Carolina Hurricanes (44-15-7, first in the Metropolitan) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (41-18-6, second in the Atlantic)
Tampa, Florida; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT
LINE: Lightning -140, Hurricanes +118; over/under is 5.5
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning host Carolina after Martin Necas scored two goals in the Hurricanes' 6-1 win against the Capitals.
The Lightning are 23-12-3 against Eastern Conference opponents. Tampa Bay averages 4.4 penalties per game, the most in the Eastern Conference. Alex Killorn leads the team with 27 total penalties.
The Hurricanes are 23-11-5 against conference opponents. Carolina ranks third in the Eastern Conference averaging 5.9 assists per game, led by Tony DeAngelo with 0.7.
In their last meeting on March 22, Carolina won 3-2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Victor Hedman leads the Lightning with 45 assists and has 63 points this season. Killorn has four goals and one assist over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes with 65 points, scoring 29 goals and adding 36 assists. Seth Jarvis has four goals and two assists over the last 10 games for Carolina.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 4-6-0, averaging 2.3 goals, 3.9 assists, 5.7 penalties and 12.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .927 save percentage.
Hurricanes: 5-3-2, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.4 assists, 3.9 penalties and 10.3 penalty minutes while allowing 1.8 goals per game with a .932 save percentage.
INJURIES: Lightning: Ryan McDonagh: out (upper-body).
Hurricanes: Jordan Martinook: out (undisclosed), Ethan Bear: day to day (lower-body).
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