RALEIGH — Thursday night’s bout between the NHL’s two hottest hockey clubs lived up to the hype in every way possible, for about two trillion different reasons... at least through 40 minutes.
When the final buzzer sounded, though, it was the Carolina Hurricanes who were upset that they, in the words of captain Justin Williams, “pissed away” a third period lead against the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning on home ice Thursday night.
Here’s how it happened.
From the jump, the Canes were the better team, dominating the first few shifts and keeping the puck in the offensive zone.