Carolina Hurricanes (12-4-1, second in the Central Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (11-4-1, third in the Central Division)
Tampa, Florida; Wednesday, 5 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning host Carolina after Jesper Fast scored two goals in the Hurricanes' 4-2 loss to the Lightning.
The Lightning are 11-4-1 against the rest of their division. Tampa Bay leads the Nhl averaging 3.6 goals per game, led by Steven Stamkos with nine.
The Hurricanes are 12-4-1 against the rest of their division. Carolina has scored 61 goals and ranks fourth in the Nhl averaging 3.6 goals per game. Vincent Trocheck leads the team with nine.
The teams meet for the second game in a row.
TOP PERFORMERS: Stamkos leads the Lightning with nine goals, adding eight assists and collecting 17 points. Ondrej Palat has four goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
Trocheck has 16 total points while scoring nine goals and totaling seven assists for the Hurricanes. Jordan Staal has six goals over the last 10 games for Carolina.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 7-3-0, averaging 3.9 goals, 6.5 assists, 4.2 penalties and 10.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game with a .921 save percentage.
Hurricanes: 6-3-1, averaging 4.1 goals, 7.3 assists, 3.6 penalties and 7.5 penalty minutes while allowing 3.2 goals per game with an .895 save percentage.
INJURIES: Lightning: Anthony Cirelli: out (upper body), Mitchell Stephens: out (knee).
Hurricanes: Teuvo Teravainen: out (upper body), Petr Mrazek: out (thumb).
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