RALEIGH, N.C. _ Everyone agreed it was a matter of time before the Tampa Bay Lightning began to roll this season.
That time is now.
The Lightning made it seven straight wins Sunday, rolling past the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 at PNC Arena in a game that left Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour complimenting the winners and disgusted with his team.
"We weren't ready to play," he said. "At the end of the day, two periods where we didn't do anything. You can't expect to win that way. We were flat. It's tough to find someone that was really having a great game out of our group.
"Disappointing, for sure. We haven't had really one of those all year. That was the first one for me where I can just say I was really disappointed in that."
Brind'Amour juggled the lines during the game, looking for some kind of spark, but noted, "It just got worse."
"It's tough. As I said, that's the first one all year where I could say we had nothing."
The Lightning (24-13-4), fast climbing the Eastern Conference standings, scored twice in the first five minutes of the game and never let the Canes launch a comeback.
Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was near-flawless in net for the Lightning, making 28 saves, staying in control. The 2019 Vezina Trophy winner allowed a third-period goal to Andrei Svechnikov, but it took a super pass from defenseman Jaccob Slavin and sharp finish by Svechnikov to beat him _ Svechnikov's 18th of the season.
Goals by Tampa Bay fourth-liner Mitchell Stephens and then Steven Stamkos early in the first period were body blows for the Canes, who were coming off an emotional 4-3 loss to the Washington Capitals. The Lightning played Saturday, beating Ottawa 5-3 on the road, but weren't lacking any jump.
Stephens scored on a backdoor play, sneaking behind the Canes' Lucas Wallmark at 2:36. About two minutes later, the forechecking of Nikita Kucherov forced Canes defenseman Dougie Hamilton into a turnover in the Carolina zone, Stamkos hopping on the puck and beating goalie Petr Mrazek as the Lightning scored on two of its five shots in the period.
The Lightning controlled pace in the second period, adding a goal from Brayden Point. Kucherov's centering pass from the corner went off the side of the net, but Point collected the puck and beat Mrazek with a backhander for a 3-0 lead.
Tampa Bay, showing no signs of fatigue, had 17 shots in the second period while limiting the Canes to five. The Lightning protected the net, getting sticks on pucks in the Tampa Bay zone.
The Canes (24-16-2) twice beat the Lighting this season but that was before Tampa Bay began to show the efficiency, form and swagger that earned the Lightning the Presidents' Trophy in 2018-19. It's all falling into place after a sluggish start _ the Lightning was 12-9-3 after a 3-2 home-ice loss to the Canes on Nov. 30.
"They seem to be playing with a little more grit to their game, lot more pucks to the net," Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour said before the game. "They're always a team that looks for that pretty play but I think now they're doing it a little simpler. The talent they've always had. So I think it's all coming together for them."
The Canes won the first two games of a seven-game homestead, beating the Caps on Dec. 28 and then Montreal in a New Year's Eve game. They've now dropped the first two games in 2020, to the Caps and Lightning.
The Canes face the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, then Arizona and the Los Angeles Kings as they try to keep pace in the tightly bunched Eastern Conference.
Tampa Bay is 16-2-0 against Atlantic Division teams but was 3-6-2 against the Metropolitan Division until Sunday.
