For the Tampa Bay Lightning, Friday was getting close to must-win territory. Unfortunately, they didn't play like it for the first 55 minutes of the game, falling to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in a game that was not nearly as close or competitive for a majority of the game as the final score indicated.
"This one scares me," head coach Guy Boucher said. "Because it becomes a result of our players not sticking to what made us successful all year."
The Lightning got off on the right foot in the early going in this one when Simon Gagne connected on his 13th goal of the year to give the Bolts a 1-0 lead. On the power play, Gagne was able to walk right to the front of the net and beat Carolina goalie Cam Ward. The Hurricanes answered back when rookie Jeff Skinner received the puck in the slot and beat Dwayne Roloson to tie the game at one. For Skinner, it was his 26th goal of the season. As has been the rule, and not the exception of late, the Lightning's play in the first period was marred with bad passes and passing up shots. Carolina dominated the shots on goal 16-7.
This article appears in Mar 24-30, 2011.