Hurricanes fall to Lightning again as Tampa Bay’s Vasilevskiy notches the shutout
The Tampa Bay Lightning played like the defending Stanley Cup champion Wednesday, which was not a good thing for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Tampa Bay scored two goals in the first period. The Lightning had Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, looking the part of a goalie who has been a Vezina Trophy winner in the NHL. Tampa Bay’s defense was sound and physical, limiting Carolina’s chances and forcing Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour to completely reshuffle his lines in the third period.
The end result was a 3-0 victory by the Lightning and a second straight win over the Hurricanes (12-5-1), who now have lost two in a row for the first time this season. For Vasilevskiy, who had 25 saves, it was his first shutout of the season and 22nd of his career.
Asked about the the wholesale line changes, Brind’Amour said the Canes had “zero traction” with the lines and needed an overhaul.
And about that first period. In a repeat of Monday’s 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay at PNC Arena, the Canes meandered through most of the opening period as Ross Colton scored his first NHL goal and Blake Coleman added a power-play goal for Tampa Bay (12-4-1).
Why the two poor first-period starts?
“The Tampa Bay Lightning,” Brind’Amour said.
That was it, the whole answer. Alex Nedeljkovic, who shut out the Lightning 4-0 on Saturday, gave up the two first-period goals Wednesday — the third, by Barclay Goodrow was an empty-netter at the end — and kept the Canes within striking distance with some good stops.
Nedeljkovic denied Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos on a point-blank shot and Yanni Gourde on a shorthanded attempt during the game. He finished with 25 saves and was sharp enough.
“He kept us in there,” Brind’Amour said.
But Vasilevskiy was better and at his best in the third, when the Canes had 16 scoring chances, according to the Natural Stat Trick analytics site.
“I think our starts are what’s been killing us the last couple of games,” Canes captain Jordan Staal said. “It’s hard to come back in this league, especially against one of the best. We did get some chances toward the end of the second and the third and created some plays, but it’s too little, too late sometimes. We need a better start.”
Staal said the Canes worked hard in the game but added, “The other part is being mentally ready and being aware of the plays they have and the players they have and what their tendencies are, and I think we slipped on that at the start. They made us pay like good teams do.”
A blown defensive assignment allowed Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman, who never seems to tire, to skate through the zone with the puck, around the net and find Colton open in front of the crease for his goal. On the power play, Gourde’s pass in transition found Coleman unmarked in the slot.
“The whole package has to be there from everybody if we want to be the best,” Staal said.
Brind’Amour in the third took Andrei Svechnikov off Sebastian Aho’s line and moved Martin Necas and Jordan Martinook to the line. Vincent Trocheck centered Svechnikov and Jesper Fast, and Staal had Nino Niederreiter and Brock McGinn on the wings.
But Vasilevskiy stopped everything. He made a timely pad save on Warren Foegele midway through the third and stopped Foegele again minutes later. The Lightning, Brind’Amour said, “sat back” defensively in the third, content to clear the zone and put sticks on sticks anywhere near the net.
The Canes and Lightning go at it again Thursday to complete their string of four consecutive games.
“No excuses to be made for why we can’t play the full 60 minutes,” Canes defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “It’s just a matter of doing it. You’ve got to dig in harder.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 5:02 PM.
