Penalties follow Lightning back in loss to Carolina

RALEIGH, NC – Everywhere they go, lightning strikes the Bull’s eyes.

During the ups and downs of the last two weeks, the Blitzers themselves have said that they will get their opponents the best players on each round. Teams want to put a dent in the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.

Tuesday night at the PNC Arena against a Carolina team that is an improved version of the club they eliminated last postseason, the Lightning had their roster for their playoff run. With a healthy lineup, and two key additions to the trade deadline, this is when fans should see the lightning round in the postseason form.

But after a 3-2 loss – Lightning’s fifth in their last seven games – frustration began to show. Penalties further hurt them as Carolina scored two power-play goals on a penalty kill unit in the transition.

“We gave them some goals and then they got momentum from that,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “We’re probably gone from the game plan. We started taking Puck back where you really can not do that against these guys, and we paid for it.

The night ended with the teams hitting each other after the last buzzer, Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov strolled around in search of a fixture he would not find. Minutes before, Kucherov hit a pot that would have put the lightning back into play. In the third period, he took two penalties – one that negated a power play in Tampa Bay and another an interference call that raised the temperature for both teams and made Kucherov boil.

Lightning (39-17-6) have scored two goals or less in five of their last six games, losing four of those contests. In the middle of a streak of 11 games in 11 cities, they go into Boston on Thursday night in search of a win over a team that qualifies for the playoffs in May. Their last quality win was Feb. 23 at home over Edmonton.

They knew what to expect from Carolina, a team they played eight times as a division enemy last season. They knew they were in business for a game with low scores, closely reviewed. And the Lightning played well in the first period before falling flat in a second where the Hurricanes beat them 20-9.

“They are obviously a very good team and they have had a lot of success,” said captain Steven Stamkos, who hit the crossbar in the first two minutes of the game. “Offensively lately we just have not generated much or if we have it, it just does not go online. Some posts, some decent chances where it is usually online. Sometimes the clothes can change quite quickly when something is good. happened.

New Lightning striker Nick Paul, who bought on Sunday in a trade that sent Mathieu Joseph to Ottawa, shot in his Tampa Bay debut on a great game with striker Ross Colton. But he also dropped out of position and played F1 spot on the penalty shootout on Carolina’s two power-play goals.

“I did not have a good PK today,” Paul said. “I will own it. I have to be much better. I have to go back and watch the clips. Two PK goals on me there is not acceptable. … It is not too much different (than playing the PK in Ottawa) , but that split second (is important).

With 2-1 behind, Lightning opened the final period in powerplay for the first 1:48, but Kucherov’s penalty 61 seconds negated it. Instead of taking advantage of an early man advantage, Carolina took the lead on Sebastian Aho’s goal 8:08.

Alex Killorn made a superb strike after 40 minutes with a shot straight in front of the goal after a long ball through the middle, but one of the visitors’ defenders got a foot in at the last second and warded it off for a corner. they won.

But with 26 seconds left in Lightning in search of more extra attacking magic, Kucherov collided with Aho as Carolina won a defensive zone and tried to push the puck onto ice. Kucherov smoked over the call, arguing with officials before going to the box, then went to Aho after the last buzzer, creating a long standoff before Lightning disappeared into the tunnel.

Lightning will face the hurricanes that tied Florida for the most points (90) in the Eastern Conference with the win, again next Tuesday at the Amalie Arena, and could face them in the postseason.

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