South Raleigh News

The Carolina Hurricanes faced a tough defeat against the Tampa Bay Lightning, losing 3-2 at Amalie Arena. Despite overcoming two one-goal deficits, the Hurricanes could not secure a win as Brayden Point scored with just 52 seconds left in regulation.

Tampa Bay started strong and took an early lead. Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov tied the game in the second period with a backhand shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy. However, Tampa regained their advantage shortly after on a power-play goal.

In the third period, Jordan Staal deflected a shot from Brent Burns to level the score again for Carolina. Despite creating numerous scoring opportunities, they couldn't capitalize further. Point's late goal sealed the victory for Tampa.

Pyotr Kochetkov made 31 saves out of 34 shots during his 26th start this season. Svechnikov ended his nine-game goal drought with his performance tonight, placing him third on the team for goals this season.

Brent Burns marked a milestone by tying Steve Larmer for sixth place in NHL history for consecutive games played at 884 matches. He is close to surpassing Patrick Marleau’s streak of 910 consecutive games.

Rod Brind'Amour expressed disappointment after the loss: "Those are the worst ways to lose... The guys fought back." He acknowledged that their efforts were insufficient due to Tampa's decisive power-play goal.

Andrei Svechnikov praised Kochetkov's performance: "It was a big game for him... He kept us in the game."

Carolina will return home to prepare for their next match against Toronto Maple Leafs at Lenovo Center on Thursday night.