The Carolina Hurricanes (37-15-6) defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning (38-15-4) 5-4 on Thursday night at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The loss came in the second game of a back-to-back for Tampa Bay, who had won their previous six coming into Thursday night.
The Hurricanes got off to a hot start, building a 3-0 lead over the Lightning in the first 6:41 of the first period. The Lightning answered with goals from Brandon Hagel, Nikita Kucherov and Dominic James to tie the game 3-3 early in the second period.
After the Hurricanes took a 4-3 lead midway through the second, Brayden Point scored on the power play to make it 4-4, which would be the score going into the second intermission. Sebastian Aho scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal on the power play midway through the third period to give Carolina a 5-4 win.
The Lightning now return home and will host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night. Puck drop between the Lightning and Sabres is scheduled for 7:00 PM on Saturday night at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa.
COVER PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES