A worthy Tampa Bay Lightning rally attempt didn’t end with the desired outcome on Saturday as the host Lightning took a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Carolina grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the first period, both of which were set up by Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho.
Tampa Bay rallied late in the second period to tie the game with goals from Yanni Gourde on a short break and defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous near the net.
The Hurricanes retook the lead in the third when a shot by Jordan Martinook caromed in off a Bolts defenseman and then added an empty-net score.
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves, and Frederik Andersen had 17 for the visitors.
Tampa Bay is now 40-21-4 this season and will open a four-game road trip with Tuesday’s visit to play the Seattle Kraken.
Scoring summary
First period
CAR 1, TBL 0
00:38 Andrei Svechnikov (24) - Sebastian Aho, Sean Walker
The visitors started the scoring early with an Andrei Svechnikov shot near the net following a pass from Sebastian Aho in the corner.
CAR 2, TBL 0
17:28 Aho (24) - Svechnikov, K’Andre Miller
After being stopped on a breakaway, Aho potted a quick pass at the right post to extend the visitors’ lead.
Shots on goal: CAR 13, TBL 10
Second period
CAR 2, TBL 1
14:10 Yanni Gourde (8) - Victor Hedman, Pontus Holmberg
The Lightning cut into their deficit with a breakaway goal from Yanni Gourde, whose shot beat Frederik Andersen on the blocker side.
CAR 2, TBL 2
15:31 Charle-Edouard D’Astous (4) - Brayden Point, Gage Goncalves
Tampa Bay tied the score with a rush chance, as defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous buried the puck at the net off a pass by Brayden Point.
Shots on goal: CAR 11, TBL 7
Third period
CAR 3, TBL 2
9:18 Jordan Martinook (9) - Nikolaj Ehlers, Mike Reilly
Carolina regained their advantage on Jordan Martinook’s shot from the left circle.
CAR 4, TBL 2
18:29 Logan Stankoven (13) - Taylor Hall
A long distance empty-net goal ended the offense.
Total shots: CAR 35, TBL 19
