Confident Tampa Bay Lightning face the lowly Carolina Hurricanes – NHL Preview
An impressive victory against New York Rangers has boosted the morale of Tampa Bay Lightning and they are determined to stay on winning ways and keep their playoff hopes alive as they travel to play against Carolina Hurricanes in a National Hockey League
(NHL) game on Saturday, March 3, 2012, at RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Here is a look at both the teams.
Lightning
They are ranked at 10th spot in the Eastern Conference with 66 points after 64 games and are just four points behind the eighth ranked Winnipeg Jets.
They have won six of their last eight games and are presently on a three-game winning streak with the victories coming against New Jersey Devils (4-3), Montreal Canadiens (2-1) and New York Rangers (4-3 in overtime).
Rangers, who are also the Eastern Conference leaders, were slightly taken aback by the level of competition Lightning posed during the game.
Rangers managed a goal in the first period while both teams scored apiece in the second.
However, Lightning rallied to score two goals in the final period and conceded one as the game was forced to overtime.
Lightning scored in the overtime to secure the victory.
Tampa Bay’s left wing, Ryan Malone, said of the team:
"I think everyone in this locker room likes to prove people wrong. Everyone stepped in and played a great game. I thought we did a good job, and that's all we wanted."
Hurricanes
They are ranked at 13th spot in the Eastern Conference with 61 points after 64 games.
Hurricanes have won three of their last four games with the recent defeat coming against New York Rangers.
The first period of the game against Rangers went goalless. Hurricanes scored first in the second period while Rangers replied by scoring two.
Both teams scored apiece in the final period as Rangers got the victory.
Hurricanes’ coach, Kirk Muller, said after the game:
“Our guys knew it was going to be that kind of game. We fell short but we pushed. They make it difficult to play against."
He also said:
“I thought our guys played hard. We pushed, they pushed us back in the second and we had to come back in the third. We just fell short."
Predictions
Lightning have an edge over Hurricanes.
The sum of goals scored by both the teams might exceed six.
If Hurricanes win, the winning margin will be less than two goals.
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