After a great start, the Carolina Hurricanes quickly snowballed out of control when the Tampa Bay Lightning’s top line came to town. Tampa Bay, which scored a total of 14 points on the night in the final two periods, couldn’t miss the net on its attempts, scoring eight goals on just 14 shots and defeating the Canes 8-2.
Carolina (11-8-0), which suffered a crushing loss, did exactly what it wanted, but Tampa Bay (10-6-5) found the back of the net with deadly precision.
“The first period was great,” center Jordan Staal said. “They’ve got an elite power play, they [scored] A few simple steps and you’re behind us. ”
The first period was a perfect example of the type of hockey the Hurricanes want to play. By getting the puck deep on the forecheck and cycling it into the zone, they stifled the Lightning’s high-powered offense, allowing just one shot in the first 20 minutes.
It took almost the entire first period for the first goal to come, and through persistence and hard work, the Canes took the lead. Center Jack Drury won a puck battle behind the goal and passed the puck to right wing Stefan Nosen, who flipped the puck past Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Wasilewski made his first start this season since recovering from hip surgery. Stopping 22 of 24 shots, the goaltender looked like he had no openings and proved to be the wall the Lightning needed to get out of the game.
On the other side of the ice, it was a night to remember for Canes goaltender Antti Raanta. The Finn posted a .429 save percentage, the lowest of any goaltender in NHL history who played the full 60 minutes.
“That never happened.” [the goals] It was his fault,” head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Like I said, I probably should have beaten him after the fifth one. The match was pretty much over at that point.”
The Lightning flipped the script on the game to start the second, scoring three power-play goals in the first six minutes. Once the game started, Tampa’s power play was one of the best in the league, and it showed by scoring four total points.
Right winger Nikita Kucherov collected four of his six points on the night on the power play alone. He proved why he is one of the hottest players in the NHL this year. He currently leads the league in both points and goals to start the season.
“It’s clearly one guy,” Brind’Amour said. “Obviously they have other guys, but obviously that guy. Everybody knows it’s getting there and they’re doing a great job of getting him the puck. Masu.”
After allowing three goals early with one man down, the Canes fought back with a power-play goal courtesy of left winger Michael Bunting. Off a faceoff, a wobbly puck came toward him, where he hit a one-timer that went over Vasilevskiy’s pads.
In the third period, the Lightning scored five goals as Canes players and fans watched in disbelief. Tampa displayed a relentless attack that quickly quieted the NHL’s loudest venue.
As fans made their way to the exits, the Canes’ defense performed a Houdini-esque disappearing act, and Lightning center Brayden Point completed his hat trick with his third goal of the night. While there were some positives, like the Chatfield-Orlov pairing looking like the Hurricanes’ best defense, it was a memorable night with a game on the horizon.
The Hurricanes have Saturday off, but will play at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, Nov. 26, with puck drop at 5 p.m.