we saw the Carolina Hurricanes on our screens and on the ice as a collective. I'm fully prepared for the product on the ice to be incredibly rusty, especially with most of the roster not seeing game action for 21 days. Three newly-medaled Olympians returned to the Hurricanes after two weeks in Milan, looking to continue their hot streaks, while the rest of the team tried to get back into game mode. With only 25 games left in the season, we're in top gear to push for the postseason. Tampa Bay is both a good and a bad team to come back from the break against. On one hand, the Bolts are a playoff team, and this will be a good measuring stick game. However, they are also 20-1-1 in their last 22 games, making them one of the hottest teams in the league. If the Canes aren't ready, this one could quickly get out of hand.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (1:43)- Nikolaj Ehlers (15) (K'Andre Miller (20) & Jordan Martinook (12))

CAR (2:56)- Logan Stankoven (11) (Taylor Hall (16) & Jalen Chatfield (13))

CAR (6:41)- Taylor Hall (13) (Jackson Blake (18) & Logan Stankoven (16))

TBL (16:30)- Brandon Hagel (28) (Scott Sabourin (3) & Jake Guentzel (35))

TBL (17:05)- Nikita Kucherov (31) (Brayden Point (21) & JJ Moser (15))

2nd Period

TBL (1:58)- Dominic James (6) (Jake Guentzel (36) & Ryan McDonagh (7))

CAR (7:21)- Seth Jarvis (26) (Andrei Svechnikov (29))

TBL (14:02-PP)- Brayden Point (14) (Jake Guentzel (37) & Darren Raddysh (36))

3rd Period

CAR (7:17-PP)- Sebastian Aho (21) (Seth Jarvis (19) & Andrei Svechnikov (30))

My Thoughts

I couldn't help but feel a little bad for Jonas Johansson when the game started, and the Hurricanes got off to a quick start. On the first shot of the game, Nikolaj Ehlers scored. On the second shot of the game, Logan Stankoven scored. Before they played seven minutes, Taylor Hall added a third goal. It felt like the train was running away. However, the Bolts caught their balance and started to climb back. This is when I started to feel bad for Brandon Bussi. Tampa got a bounce off the referee to score its first goal before Nikita Kucherov showcased his world-class patience and shot on a top-shelf snipe 35 seconds later. Then, I got a little mad at Bussi for allowing the third goal. In under 22 minutes, both goalies had allowed three goals. The scoring slowed down for the rest of the night, with only three more goals between the offenses. It just wasn't a fun night to be a goalie, which usually means it was a great night for the fans who like to see a lot of offense.

If you think back to the first time these teams met in Tampa, the game went as follows: 

3-0 Carolina 

3-3 

4-3 Carolina 

6-4 Tampa Bay

Tonight, we almost saw the exact same script. The Canes jumped out to their big 3-0 lead, but the Bolts didn't wait until the second period to get rolling, scoring twice in the first and early in the second. Carolina responded with a Seth Jarvis goal before the halfway point, but the Lightning got it back on the power play to tie it before the end of the second. If this game were truly like that game in December, the Lightning would've scored two more goals. Instead, the Canes earned the tiebreaker in the third, and they held on for dear life from there. I would like to think that the script writers are so spiteful as to give us the same game twice, though this slight deviation from the original plot was more than welcome. 

The Hurricanes won this game in the third period with their special teams. They allowed a PPG to Tampa and failed to score on the power play in the second, so this was a nice redemption arc over the final 20 minutes. The period began with the Canes needing to kill a Jackson Blake holding penalty, which they barely achieved, but achieved it they did. Then, after K'Andre Miller drew a trip, the Canes found paydirt. Sebastian Aho didn't unleash the cleanest shot, but it got enough of it to flutter over Johansson's shoulder. Kudos to Jordan Staal for setting the screen in front of the net, preventing the Bolts' netminder from seeing the shot. It was a big moment for the power play, and it proved to be the ultimate difference in the win.

Call it what you want, so long as you call it two points and a win. It was far from the cleanest victory, but that's about what we expected it to be against a very good Tampa team. Everyone got the ball rolling in the right direction to start the game, withstood the response, and found a way to hold on at the very end. Four players had multi-point games, with a goal and an assist each for Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall, and Seth Jarvis, along with two helpers for Andrei Svechnikov. Nikolaj Ehlers and Sebastian Aho returned from Milan with goals. K'Andre Miller had a great third period to pair with his assist to Ehlers. Alexander Nikishin continued to showcase his underrated defensive game, blocking four shots. Jackson Blake set a new personal best with his 18th helper and tied his point total from a year ago (34). Bussi finished the night with 24 stops to earn his 24th win. All of it combined meant another Hurricanes win, making them the third team to hit 80 points this season.

First Star of the Game: Logan Stankoven

The Hurricanes don't win this game without their incredible start. The Stankoven line was in the middle of it, scoring two of the three goals. Logan Stankoven, on his 23rd birthday, started his stretch run off beautifully. The give-and-go with Taylor Hall on his goal was simply magical, and he earned the secondary helper on Hall's goal from Jackson Blake. Their production ended here tonight, though it was still a very good sign for the team. While I still think they need to sure up the second-line center spot, Stankoven playing like this will alleviate some doubts.

Around the League

As we come out of the Olympic break, it's time to start watching the scoreboard. Entering the night, the Hurricanes owned an eight-point advantage over the Pittsburgh Penguins for the top spot in the division. Beginning tonight, we'll start looking at the teams fighting to unseat the Canes in the Metro before we start concerning ourselves with who they could play in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh: Using a three-goal third period, the Penguins showed no signs of slowing down without Sidney Crosby, continuing the Devils' rough season with a 4-1 win at home.

New York (I): Despite the best efforts of former Islander Noah Dobson (2 goals), Matthew Schaefer scored twice, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau was the hero in OT in a 4-3 win in Montreal.

Washington: The only team in the division not in action tonight, the Capitals returned from the break on Wednesday night with a 3-1 win over the Flyers.

Columbus: The Capitals got a little breathing room with some help from the Bruins, who snapped the Blue Jackets' seven-game winning streak by handing them a 4-2 loss in Beantown.

Current Standings

Carolina: 80 Points (58 GP)

Pittsburgh: 72 points (57 GP)

New York (I): 71 points (59 GP)

Washington: 67 points (60 GP)

Columbus: 65 points (57 GP)

Next Up: The Canes finish February with their final meeting of the season with the Detroit Red Wings at the Lenovo Center on Saturday night. For March, they begin their road-heavy schedule with a trip to the Northwest. They'll be in Seattle on Tuesday night to get it started before three straight games in Canada, visiting Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary.