Oct 11, 2024; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) stops the shot try by Carolina Hurricanes proper wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) through the first interval at PNC Enviornment. Necessary Credit score: James Guillory-Imagn Photographs Nikita Kucherov scored a hat trick within the last 9 minutes and the Tampa Bay Lightning posted a 4-1 victory in opposition to the Carolina Hurricanes within the season opener for each groups Friday night time in Raleigh, N.C.
Brayden Level scored the primary Tampa Bay objective, with Kucherov selecting up an help on the objective. Kucherov added two empty-net objectives, together with the final one with 16 seconds left.
The primary two Lightning objectives got here on energy performs.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves for the Lightning, who responded shortly with the Hurricanes utilizing an additional attacker with greater than two minutes to play.
Jordan Staal opened the scoring with a objective for the Hurricanes, who had hassle producing sustained offense for big chunks of the sport. Frederik Andersen stopped 19 photographs in Carolina’s nets.
Kucherov’s goal-ahead objective got here on a blast from the highest of the appropriate circle.
Andersen had stopped Anthony Cirelli’s breakaway previous to the Carolina penalty that led to the facility play.
Staal scored 14:32 into the sport, with Carolina newcomer William Provider notching his first level with an help. Jordan Martinook’s prolonged forechecking for the Hurricanes helped arrange the scoring sequence.
The Lightning held a 9-6 edge on first-period photographs, they usually lastly broke via within the second interval. Level scored on a power-play wrister 2:33 into the interval simply 12 seconds into the extra-man benefit.
That got here on the primary of three second-period penalties known as in opposition to the Hurricanes, who needed to kill off one other penalty within the third.
The sport marked the debut for rookie winger Jackson Blake with the Hurricanes. He was the crew’s solely rookie within the opening-night lineup.
The groups have been supposed to fulfill in a rematch Saturday night time in Tampa, however that sport has been postponed due to ongoing restoration efforts in Florida associated to Hurricane Milton. The house states of each of those groups have been coping with hurricane recoveries in current weeks.
–Area Stage Media