5
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Lightning win their four game set with Carolina thanks to a McElheist.
CAR-1
TB-3
Curtis McElhinney allowed 1 goal on 32 shots for the victory. After looking like the dog’s breakfast in his last start, the man came out tonight and stood on his head in support of his club on the tail end of a back-to-back and down one of their better defensemen for nearly half the contest.
First Period
14:23 CAR Pesce (2), (Fast, Aho)
Second Period
12:39 TB Sergachev (1), (Point)
Third Period
6:22 TB Gourde (5), (Hedman, McElhinney)
18:44 TB Goodrow (5), (unassisted)
McElhinney and Mikhail Sergachev were the game’s first and second stars.
Sometimes you just have to put aside aesthetics and say, “Just win baby.” The Lightning closed out this four game set against a good skating Carolina team down Anthony Cirelli and down Erik Cernak for half the game. Fatigue was absolutely a factor tonight and yet the club manufactured a victory through good goaltending, constructing a goal off a faceoff win, and some moments of individual brilliance from Victor Hedman and Yanni Gourde. The Lightning won’t get by with a steady diet of what we saw tonight, but in a pinch that’ll do.
Cal Foote had 2 shots, 1 hit, and 1 blocked shot in 10:21. He had a pretty glorious scoring chance that he target shot right into the goaltender, but beyond that it wasn’t a game where I thought he necessarily cloaked himself in glory.
Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.
