The Carolina Hurricanes (6-2-1) are on the road to face the Tampa Bay Lightning (6-4-0), who will be looking to add to their winning streak, at Amalie Arena on Thursday. Carolina is coming off a 3-2 shootout win over the Capitals on Monday. The Hurricanes committed six penalties in the game, conceding one power play goal.
Stefan Noesen and Andrei Svechnikov each scored once for the Hurricanes. Martin Necas had two assists to lead the team in scoring. Frederik Andersen allowed two goals on 20 shots against (.900%) in the win.
Tampa Bay won for the third straight game, beating the Senators 4-3 on Tuesday. Four players found the net for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov scored and provided two assists to lead the team in scoring. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped only 12 of 15 shots (.800%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Hurricanes won two of the three games between the teams last season, although the Lightning were 4-3 (OT) victors in their final meeting in March. Steven Stamkos (1G 2A) and Kucherov (0G 3A) each had three points to lead Tampa Bay. Seth Jarvis led Carolina with two points (1G 1A). Vasilevskiy got the win despite saving only 16 of 19 shots (.842%).
FACING OFF
Carolina is averaging 3.11 goals per game so far this season, 16th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Lightning team that is allowing 3.10 goals a game (14th). Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has found the net 3.20 times a game on average, 13th in the league, and the Hurricanes are allowing opponents to score 2.78 goals per game (8th).
The Lightning’s 21.43% power play percentage ranks 18th in the league, while the Hurricanes are 24th with a conversion rate of 17.14%. When it comes to defending power plays, Tampa Bay has the league’s eighth-ranked PK% at 82.35%, while Carolina is 16th at 79.41%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 13 points this season, seventh-most in the NHL, Necas is the top skater for the Hurricanes. He has five goals and eight assists in nine games. In the net, Antti Raanta (2-0-1) is Carolina’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.23 GAA and a .913% save percentage. Andersen (4-2-0) leads the Hurricanes in games played in goal.
He has a GAA of 2.64 and a save percentage of .896%.Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 15 points. He has four goals and 11 assists (7th). Vasilevskiy (3-3-0) has the best goals against average for Tampa Bay at 2.87. He has a save percentage of .910%.
HOME AND AWAY
Carolina is 4-1-1 away from PNC Arena this season. Tampa Bay is 2-1-0 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
TB Lightning (-145)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
