RALEIGH, N.C. — Barclay Goodrow isn’t known for lighting the lamp. He provides defense, he registers hits. Yet it was Goodrow who gave the Lightning a Game 1 win over the Hurricanes on Sunday at PNC Arena.
Goodrow’s even-strength goal with 7:21 left in the third period broke open a tie game and lifted the Lightning to a 2-1 victory in the second-round opener. Goodrow put a move on Carolina defenseman Brady Skjei and shot the puck past goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic short side for the winner.
The Lightning withstood an early Carolina charge and took the lead in the second period, but let it slip away early on in the third. Clinging to a 1-0 lead, the Lightning were forced to play a man down for the first 1:47 of the final period, and they paid the price for Blake Coleman’s last-minute second-period tripping penalty.
Carolina defenseman Jake Bean’s shot from the point seemingly had eyes, rising past Anthony Cirelli and beating Hurricanes wing Jesper Fast through to the crease, causing enough disruption to beat Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy above his right shoulder stickside for the tying goal.
The Hurricanes, feeding off the energy of some 15,000 Caniacs waving white rally towels, controlled the pace of Sunday’s game early on. Carolina controlled zone play, retrieved pucks well and created chaos in front of the the net
But Vasilevskiy withstood the Carolina charge out of the gate, stopping 15 shots in the first period as Tampa Bay killed off two power plays.
After the Lightning survived that initial Hurricanes onslaught, they found a way to create space. And when Carolina forward Brock McGinn’s stick caught Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev’s up high, it opened the door for Tampa Bay’s vaunted power play.
The Hurricanes were determined to take away Nikita Kucherov’s playmaking ability, but the Lightning needed only one shot on the power play to get on the scoreboard. With Carolina players crowding Kucherov, Victor Hedman put a puck on net that Point was able to redirect from the slot and past Nedeljkovic.
The Lightning had their best scoring chance of the third period when Kucherov corralled a rebound in front of the net and tried to tuck the puck inside the near post, but Nedeljkovic closed him off with his left pad.
Tampa Bay was forced to play more than a full period without defenseman Erik Cernak, who left the game after a hit into the boards from Alex Svechnikov sent him into Carolina forward Vincent Trocheck with 1:45 left in the second.
The Lightning already were without defenseman David Savard (lower-body injury). The Lightning dressed just six defensemen, so they played a man short for the entire third period.
