The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 on Tuesday night. The Bolts continue their pursuit of home ice advantage in round one, now sitting five points away from Toronto. The Canes, on the other hand, lose vital points in their chase for the Metropolitan division title. They now only hold a three point advantage over New Jersey.
Game Recap
The first period saw little significant action, with no events being recorded on the scoresheet. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Pyotr Kochetkov both saw eight shots in the first period, saving each one.
In the middle frame the action got rolling. 3:45 in, Tampa Bay received their first power play. Although unsuccessful, shortly following the expiration of the penalty, Steven Stamkos scored. Sliding the puck in from close up, Tampa Bay took the 1-0 lead. Following the goal, Carolina got a chance to tie it up with a power play, but they too failed to find success. With nearly five minutes remaining in the period, Brayden Point provided goal number two. At the end of the period, Sebastian Aho was tripped up and ran into Vasilevskiy. Aho received a penalty, while Cirelli got a double minor for his act of retaliation.
Heading into the third, Carolina faced a two goal deficit. They dominated the third period, but Vasilevskiy shut them down with his stellar performance. In addition, the Lightning continued capitalizing on their chances. Brayden Point found himself on a rush thanks to a nice passing play. The dominant forward did not let the chance go to waste, sniping the puck top corner. Down three, desiring a large comeback, Rob Brind’Amour pulled Kochetkov very early. This attempt was unsuccessful for Carolina, as Killorn scored the fourth goal, an empty netter. As the final horn sounded, Tampa Bay came away with the 4-0 win after a complete team performance.
FL Teams Star of the Game
Vasilevskiy once again proved why he is one of the best goalies in the NHL, stopping all 31 shots. The Big Cat’s performance earned him his third shutout on the season.
Up Next
Tampa Bay returns home for a two game stretch on Thursday night. A date with the Washington Capitals calls for a 7:00 PM EST puck drop at Amalie Arena.