Sebastian Aho is back, but the Lightning defeat the Hurricanes 3-0, marking their third consecutive loss.
On Tuesday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 with 32 saves by Jonas Johansson and a goal and assist from Brayden Point.
Alex Barré-Boulet and Nicholas Paul scored the remaining goals for Tampa Bay.
Pyotr Kochetkov made 20 saves for the Hurricanes, who have lost three consecutive games and finished a six-game road trip with a record of 2-4.
Johansson is currently substituting for Andrei Vasilevskiy, who underwent a back surgery in the previous month and is anticipated to return in late November or early December. During the third period, Johansson impressively blocked Martin Necas’ shot, earning him his first shutout of the season and second overall.
Point, who scored 51 goals in the previous season, ended a six-game goalless streak at the start of this season by redirecting a shot from Victor Hedman during a power play with only 54 seconds left in the first period.
At 17:51 of the second period, Barré-Boulet scored a redirection goal to make it 2-0. Point earned his eighth assist on the play. Paul scored a goal with approximately three minutes remaining in the third period.
The end of the game was intense, with a few altercations and a brawl in the last three minutes after Paul scored a goal.
Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho, who was sidelined for three games due to an upper body injury, has returned to the center position.
QUOTABLE
When questioned about the inconsistency of defensive chemistry from season to season, Lightning coach Jon Cooper expressed his lack of surprise.
To be frank, there is a player who is no longer on our team. He expressed that he requires a full review of the system every year when coming into camp because he forgets it completely by the end of summer. This shows what the players need and I believe he speaks for many others.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Hurricanes: G Frederik Andersen, who took a shot off the mask a week ago and missed two games, was the backup. … RW Andrei Svechnikov (knee) took part in the morning skate but didn’t play. … D Brett Pesce (lower body) didn’t make the trip.
UP NEXT
The Hurricanes will be returning home on Thursday night to play against Seattle.
The San Jose team will be hosting a game on Thursday evening.
Source: wralsportsfan.com