The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 on Thursday night. Tampa Bay goalie Curtis McElhinney was in net as Andrei Vasilevskiy got the rest. The 37 year-old had 31 saves on 32 shots faced, redeeming himself after a poor performance more than a week ago. Although the Lightning were outplayed, they were able to come away with the win.
“(McElhinney) was unbelievable,” said defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who scored the tying goal in the second period. It was Sergachev’s first goal of the season.
Milestone Watch
Curtis McElhinney collected his 92nd career win en route to 100 career wins. Meanwhile, Brayden Point and Sebastian Aho each collected their 280th points, on their way to 300 career points. Finally, Victor Hedman collected his 492nd point and 383rd assist. Hedman is now 8 points away from 500 career points, and 17 assists away from 400 career assists.
Statline
Carolina Hurricanes:
Sebastian Aho, 1 assist
Brett Pesce, 1 goal
Jesper Fast, 1 assist
James Reimer, 19 saves, .905 SV%
Tampa Bay Lightning:
Barclay Goodrow, 1 goal
Brayden Point, 1 assist
Yanni Gourde, 1 goal
Victor Hedman, 1 assist
Mikhail Sergachev, 1 goal
Curtis McElhinney, 31 saves, .969 SV%
“It’s deflating, no question. We were the better team tonight,” Hurricanes HC Rod Brind’Amour said. “A lot of grade-As, and we didn’t give up much. I was really, really happy. Unfortunately, that’s hockey. You get some bad bounces, and a couple things don’t go your way.”
Up Next
Tampa Bay’s next game will be on Saturday, February 27th, versus the Dallas Stars at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay. The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams, and the first meeting since the Stanley Cup. The Dallas Stars currently sit outside of the playoffs with 16 points in 15 games (6-5-4). Meanwhile, the Lightning are 2nd in the Central Division with 27 points in 18 games (13-4-1).