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Wednesday, Jan. 3 7:00pm ET
Irbe stops 36 shots in beating Tampa Bay | ||
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BOX SCORE
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- There's something about the third period and the Tampa Bay Lightning that don't mix for the Carolina Hurricanes. Ron Francis and Kevin Hatcher scored in the opening 8½ minutes and Arturs Irbe stopped 36 shots as the Hurricanes held off a furious Lightning rally for a 3-2 victory Wednesday night. Earlier in the season, the Lightning rallied in Raleigh, N.C., with three goals in the final 3:48 to send the game into overtime. The Hurricanes ended up winning 6-5. This time, the Hurricanes gave up two third-period goals and had to hang on over the final minutes as Tampa Bay played six-on-four by pulling its goalie and getting a power play. "I don't know if I was fortunate or unfortunate because I didn't see it last time," said Irbe, who missed the Oct. 31 game while he was helping bury his grandmother in Latvia. "I guess I got a little happier replay tonight." The Hurricanes used a three-goal first and solid goaltending from Irbe to win their fourth consecutive home game. The Lightning are 0-9-3 in their last 12 road games against Carolina. The home winning streak was the longest since Carolina moved from Hartford, Conn., four seasons ago. "Streaks can be tricky," Irbe said. "You start to talk about them and those streaks can turn around. It's about scheduling more than anything." Vincent Lecavalier's first goal in 11 games, shot from his knees with 5:53 left, narrowed it to a one-goal game. Irbe helped secure the victory as Carolina had to kill Martin Gelinas' cross-checking penalty with 2:18 left. "He was the key, he made a lot of great saves," Lecavalier said of Irbe, who matched his season-high save total. "Everybody knows he's a great goaltender." Gelinas added his 11th of the season in the final 1:24 of the opening 20 minutes to give the Hurricanes, who scored just 23 goals in the first period in 37 games, their first three-goal opening period this season. Francis pounced on a rebound 4:26 in for his seventh of the season and 1,587th career point, closing to four of Phil Esposito for fifth on the NHL's career scoring list. Four minutes later, Hatcher flipped in a soft shot from the point, but Dan Cloutier was screened by Jeff Daniels and it sailed over his right shoulder for a 2-0 Carolina lead. Hatcher's goal was the 224th of his career and first with Carolina after being acquired in the offseason from the New York Rangers. It was also the defenseman's first in 38 games dating to last season. Gelinas made it a three-goal lead late in the first when his centering pass from behind the net hit off the skate of Tampa Bay defenseman Paul Mara and went by Cloutier, replaced by Kevin Weekes to start the second period. "We put more pucks in our own net this year then ever," Tampa Bay coach Steve Ludzik said. "Those were three of the flukiest goals I've ever seen. I think we played far better than they did -- and I think they know it too." Tampa Bay was its own worst enemy in the first, twice picking up penalties within 31 seconds of going on the power play. The Lightning continued to struggle with the man advantage, going 0-for-7. Tampa Bay is 3-for-49 on the power play the last 10 games. Mara ruined Irbe's shutout bid with his fifth goal of the season with 17:14 left. "The boys played hard, but maybe sometimes we were panicking and not making the best decisions," Irbe said of the final period. "But we put a lot of effort into this game and that's what mattered." Game notesIrbe started his 25th consecutive game for Carolina. ... Tampa Bay last beat Carolina on the road in 1995. ... The Hurricanes improved to 11-0-1 when leading after two periods. ... Tampa Bay's Alexander Kharitonov played in his 33rd game this season without a penalty. ... After a decent start, the Lightning are 4-10-3-1 in the last 18 games. |
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