Thoughts From My Couch: Carolina Hurricanes v. Tampa Bay Lightning, Round 2, Game 1

The second round is set to get underway with the Canes and Lightning meeting for the first time in the postseason after finishing off Nashville and Florida in six-game series respectively. The big news for the Canes is the likely absence of Nino Niederreiter following a reported injury during practice on Saturday, according to head coach Rod Brind'Amour. However, his injury is likely to make way for the return of Cedric Paquette, who missed the end of the regular season and the entire first-round series. Tampa has their full arsenal ready to go, headlined by Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. In my opinion, this is the battle between the 3rd and 4th best teams in the league, behind only Colorado and Vegas. This series is going to be a bloodbath. The winner of this series is likely to be in a great position to win the Stanley Cup. Though the series is starting in Raleigh, Tampa won Games 1 and 2 in Florida in the first round, so starting on the right foot to open the series is going to be a major need to the Canes if they stand a chance. Many feel this series is going to be a coin-flip with the defending champs having the edge. Carolina can silence a lot of people tonight with an opening win.

1st Period: Lightning 0, Hurricanes 0

They played great in the period, but that's one of those periods you want to have the lead after. The Lightning never got much going, spending most of the period on defense. The Canes had two power plays to Tampa's zero, but nothing came of them. Andrei Vasilevskiy is the best goalie in the world, so it isn't going to be easy. Vasilevskiy made a few great saves and the team had plenty of chances, they just didn't come to fruition. The defense did a good job of keeping Tampa's offense in the defensive end. They didn't have too many high danger chances in the period, but we can expect that to change. This game has that feel that the first team to score is going to win the game with how the goalies are playing. There weren't too many negatives from the period. Having drawn the first two penalties of the game, don't be surprised if Tampa gets a couple as well. Their power play is lethal with its stars back in the lineup and they lit up Florida in their series. 

2nd Period: Lightning 1, Hurricanes 0

I promise I can't tell the future, but it felt inevitable that the Lightning would get a few power plays and they would go on to score on their first. Brayden Point deflected a shot between the legs of Ned to give Lightning the first goal of the series. I want to make it clear that every penalty the Canes took was correctly called. In fact, right before Nikita Kucherov was called for cross-checking Brock McGinn, I thought McGinn could've been called for one too. There weren't too many missed calls in the period that I noticed, so props to the officiating for now. I didn't think the Canes played poorly despite being down 1-0 after the period. They had plenty of chances. The big difference was the Lightning played considerably better than they did in the first period. Carolina needs to get on the board early in the period. The way the goalies are playing, this could come down to the wire.

3rd Period: Lightning 2, Hurricanes 1

This is one of those losses that sting because I thought the Canes played great for 60 minutes. This game was one of those that Andrei Vasilevskiy helped to steal for the Lightning. The Canes did in fact get on the board early. Just 1:41 into the period, Jake Bean unleashed a shot from the point at the tail end of the power play that carried over from the second period and it managed to get past Vasilevskiy. I could've sworn this puck changed directions, possibly off Jordan Staal, but I couldn't care less who scored as long as it went in. Great net-front presence on the shot and the Canes were back in the game. The goalies dueled back and forth and it was ultimately just an unfortunate misplay that led to the game-winning goal for the Lightning. Ned misreads a shot from Barclay Goodrow and it snuck through him and into the net to give the Lightning the lead with under eight minutes left. The Canes had plenty of chances at the end of the game, but couldn't beat Vasilevskiy. Tampa takes Game 1, making Game 2 extremely important for the Canes to win.

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Andrei Svechnikov- 1 A, 5 SOG, 3 H, 18:26 TOI

I really thought Svech looked dangerous tonight. He had three points (1-2-3) against Nashville but was held pointless in the final three games. He had a few great chances on Vasilevskiy, he just didn't bury them. He also helped set up the only goal for the Canes on the power play. If he can keep playing like this, those shots are going to get in the net. This is a positive sign for the young star.

Second Star- Alex Nedeljkovic- 28/30 SV, 2 GA 

The game-winning goal notwithstanding, Ned played very well in what turned into a goalie's duel. He went blow-for-blow with the best goalie in the world as a rookie in the playoffs and almost won. I know that "almost" still counts as a loss, but it's only the first game of the series. If Ned keeps this level of play up through the entire series, the Canes could very well find their way in the next round. 

First Star- Jaccob Slavin- 22:49 TOI

In a league where points are a big deal, it might seem boring for a player with no points in a game to be the first star, but I thought Jaccob Slavin was the best defenseman on the ice and this game included a former Norris winner. His defense was spectacular all night, which is common for him, and he had a couple changes on offense. All around, he played extremely well and was the best player on the ice for the Canes.

Final Thoughts

The Canes by most metrics should've won this game. They were the better team for a majority of the 60 minutes. The difference in this game was the goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy. He stopped 37 of 38 in the game and the goal from Jake Bean went in because he couldn't see it. It seems to be the game plan should then become to make sure he doesn't see the shots coming. Game 2 needs to be this exact same effort because if they don't, Tampa Bay has made it clear they will capitalize on Carolina's mistakes. I'm not re-inventing the wheel with anything I'm saying, there just aren't too many negatives to take from the game other than they lost at home and are down 1-0 in the series. Losing the first one doesn't mean the series is over already. Tuesday is important to even the series before going to Tampa for the next two, so let's hope the result is on our side.