In Carolina, Martin Necas struck for two goals, the last two for the Hurricanes, in a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay Lighting on Saturday.
“We’ve got so many good players, and we’re missing two of them (forwards Vincent Trocheck and Teuvo Teravainen),” Necas said. “I’m just trying to step in for them. I felt good. My teammates played great, so I was just trying to keep up with them.”
Necas first goal came at the end of a three-goal outburst in the middle frame for the Hurricanes and the potted the game-winner in the third after the Lighting had tied the game at 3-3.
“We shook it up a little bit right away (after the first),” Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “There were a lot of little things going on, but at the end of the day, the guys kept playing. I was proud of the effort. Whether we got the two points or not, it was just a solid game all around.”
James Reimer made 19 saves to get the win.
“Both teams played hard, and the games are intense,” Carolina’s Sebastian Aho said. “Obviously, the farther the season goes, every game is huge, and that’s the defending champs. … It was quite a challenge for us. But I’m proud of how we responded when they were up 2-0. It was a great team effort.”
Blake Coleman and Pat Maroon scored in the opening frame for the Lightning.
“We didn’t win tonight because we got outworked,” Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said. “Penalties didn’t have anything to do with it other than the fact that our power play failed us and theirs came through for them. That’s the crux of it.”
After the Bolts grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period,
“[Penalties] killed us tonight,” Maroon said. “But there’s a reason why we took penalties. They were better than us. They were down 2-0, but they stuck with it … we’re the ones that got frustrated.
“We’ve just got to get back to our game. It’s been an up-and-down roller coaster these last few games. We’re in a good situation right now. We’ve been winning some hockey games as of late, so we’ve just got to stick with the structure and we’ll be fine.”
Cedric Paquette and Aho helped the Hurricanes get even.
“I don’t play [Paquette] that much, probably could play him more,” Brind’Amour said. “But every shift he goes out there, he gives everything he has. Great teammate. The guys really appreciate how he plays.”
Mathieu Joseph tied the game up in the third period for Tampa.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves in his second straight loss.
“It’s frustrating. We get that first goal on the first shift, we had good momentum,” Tampa’s Ross Colton said. “Everyone was back and buzzing on the bench. Then some questionable calls, in my opinion, you get out of the flow of the game, and then they get one late on the power play.”
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