TAMPA, Fla. _ The Lightning allowed three first-period goals to the Hurricanes Saturday night and lost their third consecutive game for the first time this season.
The Lightning chipped away at the lead in the third, scoring twice, but couldn't come all the way back as Carolina won, 3-2.
Brayden Point got things started. Kind of. He sent a centering pass toward Nikita Kucherov that went off Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton's stick and into the net for a power-play goal. Kucherov and Point had a few opportunities crashing the net on the power play and that one ended up in the net.
Tyler Johnson added a goal about five minutes later. He scored on a wrister from the high slot, beating goalie James Reimer top shelf.
The Hurricanes' 3-0 lead in the first period was another instance of the Lightning not playing poorly overall, but giving up goals. It's been a recurring theme.
Sebastian Aho scored just short of five minutes into the game. Andrei Svechnikov took the initial shot and Curtis McElhinney got part but not all of it. Aho got behind McElhinney to make sure the puck continued across the line.
Justin Martinhook scored about three minutes later. He and Clark Bishop came in on the rush. Bishop passed to Martinhook in the slot and the winger beat McElhinney with a wrist shot.
The third goal came with just seven seconds left in the period. Aho ripped a shot from the point and Jacob Slavin redirected it.
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