The Hurricanes came out with a really strong first period. Though the shots were only 15-12 for Carolina, the Hurricanes got the better chances by far, but Andrei Vasilevskiy was a key factor in keeping the game scoreless after 20 minutes.
The tides turned a little bit in the second period, however. Tampa Bay would open the scoring roughly halfway through the period, with Victor Hedman finding Brayden Point on a great pass from the point, with the deflection beating Alex Nedeljkovic. While Carolina outshot the Lightning once again, Tampa Bay got the better chances this time around and went into the intermission up 1-0.
The third period was the most even stretch of the game, with neither team getting the same kinds of chances they were through the first 40 minutes. The Hurricanes would tie the game early in the third period, as a point shot from Jake Bean got through several players in front before finding its way in. However, the Lightning took back the lead a little later, with Barclay Goodrow sneaking a shot past Nedeljkovic from a bad angle. Despite some late efforts by the Hurricanes, they weren’t able to recover and Goodrow’s goal would prove to be the difference-maker.
Despite a good game from Alex Nedeljkovic, that second goal is one that just can’t go in. My biggest concern with Petr Mrazek as Carolina’s starter last year was that he could put together really strong games that were ruined by weak goals, so it’s unfortunate to see that happen yesterday with Nedeljkovic. This certainly isn’t a trend with Nedeljkovic and like I said, it was a good game overall, but the Hurricanes needed a save there.
I thought Carolina played a pretty strong game overall. They managed to get a good number of shots on Vasilevskiy and limited quality chances for a really strong offensive group. That said, Carolina’s inability to finish on their opportunities and the weak goal allowed by Nedeljkovic proved to be the difference in Game One.
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How do you feel about Carolina's chances in the series after seeing their performance in Game 1?
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