By WRAL Staff

Tampa Bay Lightning	1
Carolina Hurricanes	1
ESPN+ | 2nd – 14:41

Raleigh, N.C. —

Second period: Canes and Lightning tied 1-1

16:38 remaining: Brayden Point sends a wrist shot into the net off an assist from Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman.

First period: Canes lead 1-0

14:32 remaining: Jordan Staal scored in the first period on a snap shot on an assist from William Carrier.

Game preview: Lightning @ Canes

The new-look Carolina Hurricanes start the 2024-25 regular season at home Friday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Friday at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh. The game airs on ESPN+, Hulu and SNP.

Friday marks the first time the Canes play a regular-season game at the newly named Lenovo Center, which was previously known as PNC Arena.

Carolina is vying for its seventh consecutive playoff appearance this season under head coach Rod Brind’Amour. The team has not made it past the Eastern Conference Finals during that span.

In the offseason, the Hurricanes reached a new deal with Brind’Amour and are positioned to be a top Metropolitan Division contender. Key players like forwards Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov as well as defenseman Jaccob Slavin return.

Carolina has retooled its roster with additions like forwards William Carrier and Jack Roslovic.

Tampa Bay is vying for its eighth straight playoff appearance this season. The Lightning added free agent Guentzel in the off-season. Carolina traded for Guentzel during last season in hopes of boosting its playoff chances. The Hurricanes lost in the second round to the New York Rangers.

Carolina had a 52-23-7 record overall and a 31-11-5 record at home last season. The Hurricanes averaged 3.0 power-play chances per game last season, and converted on 26.9% (67 total power-play goals).

Tampa Bay had a 45-29-8 record overall and a 20-20-4 record on the road last season. The Lightning scored 288 goals while allowing 267 last season for a +21 goal differential.

Saturday night’s game Canes-Lightning game in Tampa postponed

The Canes and Lightning were scheduled to play again Saturday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. However, the Lightning announced that the game is postponed due to damage from Hurricane Milton. A new date for the game is expected to be announced at a later time.

On Monday night, the Lightning left Florida for North Carolina in advance of Hurricane Milton’s arrival. Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane.

The Lightning held a practice Tuesday in North Carolina after their arrival.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Source: wralsportsfan.com