Ethan Rimolt
(Left to right) Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns, center Martin Necas and center Seth Jarvis celebrate a goal during the 2023 NHL Stadium Series game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals in Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023. The Hurricanes beat the Capitals 4-1.
The Carolina Hurricanes displayed their talent in a 6-0 win on Sunday, March 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Raleigh, NC. Six different players recorded points, while Carolina netminder Frederik Andersen tallied his first shutout of the season.
The Canes’ (41-12-8) win comes after a dramatic victory against the Arizona Coyotes, while Tampa (37-21-5) extended its losing streak to five games. It was “Kid’s Day” at PNC Arena, and the players put on a show for all in attendance.
After puck drop, momentum stuck with the Canes as they took a quick lead and kept it throughout the game. Tampa gained a quick power play, but was unable to execute, and right wing Andrei Svechnikov opened up scoring seven minutes into the period with an unassisted shot — his 22nd goal of the year.
When the Canes got a power play in the first period, the first of five total, right wing Teuvo Teravainen scored his first goal of the day to earn a quick 2-0 lead for the Canes.
The second period was by far the most physical of the day, with Tampa defenseman Victor Hedman going down on the ice two minutes after puck drop. He would leave the ice, but eventually returned later in the period. Hedman wasn’t the only Lightning player to hit the ice, with teammate right wing Nikita Kucherov taking a puck to the face and also leaving the ice for a short time.
Unfortunately for Tampa, these setbacks didn’t help when it came to stopping Carolina’s buzzing offense. Teravainen scored a tic-tac-toe goal, his second goal of the game, to make the lead 3-0. A few minutes later, recently-acquired defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere scored his second goal in a Canes uniform to end the period with a score of 4-0.
The third frame started off on a power play for Tampa, but once again the Canes were able to kill that off quickly. With this being said, the Canes have stopped 18 consecutive power plays and have not allowed any goals against them in those time periods.
Tampa challenged Andersen during the third frame, but he made a great save on a 2-on-1 breakaway attempt to keep the score at zero for the Lightning. It was on Carolina’s another power play where Teravainen scored his third goal of the game, completing the hat trick.
Tensions kept flaring on the ice, especially after taking a 5-0 lead, and the gloves went flying between Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce and Kucherov. The penalty on Kucherov after this fight would result in the final goal of the game, scored by center Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
The Canes will travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens on Tuesday, March 7 at 7 p.m.