The Tampa Bay Lightning moved to 40-21-4 for 2 points after a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, who improved to 42-18-6 for 4 points at Benchmark International Arena.
First period
The Tampa Bay Lightning finished the first period down 2-0 as the Hurricanes scored 2 even-strength goals in the opening frame.
The Bolts recorded 26 hits in the game, and the ‘Canes answered with 27 hits in the same physical matchup.
The Hurricanes carried a 35-19 edge in shots on goal that began with early zone time reflected in the shot totals.
Second period
The Tampa Bay Lightning pushed back with 2 goals in the second period after entering intermission scoreless.
Charle-Edouard D'Astous scored for the Bolts on his only shot, and he finished with 4 hits as Tampa Bay generated offense from the blue line.
Brayden Point posted 1 assist, and
Victor Hedman added 1 assist as Tampa Bay created its 2-goal period at even strength.
The Lightning power play went 0-for-3 with 3 shots, while the Hurricanes power play also went 0-for-2 with 2 shots in a special-teams stalemate.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Carolina Hurricanes turning point came as Carolina stayed even at special teams and kept its offense at 5-on-5.
Third period
The Tampa Bay Lightning were held without a goal in the third period as the Hurricanes scored 2 more goals at even strength.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves on 35 shots against, and Carolina’s goaltender earned the win with 17 saves on 19 shots against.
The Hurricanes won 54 percent of faceoffs, and the Bolts finished at 46 percent in the dots.
Carolina finished with 13 giveaways to Tampa Bay’s 14 giveaways, and the ‘Canes also led takeaways 9-4 in the turnover count.
The Hurricanes added 1 empty-net goal, which closed out the Tampa Bay Lightning vs Carolina Hurricanes final score and shaped what went wrong for Tampa Bay Lightning late.
A Tampa Bay Lightning match rating snapshot starts with a minus-11 team plus-minus alongside 0-for-3 on the power play and 19 total shots.
The Tampa Bay Lightning next game will air on March 17, 2026 at 10:00 PM EDT as the away team against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, and the broadcast listings include TNT, HBO Max, and The Spot.
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