The tides have turned as the Carolina Hurricanes win their first of the series over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Alex Nedeljkovic had the night off and Petr Mrazek held down the fort for Carolina. Tampa kept the formula the same, hoping for some more success. The game was like a sandwich. There was really nothing exciting on the outside but in the middle, it was exciting and bursting with goodness. Yes, I just compared a hockey game to a sandwich. The overtime is a side of your choice. If you’re a Canes fan it’s more than likely chips but for Tampa fans it may be coleslaw.
Before the game, the Carolina Hurricanes hadn’t had a lead in a game since game 4 against Nashville. Jackie Redmond reported that they had gone a total of 296:04 TOI without a lead. That would end in game three. Brett Pesce opened it up in the second period giving the Canes a much needed lead to build off of. Sebastian Aho would follow suit, extending their lead to two. Tampa Bay wasn’t going to take the easy way out. Brayden Point and Alex Killorn each earned this sixth goal of the postseason on power plays, tying it up as they headed into the final twenty.
Tampa Bay out shot the Canes 37-27. Neither team’s penalty kill could quite get it done tonight. Carolina scored on 1 of 2 power plays and Tampa capitalized 2 out of 3 times with the man advantage. While the reigning Stanley Cup champions are a powerhouse of a team, the Carolina Hurricanes have them beat when it comes to special teams. During the regular season, the Canes had a 25.61% on the power play. Their penalty kill was at a whopping 85.23% The Bolts had a 22.35% on the power play when the league average was just under 20% at 19.79%. Their PK was 84.15%. It is fair to say that Carolina had a better special teams unit assembled.
Sebastian Aho set up the beautiful overtime winner from Jordan Staal. The Canes now trail 2-1 in the series.
Down the Frozen River 
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