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The Carolina Hurricanes open their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning today and ahead of Game One, I’ll be comparing the teams based on their rosters.
The Hurricanes and Lightning split the season series 4-4, with the Hurricanes taking two of the last three meetings of the season.
Up front, Carolina found their secondary scoring this year, which is something that was lacking last season. In addition to top stars like Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen, Vincent Trocheck and Martin Necas have both emerged as top talents, while Jordan Staal had a great year and Nino Niederreiter, Brock McGinn, Warren Foegele, Jesper Fast and others provide the team with great depth up front.
The Lightning obviously have stars of their own, however. Nikita Kucherov an Steven Stamkos both back for the playoffs has made a massive impact for the Lightning, in addition to a forward group that already includes Brayden Point, along with Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli, Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson and others. The team also built on their bottom-six group last year, with Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow and Patrick Maroon all taking roles as key depth contributors. Carolina’s forward group is strong, but I’m not quite sure that it’s stronger than the group that the Lightning have at their disposal.
Defensively, the Hurricanes have been pretty good. It’s a relatively well-rounded defense group, with Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce and Jani Hakanpaa as pretty reliable defenders, while Dougie Hamilton will provide a ton of offense and Brady Skjei and Jake Bean provide decent depth as well. That said, Victor Hedman is one of the league’s top defenders and the Lightning's group of Ryan McDonagh, Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak and David Savard is very strong. In terms of defense groups, I think we’re looking at a relatively even matchup.
In net, despite Alex Nedeljkovic’s performance and the depth that Petr Mrazek and James Reimer provide for the Hurricanes, you can’t bet against Andrei Vasilveksiy. He’s the best goalie in the world and his .929 save percentage in the first round against Florida should only reinforce how dominant he can be at key times. The Hurricanes have seemingly found their solution in net, but they can’t be more confident in it than the Lightning are in Vasilevskiy.
I think we're going to get some pretty great games between these two teams. While I do think the Lightning have the advantage, I think this is a series that could certainly go either way.
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OTHER ARTICLES FROM MAY
Hurricanes sign Pyotr Kochetkov and Eetu Makiniemi
Weekly Recap: Hurricanes Edition (May 3)
Hurricanes are Stanley Cup contenders after solving most pressing issues
Hurricanes clinch top spot in Central Division, McCormick clears waivers
Weekly Recap: Hurricanes Edition (May 10)
Playoff Preview: Hurricanes vs. Predators
Hurricanes vs. Predators Preview: Comparing the forwards
Hurricanes vs. Predators Preview: Comparing the defenses
Hurricanes vs. Predators Preview: Comparing the goalies
Hurricanes take Game 1 over Predators
Penalty kill success leads Hurricanes to Game 2 win
Hurricanes fail to extend series lead, lose Game 3 in double overtime
Hurricanes lose another game in double OT, series with Predators now tied
Hurricanes sign Blake Murray to entry-level contract
Hurricanes take back series lead with overtime win in Game 5
Hurricanes eliminate Predators with another OT win, will face Lightning 
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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