National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Carolina 4, Tampa Bay 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 10, 2012
Where: Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
Referees: Wes McCauley, Rob Martell
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Shane Heyer
Attendance: 18554


HURRICANES 4, LIGHTNING 2: Jeff Skinner scored two goals - including the winner 6:36 into the third period - and Cam Ward made 36 saves as visiting Carolina handed Tampa Bay its third consecutive loss.

Skinner circled behind the net and wristed a shot over Dustin Tokarski’s glove from the bottom of the right circle for the 3-2 lead. Chad LaRose added an empty-net goal with 21.4 seconds left.

Jussi Jokinen had two assists for Carolina, which is 4-1-4 in its last nine games.

Ryan Malone knocked home a rebound to put Tampa Bay up 1:20 into the game, but the Hurricanes battled back to take a 2-1 lead in the first period.

Defenseman Jaroslav Spacek tied it at 3:46 on the power play when his shot from the point deflected in off Lightning blue-liner Mike Commodore.

Skinner put the Carolina ahead, tapping in a nifty pass by Jokinen at 12:29.

Nate Thompson knotted the game 2-2 with 2:46 remaining in the opening frame, one-timing JT Wyman’s pass from behind the net.

Tokarski, who was making his first NHL home start, made a big save on LaRose at 16:20 of the second period.

Ward had 18 of his saves in the second period.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Ward has 199 career wins. ... Skinner, 19, has 50 career goals. ... Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu was back in the lineup after missing the last 10 games with an upper-body injury. ... Thompson’s goal broke a 15-game streak without a point. ... Malone extended his season-high point streak to six games.

Top Game Performances
 
Carolina   Tampa Bay
Jeff Skinner 2 Points Ryan Malone 1
Jeff Skinner 2 Goals Ryan Malone 1
Jussi Jokinen 2 Assists Brett Connolly 1
Jaroslav Spacek 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Cam Ward .947 Save Percentage Dustin Tokarski .880
Cam Ward 36 Saves Dustin Tokarski 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Carolina 26 4 1-1 2-2 18 31
Tampa Bay 38 2 0-2 0-1 6 23
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Boston. The Lightning have a W/L % of .548 after a win and .378 after a loss.
  • Carolina will play their next game on the road against Florida. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .280 after a win and .442 after a loss.