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The Carolina Hurricanes are down 2-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in their best of seven second-round playoff series and are looking to cut the Bolts’ lead in half when they hit the ice tonight in Tampa. The Canes have yet to solve Andrei Vasilevskiy and his stellar goaltending but overall have played a solid series to this point.
Alex Nedeljkovic has only allowed four goals in the first two games compared to Vasileveskiy’s two, and the defense and penalty kill has also been solid. The inability to find the back of the net is the difference in the series. The Canes’ Jake Bean scored on the power play in game one, and Andrei Svechnikov scored with 1:30 remaining in regulation in game two with a 6-on-5 man advantage. That has been it for the Canes, and if they want to have a chance to claw back into this series things must change, and quick.
Vital Statistics
| Category | Hurricanes | Bruins |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hurricanes | Bruins |
| Record | 54-20-8 | 51-26-5 |
| Goals/Game | 3.38 | 3.08 |
| Goals Against/Game | 2.44 | 2.66 |
| Shots/Game | 34.12 | 36.12 |
| Face Off Win % | 53.9% | 54.2% |
| Power Play % (Rank) | 22.0% (13th) | 21.2% (15th) |
| Penalty Kill % (Rank) | 88.0% (1st) | 81.3% (9th) |
| ES Corsi For % | 43.86% | 56.14% |
| ES PDO | 113.44 | 86.56 |
| PIM/Game | 12:00 | 22:00 |
Goaltender #1
| Category | Frederik Andersen | Linus Ullmark |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Frederik Andersen | Linus Ullmark |
| Record | 35-14-3 | 26-10-2 |
| Save % | .922 | .917 |
| GAA | 2.17 | 2.45 |
Goaltender #2
| Category | Antti Raanta | Jeremy Swayman |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Antti Raanta | Jeremy Swayman |
| Record | 15-5-4 | 23-14-3 |
| Save % | .912 | .914 |
| GAA | 2.45 | 2.41 |
Game Notes
- Andrei Svechnikov’s goal in game two brought him into a tie for third with five points in the playoffs this season. He now has nine playoff goals in his career, tying him with Jeff O’Neil, and Corey Stillman for the ninth-most goals in franchise playoff history.
- Jordan Staal is 100-163 (61.4%) from the faceoff circle in the playoffs which ranks fourth in the NHL (minimum 50 faceoffs.
- The Canes are now 4 for 5 (80%) on the penalty kill this series and 27 for 31 in their first eight playoff games.
- This marks only the second time in franchise history that the Hurricanes have been down 0-2 to start a playoff series on home ice. The only other time was in the 2006 first round against the Montreal Canadiens. The Canes also lost the first two games of the series at home and then went on to win the next four to win the series.