Carolina Hurricanes (12-5-1, third in the Central Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (12-4-1, second in the Central Division)
Tampa, Florida; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Tampa Bay hosts the Carolina Hurricanes after the Lightning shut out Carolina 3-0. Andrei Vasilevskiy earned the victory in the net for Tampa Bay after recording 25 saves.
The Lightning are 12-4-1 in division matchups. Tampa Bay has scored 61 goals and is second in the Nhl averaging 3.6 goals per game. Steven Stamkos leads the team with nine.
The Hurricanes are 12-5-1 against division opponents. Carolina is fifth in the Nhl averaging 3.4 goals per game, led by Vincent Trocheck with nine.
The teams square off for the second straight game.
TOP PERFORMERS: Stamkos leads the Lightning with nine goals and has 17 points. Victor Hedman has 10 points over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
Trocheck leads the Hurricanes with nine goals and has 16 points. Jordan Staal has 9 points over the last 10 games for Carolina.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 7-3-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.1 assists, 4.1 penalties and 9.9 penalty minutes while giving up two goals per game with a .926 save percentage.
Hurricanes: 6-3-1, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.6 assists, 3.2 penalties and 6.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .903 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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