Canes Dominate Lightning For Fifth-Consecutive Victory, Second Since Trade Deadline

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Carolina Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky took a massive gamble earlier this winter, sending Martin Nečas and Jack Drury to the Colorado Avalanche from superstar Mikko Rantanen.

On Tuesday, March 11 – four days after shipping Rantanen away to the Dallas Stars for young center Logan Stankoven and four future draft picks, Carolina beat the Tampa Bay Lightning for its fifth-straight victory.

The Canes finally look like a Stanley Cup Playoff-caliber team again – and one where everyone is happy to be in Raleigh. Let’s take a quick look into Carolina’s two most recent victories, both which came since shipping Rantanen away.

Canes never trail Tampa Bay in major 4-1 win

If there’s one team that gives Carolina trouble over the years, it’s the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa either knocks the Canes out of the playoffs, snaps winning streaks and – overall – is the Canes’ kryptonite.

Every now and then, Carolina plays its best hockey against the Lightning. Such was the case on Tuesday night, with the Canes winning 4-1.

Seth Jarvis opened the scoring for Carolina (39-22-4, 82 points), tallying his 26th goal of the year, on a shorthanded opportunity just 4:29 into the game. Jordan Martinook added his 12th on the season during the second period, while offseason addition Jack Roslovic netted his 20th in the same frame.

Gage Goncalves closed Tampa’s deficit to 3-1 just moments into the third period, then Canes defenseman Sean Walker scored the game’s final goal two minutes after Goncalves’ tally.

Trade deadline acquisitions anchor Carolina’s victory over NHL points-leading Jets

The Canes are rarely shut out, but such was the case in a 3-0 loss at the Winnipeg Jets February 4.

On Sunday, March 9 in Raleigh, Carolina got its long-awaited revenge in a 4-2 win.

Mark Jankowski, whom the Canes acquired from the Nashville Predators at the trade deadline, scored his new team’s first two goals on Sunday. Stankoven added a powerplay tally in the third period, while Jarvis contributed an empty-netter.

When does Carolina play again?

The Canes will host the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, March 14 at 7 p.m. Detroit (30-28-6, 66 points) is losers of its past six games, forcing itself out of the playoff picture.