Black Friday: Carolina Hurricanes suffer embarrassing home loss to Tampa Bay Lightning
The “Big Cat” was back Friday for the Tampa Bay Lightning and part of a big, record-setting victory.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had back surgery in September, played his first game since April as the Lightning ignited late for an 8-2 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena.
The Lightning used three power-play goals in the second period to take the lead, then reeled off five goals in the third against a Canes team helpless to stop the onslaught.
The Lightning did all that damage on 14 shots – total. That’s making ‘em count. All eight goals came against Canes goalie Antti Raanta, who had been unbeatable in the PNC Arena crease in winning a franchise-record 14 consecutive home games.
Vasilevskiy faced 24 shots and Stefan Noesen gave Carolina a 1-0 lead in the first, which Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said was his team’s best of the season. Then came Carolina penalties and Tampa Bay power-play strikes, then the third-period runaway that had Canes fans headed out early into the chilly night.
“I thought we had the game in our hands after the first and played really well,” Canes captain Jordan Staal said. “Then our special teams kind of let us down. Then the third period, we tried to rally and they made a couple of plays and it was in the net. The rest of it was ugly obviously.”
Brayden Point had a hat trick and two assists for the Lightning but Nikita Kucherov, playing as well as anyone in the league, finished with two goals and four assists. Kucherov did not play in the Canes’ win Nov. 11 in Tampa, but was at his deadly best Friday as the Lightning’s top line dominated.
Tampa Bay, scoring five times on seven shots in the torrid third, finished with 57.1% shooting, the highest recorded percentage for one game.
Raanta was pulled from Wednesday’s game against Edmonton after the first period in what Brind’Amour said was a precautionary move. With goalie Frederik Andersen sidelined indefinitely with a blood-clotting issue, Raanta’s abrupt departure was a concern, but he was good to go Friday.
But so was Vasilevskiy, 29, who had surgery for a herniated disc and missed the first 20 games of the season.
“I know he’s eager,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Friday morning of the former Vezina Trophy winner.. “In total Vasilevskiy style, he’s worked his tail off. He’s ready.”
Three takeaways from the Canes’ loss:
An elite power play
Brind’Amour calls the Tampa Bay power play its “ace in the hole” and the Lightning were holding three in the second period.
After what Brind’Amour called a “perfect” first period, Andrei Svechnikov was called for tripping early in the second. It was the first of three Carolina penalties that ended with Tampa Bay ripping shots past Raanta for power-play scores.
After Svecnikov’s penalty, Steven Stamkos hammered a one-timer for a 1-1 tie. Kucherov scored after a trip against Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Point after a high-sticking double minor against Michael Bunting.
“We had a good first period and I took a penalty and it was a tough second period,” Svechnikov said.
The Kotkaniemi penalty was a weird one. Kotkamiemi was trying to get back to the blue line to tag up but fell and went sliding into Tampa Bay’s Anthony Cirelli.
The Canes (11-8-0) had killed off 27 of 30 penalties in their past 11 games but Tampa Bay while the Lightning entered the game second in the league on the power play at 31.3% and improved that. Point added a power-play score in the third as Tampa Bay had a season-best four.
“We beat ourselves,” Brind’Amour said. “You know what they have on the other side. You can’t take those kinds of penalties. That’s what they do — they sit and wait -- and they made us pay.”
Svechnikov still looking
The Canes’ Svechnikov is playing hard. He’s doing good things on the ice even as he looks to finally break through and score his first goal of the season.
But the penalties … No. 37 keeps picking them up and several have been stick infractions and untimely, thwarting the Canes’ momentum.
“I know I’ve got to be careful and I’m going to try to work on it,” Svechnikov said.
On Friday, it was his tripping call early in the second period, his ninth minor penalty in his 11 games. He lost control of the puck, tried to make a play and tripped Luke Glendening in the offensive zone 31 seconds into the period.
Stamkos scored on a wicked one-timer and it was 1-1. The momentum, all Carolina’s in the first, quickly shifted and Carolina soon fell behind 3-1.
Svechnikov assisted on Bunting’s power-play goal later in the period — Svechnikov’s seventh point of the season. And his first goal? Svechnikov now has 22 shots without one.
“I’m not worried about it. My time is going to come,” he said.
Raanta home streak ends
It was a hard way for Raanta’s scintillating run at PNC Arena to come to an end. In addition to the 14 wins in a row at home, he was 4-0-0 with a 1.49 goals-against average this season, his comfort level high.
Raanta also had a franchise-record 18-game point streak at PNC Arena. That’s over, too.
Power-play goals are power-play goals, but Raanta surely was not happy with Tampa Bay’s even-strength scores. The Finn once allowed seven goals against Pittsburgh when playing for the New York Rangers, but also faced 47 shots.
“The first four (scores) were wide-open bombs and a weird bounce on one,” Brind’Amour said. “After the fifth one I maybe should have taken him out but the game was pretty much over at that point.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2023 at 10:50 PM.
