After Saturday’s poor showing against Boston, the Lightning wanted to bring a high work ethic into this contest versus Carolina. They brought that high compete in the first period and outplayed the Hurricanes during the opening frame. But they failed to cash in on their numerous scoring chances and ended up trailing by a goal after 20 minutes. In the second period, their game unraveled. The Hurricanes grabbed momentum and tacked on two more goals. Although the Lightning broke their scoreless streak (which had reached five periods) with a Gage Goncalves tally early in the third, they yielded a fourth goal less than two minutes later. They now have dropped two straight games for the first time since late January.
In the first period, the Lightning played a fast, hungry game. They had a shooting mentality as well, registering 30 shot attempts in the frame. They came away empty, however. Pyotr Kochetkov was sharp in making 10 saves. But on some of their best chances, they missed the net (they had 13 attempts miss in the period). The lone goal came off a rush chance for Seth Jarvis. Just as a Lightning power play was expiring, Jarvis accepted a pass from Sebastian Aho and roofed a shot from the left circle just under the crossbar on Andrei Vasilevskiy’s glove side.
It was a frustrating period for the Lightning because they played well enough to be tied, if not ahead. In the second period, momentum shifted. It started with a Lightning penalty kill at 8:23. Although Tampa Bay killed it off, the Hurricanes continued to apply pressure after the infraction ended. The Lightning had turnover problems that fed Carolina’s attack, and the ‘Canes produced multiple odd-man rush chances. Vasilevskiy stopped them all, but then he allowed a goal to Jordan Martinook on a shot that squeezed past him on the short side at 12:56. The Hurricanes controlled play for the rest of the period and recorded a third goal in the final minute. Off another odd-man rush, Taylor Hall set up Jack Roslovic for a one-timer into an open side of the net.
The Lightning dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen for this game. They played the third period without Nikita Kucherov, so they were down to 10 forwards. Goncalves scored off the rush at 4:38, cutting the deficit to two. But after an icing infraction on the Lightning, Jordan Staal won an offensive-zone faceoff. Sean Walker stepped to the right circle and zipped a shot past a screened Vasilevskiy at 6:26. The Lightning failed to generate sustained pressure the rest of the way. Having to kill three additional penalties — including a lengthy five-on-three — didn’t help their prospects for a comeback.
Over the last three games, the Lightning have allowed 13 goals. They’ll look to tighten things back up when the trip continues Thursday in Philadelphia.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Pyotr Kochetkov — Hurricanes. 23 saves.
- Seth Jarvis — Hurricanes. SHG.
- Sean Walker — Hurricanes. Goal.
