Vasilevskiy makes 25 saves, Lightning shut out Hurricanes

TAMPA -- Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for his first shutout of the season, and Ross Colton scored in his NHL debut to help the Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 at Amalie Arena on Wednesday.

Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow scored for the Lightning (12-4-1), who have won two straight against the Hurricanes.
"We've had a few good games defensively," Coleman said. "But to a man, guys were skating, guys were competing, blocking shots … doing the things you've got to do to win. [Vasilevskiy] made some big-time saves when he needed to and he kept the puck out of the net. Really just a complete effort by the entire team."

Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves for the Hurricanes (12-5-1), who lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
"[Nedeljkovic] was great," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "He made some big saves. Good for him. Too bad we kind of wasted it."
The teams finish a four-game set here Thursday.
"We've got this team again tomorrow," Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. "We're going to get right back at it and show them our best."
Colton gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead on his second shift at 6:43 of the first period, shooting five-hole on Nedeljkovic after Victor Hedman made a strong move to the net and attempted a wraparound.
"I think the best way to describe it is that I kind of blacked out right after the play," Colton said.
"I was trying to fight to get to the front of the net. [Hedman] wheeled around there and kind of put it front. I was always taught when I was younger to go to the dirty areas. I just got in front and tried to bang it home and luckily it went in. Great play by [Hedman] for sure."

Coleman made it 2-0 at 17:27. With the Lightning on a power play, Yanni Gourde sent a centering pass to Coleman, who scored blocker side from the low slot.
Vasilevskiy preserved the lead when he stretched across the crease to stop Hurricanes forward Warren Foegele at the right post at 10:08 of the third period. He then stopped Andrei Svechnikov from low in the left circle with 5:26 remaining and Vincent Trocheck 10 seconds later.
"It was a great effort from our guys. In the first two periods I didn't have that much work," Vasilevskiy said. "In the third they started pushing us. But it was a great job defensively. We got two huge goals and that was enough to win because we played well defensively."

Carolina outshot Tampa Bay 9-5 in the third period.
"The past couple of games we haven't had a good start," Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. "Against a team of that caliber, you have to be able to do it the right way the whole time.
"We've got to get to our game and what makes us successful at the drop of the puck and not wait until it's too late."
Goodrow scored into an empty net with 35 seconds left for the 3-0 final.
"We worked hard; we didn't come out as ready as we needed to in the first period," Brind'Amour said. "That was the game, unfortunately. But we fought back. We might have some off nights, but it's never a lack of effort."