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| Carolina Hurricanes vs. Tampa Bay Lightning - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC |
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Game Notes:
The Carolina Hurricanes host division rival the Tampa Bay Lightning at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. on Saturday.
This will be a battle for first place in the NHL's Southeast Division as both teams sit atop the standings with 17 points each.
The Lightning won the first of the two teams' five meetings this season - a 4-1 decision at PNC Arena last month.
This will be a good one.
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First Period:
- Puck makes it back to the Hurricanes zone and they begin to break it out as Ryan Murphy carries it up
- Jay Harrison gets a shot on net early and the faceoff will take place to Tampa goaltender Mathieu Garon's right
- Murphy starts a rush from his zone, through the neutral zone and gains the Tampa Bay blue line and passes to low slot to Semin who takes as shot that Garon saves - great play by the rookie
- Great pace to this game by both teams and the Lightning applies some heavy pressure early on and goalie Dan Ellis makes a big save - still scoreless with 15:13 to play
- Eric Staal comes down the left wing and forces Garon to make a pad save
- Marc-Andre Bergeron scores on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that beats Ellis over his glove hand at 10:54 into the period - Tampa Bay leads 1-0
- Semin takes a penalty for high sticking and the Lightning get their first PP opportunity of the game
- Hurricanes are currently tied for 26th on the PK - so they have to work hard on this one - even as their record at home is better at tenth place in the NHL
- Hurricanes kill off the penalty successfully
- The work line is out there with Jeremy Welsh centering Kevin Westgarth and Chad LaRose - Welsh gets a solid hit in on the shift - still 1-0 in favor of the Lightning with 4:32 to play
- Carolina manages o threaten with a few shots on goal - Semin wires one over the net and over the glass - an effortless release
- Hurricanes other work line - this time Jussi Jokinen, Riley Nash and Drayson Bowman get some reps in the Tampa Bay zone - a good shift as the other grinders come out and keep the Lightning in their zone
- The period ends with no tangible shot attempts for either team
Second Period:
- After the first two minutes of play, both teams have picked up the pace and keep both goalies busy as Carolina has put two shots on net while Tampa Bay tested Ellis once so far
- Impressive that every time that the line of Westgarth-Welsh-LaRose is on the ice they can get the puck into the Tampa Bay zone
- Staal rattles a shot of Garon's mask from the slot - a good save by using your head
- Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis falls but recovers behind the Hurricanes net - he recovers and tries to wrap the puck past Ellis - the keeper makes the save
- Semin takes a puck to the face after Sami Salo tries to clear the puck after Garon makes a save on Staal on the PP
- After two separate rushes, the Hurricanes can't gain control of the puck in the Lightning zone and the PP opportunity ends with no scoring - Tampa Bay still leading 1-0 with 11:42 to play
- Hurricanes get one of their best opportunities to tie the game as Jokinen is open in front and one-times a pass made from Joe Corvo behind the net towards Garon who makes the save
- Hurricanes outshooting the Lightning so far in the game 20-14 - Garon is keeping his team in the lead
- Murphy gets the draw back to him from Eric Staal and he takes a shot on Garon and the goalie makes the save
- Off the next draw, Murphy takes a shot that is blocked and play goes the other way
- Ellis makes a glove save on a shot from the point
- Semin picks up the puck on the next possession and gains the zone and manages two shots on two different attempts
- Semin-Nash-Bowman on the ice together now as coach Kirk Muller tries to mix lines
- Garon continues to frustrate the Hurricanes after Murphy cycles the puck down along the boards to Semin and then to Staal who's on the edge of the crease to tip the puck into the keeper's glove
- Tampa Bay Lighting with a pressurized possession in the Carolina zone but Ellis makes a save on puck slide across his crease from Steven Stamkos
- As Corvo clears the puck, it travels over the glass and he is penalized and will put the Lightning on the PP with just over two minutes left to play - Lightning still leading 1-0
- Solid defensive stand on the penalty kill for the Hurricanes as Tampa Bay couldn't work the puck in close on many opportunities - good solid work by Faulk and Murphy in front of the net and in the corners
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Third Period
- The beginning of this period has been all Lightning and it pays off as Benoit Pouliot is sitting on the crease left of Ellis, wide open, as Vincent LeCavalier slides the puck across to him and he puts the puck in the net to extend the Tampa Bay lead to 2-0 just 2:11 into the period
- The Hurricanes finally beat Garon on their ensuing offensive possession
- LaRose and Nash work the puck out of the corner to Garon's right and Nash passes it to a wide-open Bowman in the high slot
- Bowman wires a slap shot that beats the Lightning goalie high for his first goal of the season
- As the Lightning gain the zone, Richard Panik snaps a shot from the faceoff dot to Ellis' left and the keeper makes the save
- Panik follows up on his rebound, chips the puck over and across the crease to the other side and he wheels around the net to get it
- Once he gets there, Panik backhands the puck into the open net as Ellis can't recover to realize where the puck bounced to - 3-1 lead for Tampa Bay with 12:23 to play
- Tampa Bay adds another goal just 18 seconds later as Tom Pyatt jams the puck past Ellis on a feed from Alexander Killorn who worked the puck behind the net from Stamkos in the corner
- With just over seven minutes to play, the Hurricanes get a power play opportunity but haven't got a shot on Garon - still trailing 4-1 now
- Tampa Bay successfully kills off the penalty and many fans are starting to leave with 5:19 to play - Lightning currently outshooting the Hurricanes 37-27
- Hurricanes get another power play opportunity and Murphy gets the green light to put some shots on net but to no avail
- A penalty to Semin nullifies the man-advantage and Tampa Bay goes back to work in keeping the Hurricanes defense busy
- On a scramble in the slot Bobby Sanguinetti picks the puck up and starts the rush up the ice and through the neutral zone
- As he breaks into the Tampa Bay zone, Sanguinetti shoots the puck which Garon saves but leaves a big rebound for LaRose to deposit into the empty net - lead now is 4-2 in Tamp Bay's favor with 3:39 to play
- Tampa Bay seals the deal on this one as Stamkos scores on tip-in past Ellis
- Salo initiated the play from the neutral zone and banked it off the right boards where Cory Conacher picked it up to carry it into the Carolina zone and across to Stamkos
- Carolina trying to convert on possessions right until the end of the game but can't get any more pucks past Garon
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