Tampa Bay Lightning Vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Lightning Stun Hurricanes With 3-0 Lead After The First Period

Well, that was unexpected. The Tampa Bay Lightning have jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the Carolina Hurricanes after 20 minutes at RBC Center in Raleigh. Goals by Dominic Moore, Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos have combined to shock the Hurricanes home ice crowd. The shots are 18-12 Lightning after the first.

Joni Pitkanen took the first penalty of the game, as he was called for slashing at 4:29. Cam Ward made two great stops on Vincent Lecavalier, and then got a big clear on the rebound of a Ted Purcell shot, to help kill it off. Carolina got their first man advantage chance at 8:03. Sean Bergenheim was called for holding, but the Hurricanes failed to score.

Dominic Moore got the game’s first goal after the Carolina penalty expired, as the Lightning came rushing up, and Steve Downie let a slapper go from the point. Ward made the first stop, but Moore followed up and tucked one off the post and in to make it 1-0 at 6:45. It was Moore’s 18th of the season, capping off what has been his best season offensively by far in a six-year career.

Lecavalier made it 2-0 at 11:19. Marty St. Louis stole a Jussi Jokinen pass in the Tampa defensive zone, and sent a gorgeous bank pass to breaking Lecavalier, who had a free break from the neutral zone. He came in and back-handed it through Ward’s five hole. It was Lecavalier’s 25th of the season, and put the Hurricanes on their heels even further as the period went on.

Another Tampa break-out made it 3-0. Simon Gagne was able to send Teddy Pucell away on a 2-on-1. Purcell waited for just the right moment. As Pitkanen went down, he slid it across to Steven Stamkos. While Stamkos has slumped of late, there’s no way he missed the chance he’d been given. Stamkos’ 48th made it 3-0 at 13:17, two goal in 1:58 for Tampa. Paul Maurice called a timeout in response.

The Hurricanes drew a penalty after the timeout. Vincent Lecavalier took a cross-check at 13:51. The Hurricanes got some good chances, but they weren’t able to find any solid passing or shooting lanes, though they nearly missed an open net late in the power play. Goaltender Mike Smith was able to kill it off. Smith was excellent and all over the place in the first period. He made 12 saves in the first, while Cam Ward made 15.

Carolina got one more chance on the power play, getting Mike Lundin off for interference at 17:27. This time, the Hurricanes power play couldn’t seem to connect on anything, and hardly got a chance. The Hurricanes went 0-for-3 on the power play in the first period, which might end up killing them down the road. The next 20 minutes might end or save the Carolina season.