Ondrej Palat scored the tiebreaking goal nearly midway through the third period as the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Monday in Raleigh, N.C.
With the game tied at 2, Palat put forth some hard work around Hurricanes goalie James Reimer that ended with the top-line left winger sliding in his seventh goal at 8:04 for the Lightning’s second lead.
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Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman each notched a goal and an assist and Alex Killorn had an empty-netter for the Lightning, who broke a two-game losing streak in beating Carolina for the first time in three tries (1-1-1).
Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded 34 saves on 36 shots to move to 10-3-1. Rookie Alex Barre-Boulet made his NHL debut centering the fourth line, skated on the second power-play unit and logged 12:11 of ice time.
Carolina’s Jesper Fast netted goals at even strength and on the power play, and James Reimer stopped 28 of 31 shots.
After being blanked by backup goalie Alex Nedeljkovic on Saturday, Tampa Bay put up 11 of the first 12 shots on goal behind a pair of power plays in the opening half of the first period but couldn’t score.
Carolina cashed in at the end of its first man advantage after Stamkos’ slashing penalty. Martin Necas’ long shot struck Fast, but he was able to control the rebound and whip in a shot at 13:27 for a 1-0 lead.
Related: If you’re a fan of the Hurricanes, check out #LetsGoCanes rumors, rankings, and news here.
A member of the New York Rangers for seven seasons and a free-agent signing by the Hurricanes on Oct. 10, Fast recorded his first goal for the club.
Stamkos broke the Lightning’s lengthy scoreless streak by drilling a one-timer for his ninth tally on their third power play at 2:26 of the second.
The marker was the visitors’ first against Carolina since Jan. 5, 2020, when Point scored in a 3-1 win — a stretch of 178 minutes, 19 seconds. The Hurricanes won the previous two meetings this season by shutouts.
Hedman potted his fourth goal nearly five minutes later to give the Lightning their first lead against Carolina, but Fast’s chip-in on a rebound while on the man advantage knotted it at 2 with 45 seconds remaining.
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Vasilevskiy made a pair of big stops late and shut it down after the Hurricanes pulled Reimer for the extra attacker in the last two minutes, and Killorn scored at 19:20 to seal it.
–Field Level Media