In their first game after the Olympic break, the Carolina Hurricanes welcomed back five players who were called to represent their country wth an intense back-and-forth battle against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In a tug-of-war 5-4 win, the Canes (37-15-6) bested the Tampa Bay Lightning (38-15-4) on home ice after falling to them earlier this season. They got revenge, and extended their point streak to 11 games.
Three Canes players returned from the Olympics with medals, as center Sebastian Aho won bronze for Finland, center Seth Jarvis won silver for Canada and defenseman Jaccob Slavin took home gold with Team USA.
Returning with high energy after representing Denmark, left wing Nikolaj Ehlers put the Canes on the board two minutes into the game. Assisted by defensemen K’Andre Miller and left wing Jordan Martinook, Ehlers breezed the puck past Tampa Bay’s goaltender Jonas Johansson for the first goal of the night.
Following suit merely a minute later, center Logan Stankoven brought the score to 2-0, assisted by left wing Taylor Hall and defensemen Jalen Chatfield. Scoring the Canes third unanswered goal, Hall netted one to bring the score to 3-0 with help from Stankoven and right wing Jackson Blake.
“I was hungry to get back out there and contribute. It was nice to see the puck go in and have some success,” Stankoven said, celebrating his 23rd birthday with a goal.
Hope for the Lightning was diminishing in a first period initially dominated by the Canes, but they got their spark back with four minutes left in the first frame.
Left wing Brandon Hagel put Tampa Bay on the board with assists from right wing Scott Sabourin and center Jake Guentzel, making the score 3-1. A minute later, Tampa Bay’s right wing Nikita Kucherov scored, using a screen of Canes players in front of the goal to his advantage.
Heading into the second period up just one goal after quickly going up three in the first, tensions were high for the Canes. Solidifying the shift, center Dominic James tied the score for the Lightning off a pass from Guentzel.
But putting the Canes back in front, Jarvis responded six minutes later with a shot straight down in front of the Tampa Bay net after a pass from right wing Andrei Svechnikov, restoring the Canes’ advantage.
“It was a little bit back-and-forth, not really the style that we’re accustomed to playing,” said left wing Taylor Hall. “At the end of the day, we get a win against a team that played last night. We’ll take it.”
The Lightning equalized again on a power play given for an Aho holding penalty. Aho put his team in a tie-game situation, but he also got them out of it by scoring on a power-play early in the third. Assisted by Jarvis and Svechnikov, his blue-line rocket took the lead for good.
“I think we did a nice job at the end of the game,” said coach Rod Brind’Amour. “We make it interesting, that’s for sure.”
Carolina is set to host the Detroit Red Wings in Lenovo Center Saturday, Feb. 28. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.