Same story, different day for the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes (22-10-3) once again found themselves with a 3-0 lead over a Sunshine State rival, but just like the night prior couldn’t hang on and ultimately fell 6-4, this time to the Tampa Bay Lightning (19-13-3).
Much like their previous game, the Hurricanes got off to a blazing start as they found the back of the net three times in the first frame. Just over two minutes in, winger Eric Robinson opened the scoring. After Tampa defenseman Darren Raddysh threw the puck up the ice with the hopes of clearing from his defensive zone, center Jordan Staal intercepted it and managed to dish the puck off to Robinson who buried it through the five-hole of Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy.
And the Canes did not stop there. Twice in the first period they were able to convert on the power play which marked a season-high fourth straight game with a goal on the man advantage.
The first of these goals came courtesy of a redirection from winger Jackson Blake. After setting up nicely in their offensive zone, fellow winger Nikolaj Ehlers sent the puck Blake’s way who masterfully tipped the puck under the arm of Vasilevskiy, giving the Canes two goals a mere four minutes into the game.
The second of the Canes’ two power play goals came from rookie winger Bradly Nadeau who was called up Saturday from the AHL Chicago Wolves in place of injured center Seth Jarvis. Nadeau potted his second-career NHL goal after Raddysh once again errantly turned the puck over behind the Lightning net. Center Logan Stankoven found himself in the right place at the right time but saw Nadeau in an even better position as he dished it off to him, allowing Nadeau to build the Canes’ lead to three goals.
The second period however, was an entirely different story. Under 90 seconds in, the Lightning came out swinging with goals from centers Gage Goncalves and Brayden Point to cut the Hurricanes’ lead to one.
In a period riddled with mistakes and sloppy play overall, the Hurricanes were never able to generate any offensive momentum and spent a significant amount of this period in their defensive zone. Good things never tend to come out of spending that much time in front of your own net and it finally came to a head when Tampa center Jack Finley scored the equalizer for the Lightning off an Andrei Svechnikov turnover, erasing the 3-0 lead the Hurricanes had built the period prior.
Heading into the last frame all knotted at three, the Hurricanes had a final 20 minutes to avoid a second-straight loss after holding a three-goal lead. The stars seemed to align themselves early in the period as on a breakaway, Svechnikov duped Vasilevskiy with his initial move and was able to finish the play to give the Canes a one goal lead once again.
Nonetheless, the lead was short lived as Bolts defenseman Ryan McDonagh did his best impression of fellow teammate Nikita Kucherov, “no-moving” on Kochetkov and sent the puck through the goalie’s legs not even 30 seconds later.
Look familiar? pic.twitter.com/MKw8H2R92V
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) December 21, 2025
With the Hurricane’s confidence waning and time ticking down, Tampa looked to capitalize on the repeated Carolina mistakes, and there was only one person that could score the go ahead goal — center Jake Guentzel.
The ghost of Hurricanes’ past came back to haunt the team once again as he too was able to slip a puck through Kochetkov’s five-hole, giving Tampa its first lead of the night. Only adding insult to injury, Guentzel also potted the empty netter that sealed yet another heartbreaking loss for the Canes.
For their final game before the Christmas holidays, the Hurricanes make the trip back up to Raleigh and the Lenovo Center as they meet the Florida Panthers once again. Puck drop against the Panthers is set for Tuesday, Dec. 23, at 7 p.m.
